Camille Aagard was in the middle of a recording session in Nashville when she thought, "Pinch me."
She couldn't believe that it was really happening, that she and three other women were actually there, recording an album of contemporary inspirational music, working with some of the biggest names in town.
Maybe that's why they chose Providence as the name of their group. There's something very providential about the way it all came about, they say.
That story began four years ago when Aagard was driving her car and listening to some bright, upbeat music, and the thought hit her like a lightning bolt. "I have to create that sound."
She took her idea to the music folks at Deseret Book and said, "Let's get four women together and make the kind of music I like to listen to, not just on Sunday, but all during the week — music that is upbeat and inspirational, but not overly sentimental."
"We liked that idea," said Laurel Christensen, of Deseret Book. "So we began auditioning women. We were looking for women with chemistry — not just with each other, but with women everywhere. We didn't want four cookie-cutter women, but women with some life experience."
In addition to Aagard, the search found Kelly Shepardson, Katharine Matis Adams and Kerilyn Johnson. "Then we forced them to become best friends," Christensen said, jokingly.
And the women have become fast friends, says Aagard, finding they have much more in common than just a love of music. For one thing, they are all mothers. (Adams was actually single at the time of the auditions, and joked about being the "token single woman." She has since married and is now expecting her first child.)
Among them, they have 11 (and 2/3, counting Adams) children, and many of those children come to the weekly practice sessions. It gets to be quite a zoo sometimes, said Johnson. "But that's who we are. Just a bunch of moms doing our thing."
There have been sacrifices, said Johnson, but they have learned "that it's all about staying balanced."
The women have strong musical backgrounds. Three of the four did what they call "the BYU route." They went to school at Brigham Young University, where they majored in music or musical theater, performed with the Young Ambassadors and other groups. Aagard is the lone University of Utah graduate, and she also sang in the Salt Lake Children's Choir and at Lagoon.
Their life experiences have fueled their desire to sing positive, upbeat music, they say. For example, Aagard's oldest daughter, now 5, was born with Angelman's Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes severe delays in cognitive, physical and emotional development.
Shepardson's husband was laid off in a downsizing move two years ago, and she has had to work full-time.
Adams has suffered the sudden, unexpected loss of her brother.
Many of the songs on their debut CD can be inspiring at times like that, they say — songs with titles such as "Keep Breathing," "You'll Get Through This," "His Love Is a Circle" and "Falling Into Freedom's Arms."
Several of the songs were written by Steve Siler, a Nashville singer-songwriter who also produced the album. And that's breaking new ground, said Aagard. "Most of the contemporary inspirational music released locally has been produced locally."
A lot of contemporary Christian artists don't want to work with Mormon artists because there are still some biases out there, said Aagard. But she credits Deseret Book's Tyler Castleton, who served as executive producer on this project, with forging relationships. Down the road, they might think about taking their music to a wider Christian audience, "but we have to win over the local audience first."
Adams did professional work in California and New York before coming back to Utah. "I was in 'Savior of the World,' and I realized it was more rewarding than working with all the big names. It's not about the prestige of the show, it's about how you are using your talents, and I knew I was uplifting people."
That's the strength of this group, said Christensen. "They know where their priorities lie. They know they can't go out and share their message with other women if they are not living that message themselves."
E-mail: carma@desnews.com