I’ve been in Alaska since 1970 and completed high school and college in Anchorage, Alaska. I met my husband, Fred, in High school in 1974 and we’ve been happily married since 1979. We also have one beautiful son, Stephen, who still lives in Alaska. Over the past 32 years we have been involved with several church ministries, primarily relating to music. I was a cantor at the Catholic Church in the 1980’s while also being in their choir, and on a folk group worship team. In 1988 we were feeling drawn to non-denomination churches.
From 1997 to 2004 my husband was the soundboard guru for a worship team I was singing on at the Anchorage Vineyard Church. Then in 2003, I was starting to feel the compulsion to sing from the book of Psalms and thus began my process for making songs from the bible. I also began to teach myself how to play the piano, but not until I was in my 40’s.
In late 2003 I began to sing some of my Psalms at small church groups, and there is where I received a word from a very good friend, Jimmie Sue Woelke of “A Voice in the Wilderness Ministries” in Anchorage, Alaska. She said she saw me making a CD and that my songs would be able to touch many people’s hearts. It was at this point that I began to dwell on the idea of making my first CD.
From 2004 to late 2005 I spent the next year and half writing and perfecting songs and taught myself how to complete the musical chords of my songs on my piano. (I also had time on my hands in the last half of 2004 while my back was recovering from a car accident. Since I was flat on my back for 12 weeks after surgery, I used that time to finish compiling my songs for recording.) In early 2005 I met Melissa Saulnier, my gifted pianist, who helped me pave the way with a recording studio. We worked together outside the studio practicing for the recording work in late 2005. Then finally in early 2006 for the next three months Melissa and I recorded my work for my first CD, “God’s Glory”.
Next my husband and I spent a great amount of time working on the graphics and enhanced CD contents after the recording master was completed. We also learned (with a few pointers from our Surreal Studios owner/engineer, Kurt Riemann,) how to make a music video outdoors. We filmed our first music video on location at the Gold Cord Mine, Hatcher Pass, Alaska on April 15, 2006. This video has received a lot of positive feedback from all who have had the privilege of viewing it.
So what do we see in the future for this CD project, God’s Glory, and for the potential of any future works?
My husband and I would like to work together to see the God’s Glory CD be far reaching across the country in order to touch as many people’s lives as possible. We know that God wants this work to proceed forward, and that he will provide the wisdom on how to deliver these songs into people’s hearts and homes.
In the meantime we hope to continue to work towards making another CD in the future. We believe it is a wonderful tool to deliver not only to the Christian community, but also to spread into the work place to those who maybe don’t have a relationship with God in their lives. We watch and wait to see what the Lord will do. Only he knows where this journey will take my husband and me. We are looking forward to what the future will bring.
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