by Emilie Ast
Brianna Dyer may be an award-winning singer who recently landed a contract with a leading Catholic recording label, but she doesn't let it go to her head.
“My friends were really excited,” she said after she won a Unity Award for New Artist of the Year Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C. “They're like 'Brianna, you're famous! We knew you'd be famous!' I'm like, 'No, you guys.'”
In fact, the Mounds View [Minnesota] High School junior is busy enough with the church choir at St. Odilia in Shoreview, the school choir, school musicals and speed skating three times a week. Dyer, 16, has performed in a Christian band, In Spirit, with her dad, John Dyer, and a couple other musicians for about three years.
John Dyer, an engineer at 3M, writes most of the songs, and In Spirit released a CD in 2000.That CD found its way to HeartBeat Records in Donnellson, Iowa, which calls itself “the first recording company in the USA to bring contemporary Christian music to people within the Catholic faith.” HeartBeat recorded its first album in 1988 with the Irish singer Dana.
Someone from HeartBeat called John Dyer in August and said they wanted to sign Brianna. “He came home and told me,” she said. “I was really shocked and surprised. I couldn't believe it!” HeartBeat began to distribute the In Spirit CD around the United States. Another surprise came when she learned that the United Catholic Music and Video Association had nominated her as New Artist of the Year for the second-annual Unity Awards. Brianna and her family – she's the second oldest of John and Peggy Dyer's four children – traveled to Washington, where she presented an award and won in her category. She was one of six nominees. “It's so cool to get rewarded for something that's so much fun,” she said.
Another cool thing was getting to meet Christian singer Dana, who, among other things, gave Brianna some tips on using the microphone on the award podium. “We talked. It was exciting,” Brianna said.
Brianna, who also performed on EWTN's “Backstage” series this spring, said the band has not yet recorded anything with HeartBeat. “We're thinking about maybe making a new CD in the spring.”
Locally, she continues to perform with her dad and the band. And like most teen-agers, she hasn't decided exactly what she wants to do after she graduates. “I want to go into music, and I want to keep singing and keeping this whole thing going,” she said.
For ordering information visit the HeartBeat website or call 1-800-433-3262.
This article originally appeared in The Catholic Spirit, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, and is reprinted with permission.
