As nominees prepare for the Eleventh Annual Pearl Awards, you would never guess some are more excited to see their old friends than to find out if they are the winner of one of the 35 categories for inspirational music.
The Eleventh Annual Pearl Awards, which will be held tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni Center are put on every year by the Faith Centered Music Association. The FCMA motto is 'Reach. Lift. Inspire.'
Greg Hansen, multi-award winning record producer, composer/arranger and recording artist, is up for seven nominations at this year's Pearl Awards, but the recognition is not what he is looking forward to most.
"I'm excited to see all my friends who built this industry and sacrificed to make it happen," Hansen said. Hansen is a former FCMA Board Member who is up for nomination in six categories, with two nominations in the Motivational Recorded Song Category.
Hansen, the winner of 32 Pearl Awards in previous years, said that he enjoys watching young folks pursuing their musical careers. He said it is interesting to see where they are coming from and the direction they are going.
Hansen oversees theneighborhoodjukebox.com, a Web site that allows aspiring artists to post songs for $5. The Web site has been up and running for one year and has already produced three artists: Dan Beck, Kalei Hogan and Ryan Innes, who have gone on to sign record contracts.
One of Hansen's favorite parts about the FCMA is that it encourages young artists and offers opportunities to anybody who wants to pursue their musical career.
Tanya Barkdull is the soprano of One Clear Voice, a group comprised of four women. Tammy Simister Robinson, Johanne Frechette Perry, Barkdull and LaRene Tinney make up the popular group that has been nominated in the categories for Devotional Recorded Song, Motivational Recorded Song and Group Recording Artist. Barkdull said they were individually approached a couple of years ago by Sounds of Zion, a production company for inspirational music. As all were individual artists at the time, each was hesitant to commit to such a large undertaking. However, as soon as they heard who the other women in the group would be, they were all on board.
"We're great friends with a joint purpose, which is sharing our testimonies," Barkdull said.
Sounds of Zion, which produces and distributes One Clear Voice, has much to celebrate tonight. In addition to One Clear Voice, they also represent nominees Jessie Clark Funk, Rebecca Lopez and Marvin Goldstein, said Earl Madsen, Director of Marketing and Public Relations.
"We're actively involved in creating and marketing inspirational music," Madsen said.
Madsen looks forward to the Pearl Awards because he loves seeing the success of artists who have come so far.
"The artists work hard," Madsen said. "They try to reach people with their music."
More information on the Pearl Awards and the nominees can be found at www.pearlawards.org.
mlejames@gmail.com
Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Nov 2008
