SPIRITSOUND Nominated for Dove Award
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) recently announced the 2012 nominees for the prestigious Dove Awards. Among the list of nominees was the Church of God Department of Music Ministries, recognized as the church’s music publishing trademark SpiritSound Music.
Their 2011 release, “Gone” was nominated for the Musical Of The Year category.
Produced by Larry Horrell, created by Geron Davis, and arranged by J. Daniel Smith, “Gone” is subtitled as “A Resurrection Worship Experience” and is designed to be an Easter worship celebration for choirs or worship teams. The Central Church of God choir, from Charlotte, North Carolina, is featured on the recording.
Davis, who wrote or co-wrote all of the songs in the project, is a two-time Dove Award winner. Regarding the nomination, Davis said, “I am so honored to be included in a group that is making such a difference in the earth for our Savior.” Other writers featured in the project include newcomer Evan Milby and well-known songwriter/worship leader Clint Brown, who co-wrote the title song with Geron Davis, who added, “Thanks to Dan Smith, Gerica Davis, Clint Brown, Evan Milby, Brent Brunson and Larry Horrell. You all were nominated with me!”
Although nominated for Musical Of The Year, “Gone” is designed to be budget friendly for churches as a general choral collection as well as a musical, if used in its entirety. Larry Horrell, Coordinator of Church of God Music Ministries and SpiritSound Music explained, “With current economic realities, most churches are very selective about how they spend their budget dollars. Our goal with this project was to offer a resource with great music for Easter that was also entirely appropriate for any other service all year long. Every song can stand alone as a choral anthem or feature by a worship ensemble.”
In addition to its multi-purpose design, “Gone” was also the first SpiritSound project to be released as an entirely digital product. While printed books and CD tracks are available, all of the projects components are available for download as well. The project and all its available components may be purchased by calling SpiritSound Music at 1-866-764-3875 or online at www.spiritsoundmusic.com.
The Dove Awards will be presented tomorrow night, Thursday, April 19 at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. This year’s nomination is the fifth in the Church of God’s long history of music publishing. The first was in 1990 when Pathway Music’s “Sing Noel,” by Lanny Wolfe was nominated for Choral Collection Of The Year, before the Musical Of The Year category was instituted in 1996. Two more followed in 2003 and 2008 when SpiritSound Music’s “Song of Praise” and “He Is Great,” both by Geron Davis, were nominated respectively. A fifth nomination came for “Inhabit the Praise,” performed by Christ Tabernacle Choir.
Regarding this most recent nomination, Larry Horrell said, “We are deeply honored by this nomination and we appreciate the Gospel Music Association’s recognition of our efforts to resource the local church. Considering how long the Church of God has been engaged in music publishing, you realize how rare and especially meaningful this is for our denomination.”
The Church of God has continuously engaged in music publishing entity since 1931, when the General Assembly chartered Tennessee Music And Printing Company and appointed Otis L. McCoy as Music Editor.
