New Music: Anne Marie David

Friends and fans of Anne Marie David often use the same word to describe both her and her music: angelic. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Anne Marie is the composer of multiple piano scores for religious presses including Augsburg Fortress Publishers and Abingdon Press. Her broad ministry of liturgical music includes directing and teaching, as well as serving on the faculty of the Boston College School of Theology's Summer Institute.

The radiant purity of her voice and piano arrangements raises her newest album Turning Home to new heights. The album includes a mix of original songs, including the inspirational piano instrumentals she is renowned for. Four songs feature her soaring soprano. "Home to Stay," "Child's Simple Praise," "Skating at Twilight," and "Missing You" were written with long-time collaborator Sara Hunter .

Listen to "Child's Simple Praise" here:

Listen to an another composition at the end of the article.

These songs bring to light the joys of childhood as well as the heartbreak of transitions. Says Anne Marie, "It is about the spiritual journey of building home in our hearts."

The title track of Turning Home was conceived as a prayer for all those serving in harm's way. The melody of "My Country ‘Tis of Thee" is gently woven throughout. Anne Marie describes it as her "prayer for all mankind to turn toward better answers than warfare to solve our problems." She explains, "The more convinced we are of God's love for every person on earth, the sooner we will find our way back home, both literally and spiritually."

Home is a topic dear to Anne Marie's heart. One of ten children, raised on a farm in rural Minnesota, she was forced to reinvent her sense of home when transplanted to Boston to pursue her musical career. Her song "Home to Stay" references this period of transition as she sings, "New starts can break my heart." Written for her late father, Notre Dame football star, Richard Cotter, the song depicts the importance of home and family.

"Skating at Twilight" shares a parallel message in a touching waltz composed with co-writers Sally King and Sara Hunter. Under the skilled supervision of world-renowned producer, Bill Elliott , who has worked with artists as diverse as Bonnie Raitt, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Nicks, Michael Feinstein, and John Lithgow, Anne Marie's compositions soar. Backed by a talented acoustic trio that includes Duke Levine (Aimee Mann), Kevin Barry (Paula Cole), and Mike Rivard (Shawn Colvin), her vocal and piano arrangements have been transformed into tightly crafted works of art.

With Turning Home , Anne Marie hopes to expand her platform of religious music to embrace an even broader audience of all who hold home and family sacred. Patheos caught up with her on the eve of the album's release.

So how excited are you to release your fifth studio recording?

I'm thrilled. Each album is a labor of love and this one is no exception. Because of Bill's veteran producing skills, I had the luxury of focusing all my attention on making music rather than worrying about the technical aspects of capturing the performance. After previous solo albums, the chance to play in the studio with this trio as well as violinist Melissa Bull and flutist Dominic Trumfio was a dream come true.

How autobiographical is the album?

This album comes from a deeply personal place. Many of these songs were written in the wake of the sudden tragic loss of my dad and our family home. But now I've lived with the music, been healed by it, and taken my time with it. I'm ready to release the songs without a feeling of heaviness.

What was the reaction of your family when they first heard "Home to Stay"?

Well, to this day, anyone close to my family can't listen to this song without it being an emotional experience. My lyricist, Sara Hunter, captured the scene exactly of our old upright piano, my dad in the rocking chair where he rocked ten kids and multiple grandkids, and rested after a long day's work. I was floored when I read Sara's lyrics for the first time because it was our first collaboration. She took three pages of notes as I poured out my heart, and then, somehow, came back with verses that fit the music and exactly described my emotions. That felt magical to me.

You talk about your music being cathartic for you but how important is it that your music has also been cathartic for others?

Nothing moves me more than hearing how my music has inspired others.

It's my ministry in a way. Just recently, a father and his young son approached me after mass and shared that the boy was inspired to take piano lessons after listening daily to The First Morning . The dad choked up because the boy is the first member of the family to ever play an instrument.

A choir member shared how she was soothed by my Peace Be With You during the labor and delivery of her first child. What an honor to accompany someone's journey into the world!

And I imagine in your role as music director in several parishes, you've helped those on the other end of the human journey.

Yes, actually, the most moving example of this for me was a dear elderly family member in New Orleans who requested my music to keep her company before she passed. I can't think of a higher purpose than being asked to accompany someone in transition.

I'm also honored that my songs are featured at Tributes.com , a new website for memorial tributes posted by friends and families.

How did your childhood nurture your love for music?

I grew up in a household full of music since my mom, Beverly Cotter, was a Theatre and English teacher who taught us kids piano. One of my first poems was about the piano being like a best friend who's always there for you. I remember drawing a picture of my piano next to the poem.

We had an enormous organ with the big Leslie speakers and a grand piano in the living room, an upright in the kitchen and I had a banjo-playing brother. We didn't really listen to radio and watched little TV, but music was a big part of every day life. We'd sing together as we did the dishes to make the chores more fun, and I'd even get out of helping if I sat and played the piano, which was much more fun. In the morning, as we'd get ready for school, someone would be practicing, or my mom would play classical records. Mom was the cantor at our local church for 16 years, and one of us kids always accompanied her. Three of us continued on the musical path she forged for us.

Another thing that helped foster creativity was the freedom of being outdoors. Playing in the woods and fields surrounding our home was a great source of inspiration and influence in my early life. That's why the piece "Sacred Land" was important to include on this album. It's about the land my Irish great-grandfather settled in Minnesota - the land I grew up on, the fields my father, uncle, and grandfather farmed. The lyrics of "Missing You" refer to the Christmas trees my father cultivated on this land and plaintively asks the question of who in the next generation will continue the work.

Could you describe your partnership with your husband, who is also a gifted musician, JoJo David ?

JoJo and I met through music. We were in a songwriters' group at Berklee School of Music and became great friends. At that time, I was playing Sunday night Masses at Boston College. When B.C. needed another music minister, I knew just the person. JoJo was a guitarist and a cantor for me. Everyone in our choir seemed to know we were falling in love even before we did! We've been making music together ever since. JoJo has his own career and ministry, as I have mine, but we support each other in every way. Although we each have our own websites, we have a joint record label Arrhae Press , named after the Filipino coins we exchanged as part of our wedding ceremony.

By far our most important collaboration is the raising of our daughter Madeline who is the joy of our lives. I think my favorite day in my entire married life was watching Madeline's face last summer as we stood on the field at Fenway and she watched JoJo sing the national anthem before the Red Sox game.

In addition to your recordings and your music ministry in an active suburban Boston parish, I understand you have published many of your religious piano arrangements.

Yes, my collection of hymns for piano, Here I Am Lord , is available from Augsburg Fortress Publishers as are all the arrangements from my album The First Morning . Notating is slow going but I love knowing another pianist will make the song his or her own and share my music with a wider audience.

What do you hope your listeners gain from the songs on the new album?

My hope is they'll gain a sense of calm and be touched by a memory of home that brings a smile or maybe a tear. I just love Sara's lyric on the first track of the album, "Child's Simple Praise": "May I stop long enough, in the rush of my days, for the senses to hush with a child's simple praise." If this album inspires a pause in a busy day to remember to feel gratitude, it will have accomplished its purpose.

Listen to an additional piece by Anne Marie David, "Holy, Holy, Holy", here:

For more information on Anne Marie's music, please visit annemariedavid.com .