The Musicians Who Recorded "You Are an Angel"

The Young Musicians*
(in alphabetical order)

Charlotte

Charlotte was in sixth grade and twelve-years old when she recorded the distorted guitar part near the end of "You Are an Angel". The guitar part is critical, acting like an opening salvo that signals the start of an intense crescendo that builds to the climax of the song, with the words:

". . . if you stumble and fall, sing like your soul's filled with light. Follow your heart!"

Jeff Anvinson asked her to produce a sustained sound (each note lasting right up until the next one), and after a little bit of practice, Charlotte was able to complete the task perfectly.

Claire

Claire was ten years old and in fifth grade when she recorded the vocal part in the middle of the song, singing these lyrics:

"A brook follows along its well-honed bed, yet we remake our path to start anew."

Claire's voice was ideal for the song because Jeff Anvinson wanted a young girl to sing a duet with a boy (see Simon's bio below). This part of the song is meant to sound somewhat like a children's choir singing in a church or other spiritual setting.

Simon

Simon was in seventh grade when he recorded the vocal part in the middle of "You Are an Angel", a duet with Claire. This part of the song expresses the belief that we can individually forge unique ways to navigate through our lives, solving vexing problems that no one could solve for us.

Simon showed up prepared for the recording session and acted like a pro. After a few takes, it was done. He has sung on two different recordings produced by Jeff Anvinson. Singing seems completely natural to him.

*Last names withheld to protect families' privacy. Parents' permission obtained to use children's first name, age, grade, and a photo on this website.

The Composer, Producer, Recording Artist and Engineer

Jeff Anvinson

Jeff Anvinson sang the vocal parts (except in the middle of "You Are an Angel"), played the classical guitar parts in the middle, and used synthesizers to play the piano, organs, harpsichord, bass, percussion, and other keyboard parts. The latter parts were literally played by computer software synthesizers, following the music Jeff composed for them. (He uses a pain-staking process that gives these sounds a quality as "human-like" as possible.)

Aside from projects like "You Are an Angel", Jeff plays and teaches guitar and piano (other music subjects too), and owns and operates JLA Music, a private teaching and other music services company in East Grand Forks, MN. He has been performing for more than forty years in the US, China, and Canada, and has done several recordings on other artists' records. He also occasionally performs singing telegrams in the area.

You can read more about the process he used to create "You Are an Angel" on the Composer page on this website. In addition to this website, which he created and maintains, he created and maintains other websites: his business website, www.jlamusic.com, a website to promote the guitar music (downloadable for free) of Brazilian composer Ernst Mahle, www.emahle.com, and his personal website, www.jeffanvinson.com. He lives in East Grand Forks, MN.

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