At first, Jenny Phillips wanted to do something about the last weeks of Christ's life.
"That story is so powerful," she says.
But the more she got into it, the more she began to see it through the Apostle Peter's eyes. "I fell in love with his story. He took me on the journey with him."
So Phillips, who sees music as one of the most powerful storytelling devices, ended up with a CD/musical project called "The Miracle," told from Peter's perspective.
"One reason I love him is because he is a person we can all relate to," says Phillips. "He was a humble fisherman. He was weak and impetuous at times. He was not always the unfaltering person he became. We can change and become stronger, too. The wonder, the power, the change. That is 'The Miracle.' "
On her CDs (she now has seven), the focus is on the theme, not the artist, she says. On this one, local artists such as Jenny Jordan Frogley and George Dyer perform some of the songs.
Phillips has also put together a 100-member choir to sing both on the CDs and for musical productions built around them. These productions include narration and multi-media aspects as well as the music.
It's a formula that has earned Phillips not only accolades but also a busy schedule. She currently performs more than 200 times a year across the country and throughout the world and has become the "most-requested" LDS recording artist.
She will debut her production of "The Miracle" tonight at Cottonwood High School. Joining Phillips will be artists from the album, including Dyer, Frogley, Katherine Nelson, Dallyn Bayles, Hayley Anderson and the choir.
Phillips began her career in 1999 with a self-released CD. She is now on Deseret Book's Lumen Records label. "That first project was artist-driven, but I realized that I wanted to go in a different direction. I wanted to tell stories."
Subsequent CDs focus on the biblical parables and the Mormon pioneers. She has done a couple around Young Women's themes. She actually started this one before her pioneer "Journey." "But it was such a powerful, deep story," she knew she needed to devote more time to it. "I've actually been working on it for years."
The most rewarding part, she says, is taking the music to people and places where they might not otherwise get it. Phillips and her crew pay their own way. "We get all these e-mail requests, but most of them can't afford to pay for us. We use the proceeds from the albums and pick up the rest."
They have traveled to Japan, Mexico, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and just returned from Australia. This summer, they will visit Samoa. In each location, "we translate the music into their language and sing it. With some, we've recorded CDs to give out." About 15 choir members go on each trip.
Because Phillips' husband is the narrator for the show, "we get to take the whole family (they have two daughters, ages 4 and 5). It works out really well," she says.
Phillips feels passionate about sharing music, in part because she grew up in a small town in California where there weren't a lot of opportunities for musical training.
"When I was 6, my mother brought home some gospel-music tapes, and I listened to them over and over. I felt their power, and I would sit at the piano for hours trying to create that power. I feel like I was given a gift to feel the power of music. "
That gift is what she wants to share. "Amazing things happen when you make yourself available to the Lord," she says. "To see where I began and to see where I've been taken since then is an overwhelming blessing. It is an incredible opportunity to share a message of love and hope — especially when you see that message change the lives of the people you perform for."
If you go . . .
What: "The Miracle," Jenny Phillips
Where: Cottonwood High School, 5717 S. 1300 East
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $10-$12
E-mail: carma@desnews.com