The Music Ministry of
Gretchen Harris

Gretchen Harris, UCMVA's two-time "Female Vocalist of the Year" nominee, is a Catholic singer/songwriter whose music expresses her love for God, the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary, and sanctity of Life. Songs from her four CDs can be heard on Catholic and Christian radio stations in the United States and many other countries, in addition to the worldwide radio outreach of EWTN.

Gretchen Harris:
Singing to the Lord with joy, gratitude and deep love
by Susan Bailey

Gretchen Harris lights up a room when she enters. I remember thinking that when I saw her at the Catholic Association of Musicians conference this summer.  She shines with inner joy and light. She’s what I would call a ‘girl’s girl,’ reveling in talk about the latest episode of Project Runway, or talking about her children and her husband. She’s petit and pretty with a delightful sense of humor, but behind all that is a woman with a deep faith, discipline and strong sense of purpose. It’s no wonder she is the three-time nominee of the Unity Awards’ “Best Female Vocalist” prize, and a winner this year. She has earned that through her hard work and pursuit of excellence to glorify our Lord. Her latest CD, Sing to the Lord is another in a long list of efforts to serve and glorify God through song. I had a chance recently to interview her and ask her about this wonderful new project.

GV: What inspired you to put together your latest album, Sing to the Lord? What personal connection do you have with the songs?

GH: It was definitely the Holy Spirit who inspired this latest album. I was gathering songs and discovered quite by accident that every one of them contained lyrics that were sung TO God, as opposed to being about Him, or addressed to anyone else... Hence the title, "Sing to the Lord." My albums usually have a theme, and this is a theme I hadn't addressed yet, having done two albums in honor of Mary, one for Christmas, one for healing, and one about faith. So for this album, it was clear that it was time to sing our praises right to Our Lord God!

GV: Who did you work with and how did you assemble all the fine musicians that you have on the album? 

GH: For this album I was blessed to have Carl Herrgesell as producer. Carl is Kenny Loggins' pianist and vocalist and has been a studio player for many years in Nashville and L.A. He is well-connected with lots of friends in the industry, so he did all the hiring of the players. For the most part, the band is Kenny's band, which is also Keith Urban's band... They're all friends who play and tour together on a regular basis. A real treat was having Chris Rodriguez play guitars and mandolin on several of the songs. I had seen him in concert so many times through the years playing for Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. Now he's always with Keith Urban, so I still get to see him on TV. I just love his singing and the way he plays guitar. He's very expressive. I wasn't there for his sessions, but we chatted on the phone. I think I kept my cool, but inside I was freaking out!  : )

GV: Working with Matt Maher, Robert Kochis, and Carl Herrgesell must have been a thrill. Tell us how you all got together to do these duets.

GH: The duets were done in varying levels of togetherness. I met Matt Maher, (may I say I love him?), at Tom Booth's house while he was recording his album "Overflow." My songs were all chosen and vocals done, and he chose "Prayer of St. Francis" to do as a duet. He then recorded his vocals in Arizona, then I later re-did mine in L.A. to better mesh with his, as I hadn't recorded it thinking "duet" at first. This way I got to adapt more to his style and his ad libs, so we sound more together in the finished product. 

I first heard Robert Kochis sing when we were taping shows at Familyland Television Network. The second he opened his mouth I thought, there's my singer for "Ever So Gently!" I had loved that song for years but hadn't found the right male voice yet. He came to my neck of the woods to do his vocals, and I was weeping, sitting right next to him, when he sang. His performance was very moving.

And Carl Herrgesell is just so soulful! He makes it look so easy. Well, it IS easy for him, actually! What a great vocalist. He was producing and it was late in the recording of vocals, so we just wanted our duet to be casual and fun... We ended up recording vocals at my house! Afterwards, he played piano for my family and friends - he gave us a beautiful concert of Kenny Loggins songs. We also sang some of my new ones for them too. Then we had a yummy BBQ next door... it was a great day.

GV: Tell us a bit about your family. How long have you been married, how many children do you have?

GH: My handsome hubby Craig and I will be celebrating 17 years of marriage next month. We met in high school, and in my diary, I wrote "I talked to Craig Harris ALONE for the first time!!!" Obviously he made quite an impression, even though neither of us ever remember speaking... Anyway, it's cool because that conversation happened on November 10th, and we got married on November 10th thirteen years later! We didn't even know about this "coincidence" until recently, but it sure makes us feel that we were meant to be!

We have three children, Allyson, Amy, and Matthew. Amy sings with me a lot, and I'm blessed to have her join me in concert.

GV: Can you describe the key moment in your life when your faith became real to you? What made you decide that making music for the Lord was your calling and when did you decide this?

GH: My faith was always a big part of my life since I was a little girl. I have always loved Jesus and Mary. I prayed the Rosary on a daily basis in Junior High and wore a scapular beginning in High School. I was always involved in church; it was home. I had been blessed with a deep faith and with equally deep experiences of it, so I had a firm foundation in the rough times. Shortly after my grandpa died when I was young, I had a vision of him, and he looked so beautiful and young and happy... That carried me through my own father's death later on... I just know it's all true, so it's a way of life.

I sang in the youth choir since age thirteen, and gradually did more and more solo work. It seemed they always gave me these great songs that would make people cry, and I really loved that. If they didn't cry, it wasn't working...  : )   Well, I went to Medjugorje in 1991 and felt a call loud and clear to move beyond the boundaries of my parish and record albums to minister to Catholics in order to encourage them to pray more. My motive was to help Mary as she was always begging for people to "pray, pray, pray!" Just a couple of months after we returned, I had met with David Harris and signed to do my first album. That was fifteen years ago, and six albums later, I believe it was probably the right thing to do.

GV: Gratitude and joy seem to be key elements of your faith and you exude these qualities when other people find that difficult.  What's your secret?

GH: My whole life is one of gratitude! I was adopted as an infant, and I have always felt that God just picked me up out of a bad situation and carried me in the palm of his hand, plopping me into a new family that would be awesome... I feel completely blessed in everything, and deserving of absolutely nothing, especially when one looks at one's worst failings... Still, the love and mercy of God have carried me through and blessed me time and time again... I just want people to see that forgiveness is available, we just need to ask, and healing is right around the corner. With healing comes joy, and with joy comes love, love in action. So, it's all good in God.  : )

GV: Is your ministry full time? Do you have a day job besides being a wife and a mother?

GH: Full time music ministry has been my life. My degree was in Business, and I worked downtown while I was single, but I started recording soon after we were married, so it's pretty much been constant. I travel alone a lot for the ministry, and it all requires so much time. I try to concentrate only on the children and my husband when the school day is done, so during their school day, I go to Mass, Rosary, Adoration, prayer groups... I see my vocal coach and work on the ministry. It seems I'm
always behind, but we survive.

GV: What do you do when you just want to have fun? What special interests do you have?

GH: My own interests all have to do with music and faith. Other than that, I love to have fun with Craig and go to my children's practices and games. Life is full and good! ! †