Faith, Hope, and Love is a collection of faith based inspirational music created to offer healing to a hurting world, and awaken souls to the light and beauty within that connects us to our creator and savior and act as a witness to his ever present love, power, and presence in our lives. Before you is what I hope will come across as a fresh blend of Inspirational faith based songs spanning the traditional LDS market with a refreshing infusion of Contemporary Christian songs, a collection of hymns, familiar favorites and some brand new music with a few unique artistic interpretations sprinkled in from the duo medley songs New Jerusalem/Let The River Run or I Need Thee Every Hour/His Eye Is on the Sparrow, to my unique rendition of a Jessie Clark Funk favorite “Clay in His Hands” combining two voices and two languages in my Spanish/English duet with Rebecca Lopez Penailillo. In addition to all the newcomers, you may recognize the voices of Tanya Barkdull, Tammy Simister Robbins, Johanne Frechette Perry, and LaRene Tinny from the group One Clear Voice, or the signature guitar stylings of the amazingly talented Michael Dowdle, or the familiar award winning musical arrangements of Greg Hansen. So plug in the CD and sit back and listen reading how this all came to fruition, while scanning this extensive collection if you like. OK, blending Contemporary Christian with traditional LDS Hymns, or producing a compilation album is not exactly a “new” idea, but I’m hoping that bringing in so many fresh new unheard voices, pushing some of the boundaries of what an “Inspirational Album” should sound like, and combining well known vocalists, studio musicians, songs and song writers with newcomers to the industry, and using various producers and arrangers with their own unique stylings will somehow appeal to a wider audience and introduce new talent to the local industry. With as many songs as we could possibly fit onto one disc, and nearly as many feature vocalists singing everything from feature solos, duets, trios, quartets, and even five part arrangements, using a combination of touching ballads, familiar hymns, a little pop and country flavor, and yes just a tiny hint of edginess, I’m hoping that even if everything on this album is not for everyone, that everyone will be able to find something that touches, lifts, or inspires them. Although I was born in Los Angeles, and have lived in and seen my share of the big cities, performing for many years all venues of music from Tuxedo bands playing everything from Jazz, Country, and Rock and Roll, to live musical theatre, around the San Francisco area. I’m really just a small town girl, the daughter of a dynamic woman minister, and living in Tooele, raising my family, while trying to maintain my full time business career at a company in Salt Lake City. When all this started, producing an album was so far off my radar, it had never even crossed my mind in my “entire” life. But after a crushing year of one tragedy after another for our immediate and extended family, including near death illnesses, unemployment, the loss of my in-laws family business and home, my brothers incarceration in prison for having cut off two of his own son’s fingers in a drunken struggle over a knife, and in about 12 short months my world went from perfect and secure to spinning completely out of control around me. About the point I had exhausted all of my personal mental, emotional, physical, and financial resources, maxed out my credit cards, and sold just about everything of value, and not much closer to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I realized there is no way I can fix this on my own. In exhaustion and desperation, I hit my knees and told heavenly father he had my full and complete attention and I was not moving from that spot until he told me what he wanted from me. After a long emotional yet quiet period on my suffering worn out knees, I heard two simple words ring out of the silence - “recording studio…”. Exhausted and now extremely confused, I literally looked to the heavens with the most puzzled and incredulous look on my face. What!? I could hardly breathe, I offer unconditional surrender in a desperate moment, and THAT is the response! Wondering if I was losing my mind, I waited and pleaded for something, anything more to go on, but nothing followed. When my aching knees could stand no more, I finally got up and exclaimed indignantly, “fine”- “I’ll keep my eyes and ears open”. Over the next two plus years the most amazing miracles unfolded one after the other, from my finances and husbands employment stabilizing not just enough to pay my bills, but to fund the entire album production, my father in law recovering from two incidences of being truly more dead than alive due to complications from cancer, an awakening within my brothers soul, and a healing of our relationship, not only me but my husband and two children were baptized and sealed in the Temple, moving quickly through my callings to becoming 1st counselor in the Relief Society Presidency, meeting and working with some of the most respected professionals in the local industry, and even being rewarded with a once in a lifetime family trip to Europe at the conclusion of the album inspired by our recent genealogy and temple work, and funded (I believe) by God, due to my newly and heartfelt found testimony of tithing and serving the Lord and our Brothers and Sisters. I would literally have to write a book to document all the miracles I’ve experienced and witnessed in the last couple of years. But let it suffice to say that this was Heavenly Father’s project from the first moment, hindered only by my complete lack of knowledge in the area, my myriad of insecurities, failings and shortcomings, my many distractions, and the amount of time that I needed to gain faith, and testimony, and grow spiritually enough to handle each promotion as he placed the challenges before me and picked me up when I stumbled, placing loving, wise, accepting, knowledgeable, mentors in my path every step of the way to make sure I would not get lost in the darkness. Having brought the music as far as I personally can within my ability, I now send it out into the world with the hope that He will touch the hearts of those who listen, fill in any remaining gaps, and it will offer healing to a hurting world, comfort the lost and broken hearted, uplift and inspire those of us enduring to the end, awaken souls to the light and beauty within that connects us to our creator and savior and act as a witness to his ever present love, power, presence, and influence in our lives. Enjoy and God Bless, Nancy DeMello