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Amy Osmond Interview
The Nativity CD
The other day I packed up the girls in the Rover and took a drive up this gorgeous mountainside through the town called Bountiful, Utah. We were on our way to see Amy Osmond. Amy is the oldest daughter of Wayne Osmond. She has become a well-renowned violinist here in Utah, as well as Branson, Missouri, where she soloed at the Osmond Family Theater. Amy also received the honor of being crowned America’s Junior Miss in 1994. She is a well-educated woman with a Masters Degree in English as well as an Undergraduate minor in music.
I took a couple of wrong turns because of course I didn’t have a pen to write down directions. So I call Amy on my cell phone to try to figure out which turn was wrong, what street do you live on again? What’s your house number? Finally I arrive at her home, with Amy standing at the door greeting us with her great big Osmond smile!
She welcomes us in and invites my girls to have lunch along with her two kids with this huge buffet of children friendly foods. Then off to the playroom we go with hers and mine to find some distractions for the kids so Amy and I could talk. There were so many toys my kids were suddenly in new toy heaven. Then Amy and I sat down to talk about life, children, goals, and of course, her new Christmas album, “Nativity.” I asked her just a couple of questions about it and she gave me the whole scoop.
B.O. “I’m so excited about this album, Amy. I got to listen to it and it’s so peaceful. My favorite songs were The First Noel and What Child is This. What were yours?”
A.O. “I’ve always liked Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel, and I also enjoyed recording Bring a Torch and What Child is This.”
B.O. “When and where did you record and how long did it take?”
A.O. “We recorded in June of this year at Lakeview Recording Studio with Steve Lerud and Greg Hansen. It took Cate and me a week to record all our parts. We went in to the studio pretty well prepared since we’ve been working on this idea for a couple years now.”
B.O. “Wow, a couple years, that’s amazing. How did the idea come about?”
A.O. “Well, Cate and I had met a while back here in Utah. Then we met again out in our church in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where we were living at that time. We performed together in church a couple of times and then I approached her with the idea to do a Christmas album together. She of course agreed that we should so we went from there. Almost every night we would get our kids down in their beds, then get together to work.
We chose carefully which songs we wanted to do, and then we worked on the arrangements. We practiced together and of course on our own until we thought we were ready in April. We postponed it until June, though, because she and I are both busy moms. Cate had just had a baby in February, and my Maia was still so young. So I think we timed it just right.”
B.O. “I think you did, too! I think most mothers out there know how hard it is to juggle our dreams and desires with everything else we do in life from taking care of our children and homes to helping others. You’re such a strong and focused woman to be able to do this. Now tell us a little about Cate Todd. How was it working with her?”
A.O. “Cate has been so easy to work with. She is a fabulous harpist and a great friend. Besides being a warm and dedicated wife and mother, she has quite a professional background with music. She already has a solo harp album “Passacaille.” Cate debuted as a professional harpist in the Kennedy Center. She has soloed with the Utah Symphony and most recently the Susquehanna Chorale. Studying with the best teachers, such as Susann McDonald and in Tokyo with Shinichi Suzuki, has brought Cate’s talent so far. I feel very fortunate to be working with such a talented musician and just an incredible person. Amy will be appearing on a number of shows if you live in the area and would like to catch her. Here is a list of the shows, dates, and times you can see her: Salt Lake City’s Joseph Smith Memorial Building
Salt Lake City’s ZCMI Center Deseret Book Store
Utah’s Channel 2 Morning Show
Utah’s Channel 4 “Good Things Utah”
Utah’s Fox 13 “Good Day Utah”
The North Hampton House in American Fork, Utah at 200 West 300 North
Be sure to check your local radio stations this holiday to see if they’re playing “Nativity.”
Amy will also be featured on Branson’s Hometown Radio, for all of you that are heading out to Branson this Christmas season to see Amy’s dad, Wayne, performing there with the Osmond Brothers.
If you don’t have this great album yet, be sure to add it to your holiday collection by buying here online at our own Osmond.com Store.
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