Brett Raymond

Like many of his contemporaries, Brett Raymond is a man of many talents. Comparable in talent to Lex de Azevedo and Jay Richards, Raymond enjoys a successful career as a composer, arranger, singer/songwriter, and studio musician. And he's a true professional, earning his livelihood through his music. "Brett is a true professional musician," notes veteran producer Kenny Hodges, "unlike many of our Latter-day Saint artists who dabble at songwriting or playing an instrument. Brett does it all and he's one of the best. He makes a living at music...he's written music for all types of production, including songs that have appeared on TV and in films." Educated at Brigham Young University, Raymond received a music grant to focus his studies on composition. He has enjoyed considerable success in the media-composing arena as the composer of the theme for The Today Show and Wide World of Sports. He won several BPME awards for his work in Canadian TV. He has also released five solo albums, and his pop tune, "Angel's Gonna Find You," was featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 Greg Kinnear vehicle Dear God. Additionally, he recorded two singles on the Curb-MCA label with the band Souvenir. While he's enjoyed success in all his talents, he admits his first love is live performance. "I played in a band with him for a couple of years," notes another veteran LDS producer, Clive Romney, "and both his vocals and his piano playing energized everyone in the band. If I had to say just one thing about Brett, it would be that when he plays music, I smile both inside and outside!" The two met when they collaborated on an album and filmstrip series for the seminary program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "For years my favorite thing in this business has been performing live," Raymond says in an online interview. "I think it still is my favorite, but I truly love putting music to film. That's a close second." Some of his work for the media includes composing for promos and themes, which, he noted, can sometimes be quite frustrating. In one entertaining example, he relates the trials he went through to satisfactorily compose a 15-second promotional spot for a major cable network. "We had dissected the piece into five different movements," he relates, "and there were changes in some of those movements. The producer was so picky, and it took us so much time, energy, and frustration for 15 seconds worth of music!" He did eventually make the producer happy and has since moved on to other, more meaningful projects. His shares that his favorite composition is the work he did for his solo album First Light: Scenes From the Restoration 1820-1830, Volume 1. "It's the album I'm most proud of," Raymond admits. "If I had to leave any one project for posterity, that would be the one." He plans to release Volume Two of First Light sometime in 2001 or 2002, and is working on songs for this album while balancing his other many projects and fatherhood. "Brett Raymond is a hard person to describe," says Hodges, who met him in college, "but I would have to say he's joyously passionate. Brett has such a love for the music he writes and performs, a love for enjoying life, for his family, and he's really such a nice and happy person. His life reflects the joy and the passion he finds in his musical career." Deseret Book record label executive Laurel Christensen echoes the compliments for Raymond. "The best thing about Brett is his sense of humor. He's one of the funniest guys I know and he's completely down to earth." Deseret Book is the label on several of his releases. Raymond, wife Becky and their five children reside near the company in Bountiful, UT. ~ Dacia A. Blodgett-Williams