FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2011
(615) 599-4497
CATHOLIC RECORDING GROUP, ANIMA, HOSTING NATIONWIDE TALENT SEARCH FOR THIRD MEMBER.
All female ensemble sings contemporary Catholic music and will release first album in 2012.
NASHVILLE, Tn.—When publishing house and record label ILP Music launched its Catholic Talent search in July 2011, it was seeking to fill roles for two groups Metanoia™ (a contemporary Christian band) and Caritas™ (a classical, acoustic ensemble). Over the course of the next few months, ILP’s talent management team along with CEO and President Vince Ambrosetti would hear countless auditions of vocalists, instrumentalists and songwriters from across the country.
“We had no idea the response was going to be so great, and we were absolutely floored by the amount of convicted talent out there who were looking for that right opportunity to share their faith through music,” says Ambrosetti. It was through this talent search that ILP Music filled the much coveted roles of Metanoia™ and Caritas™. Then something else happened.
“Once we began rehearsing, recording and getting to know the depth of our talent, we realized the imminent presence of another group somehow organically forming,” Ambrosetti says. This group became known as Anima™, Latin for “soul.” The group currently has two members: Anna Pizzi Cage of Indianapolis, IN and Heather Lannan of Peachtree City, GA. In speaking of the group, Vince says,
“To be honest, we couldn’t be happier with the two ladies we currently have in Anima™. We are currently recording their debut album and already planning ahead for public broadcasts of performances and concerts. The truth is, we think it would be a really exciting dynamic to add a third person to the mix; someone who has the right voice, personality and love of her faith in order to give this group the depth it needs to inspire an even greater number of people worldwide. We admire the Celtic Woman model, and there’s no denying that it has been successful. By opening up the search to a nationwide level, we are confident that we will find exactly what we are looking for to give this group that perfect, final piece of the puzzle.”
Sharing one’s faith through music is something Mr. Ambrosetti knows a little about. Having sung his song, “Sanctuary” at Mother Teresa’s funeral in Calcutta in 1997, Ambrosetti has enjoyed a long list of credits in the music world. He has been nominated for Grammys, recorded with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of London and composed, recorded, and by invitation of the Vatican, performed for the Blessed Pope John Paul II, the first English Mass setting ever sung at St. Peter Basilica in Rome for the 200th Anniversary of the Catholic Church in the United States. His music has been placed in the Vatican archives alongside the works of Vivaldi, Puccini, Verdi and Corelli. He was named Catholic Artist of the Year in December 2001, and has been honored with seven other Unity awards for his music.
It was this long list of credits that opened the invitation for Mr. Ambrosetti to host his own show on public television many years ago. “When I received the offer, I was deep into my several-year mission of living across the country and delivering parish missions to Catholic Churches nationwide. It was not the right time for me to stop what I had set out to accomplish, but I knew that I would always come back to the idea and revisit it at some point,” says Ambrosetti.
That point is now, and the idea has since evolved into a television program called Sacred Song Television™ where Ambrosetti will regularly feature not only Anima™, but also Metanoia™, Caritas™, ILP solo artists and the Sacred Song TV Choir, a 100-voice choir accompanied by many other talented Catholic musicians.
While all of this is stirring in the walls of Nashville-based ILP Music, female vocalists nationwide should begin preparing their audition videos and mp3s. Auditions can be submitted directly to heather@ilpmusic.org, through the online form at www.CatholicTalent.com, or posted to ILP Music’s Facebook Page. Please keep videos to a 3-minute maximum, using that time to deliver a brief introduction of yourself and sing whatever best represents you. Pieces can be original or cover titles. Bear in mind that ILP is looking not only for a talented soloist, but an individual who is also capable of blending well with two other unique voices. Every single video will be reviewed and considered, and select finalists will be asked to come to Nashville to audition in person for Vince and the ILP Music team. Auditions are open now and will close February 1, 2012. Those considering auditioning should be a quick study, capable of sight reading, intuitive with harmonies and creative interpretation of a musical chart and able to present music with innovation and conviction.
International Liturgy Publications (ILP Music) was founded on October 4, 1977 to do two thing: publish extraordinary sacred music, and enliven parishes throughout the United States and the world. ILP stands out in the Catholic marketplace as a publisher of sacred music dedicated to providing commercial broadcast quality recordings, hymnals of the highest standards designed to endure, scriptural, sacramental and theological content, fostering reverence toward God.
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