Faith in the Key of Contemporary Classical: Veritas Bring Their New Sound to Christian Music (An Exclusive Interview)

Following in the footsteps of the Three Tenors, Il Divo, Il Volo and Jose Carreras, Veritas brings a fresh, dynamic twist to the contemporary classical genre. Since their official debut concert in Albany, Georgia in September 2012, Veritas - which multi- talented members include Jeff Anderson (first tenor), James Berrian (baritone), Andrew Goodwin (second tenor), Jordan Johnson (first tenor) and Lucas Scott Lawrence (bass) - have performed more than 200 shows everywhere from Washington, DC and Atlanta to Colorado, Tennessee and Alaska. Now headlining regularly at Performing Arts Centers and diverse venues across the country, the group has a full tour lineup scheduled throughout 2014 and 2015, including a special holiday performance at Carnegie Hall. 

Working with Fair Trade Services, Veritas will be releasing their brand new self title album on September 9, 2014.  The album  will focus on a message of faith, hope and love that is the group's foundation. Some of the songs on the new record include "The Lord's Prayer," "10,000 Reasons,""Agnus Dei," "I Can Only Imagine" and "You Never Walk Alone."  We are so honored to be able to catch up with them for this exclusive Hallels' interview.

Hallels:  Thank you so much for your time.  You certainly have an interesting and unique sound trying to give a contemporary edge to where classical and Christian music meet.  Is this an apt description of your sound?  How did you develop your own brand of music?

Yes! We describe our sound as contemporary classical, which is something new to Christian music today. Our style of music really is inspired by the musical backgrounds of the each of the five guys. All of us have been classically trained, yet we each have a unique musical style. Scott and James are both the "legit" singers of the group, meaning they have a strong classical background and style to their voice. Personally, I am more of a mellow singer with a strong musical theater background. Jeff has a soulful, high tenor voice, and Jordan is the rocker of the group. This blend of styles is what creates the sound of Veritas.

Hallels:  Who would you say helped you in shaping your own sound?  Who are some of your musical heroes you look up to?

We've had input from many people that has helped us develop our sound to what it is today. The visionary behind Veritas is Dr. Roger Breland, founder of TRUTH, and currently the Vice President of Project Development and Executive Dean of the Center for Performing Arts at the University of Mobile. He is the one that started it all for us. Others that have poured into us musically and spiritually are Jason Breland at Grace Baptist in Knoxville, Larry Harrison at Second Baptist Houston, Philip Keveren and Kent Hooper (producers of our new album), and all the team at Fairtrade Services (record label). 

I grew up listening to Christian music, so some of my personal musical heroes are Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael  W. Smith, Mark Schultz, MercyMe...

When I was in middle and high school I was a HUGE MercyMe fan, (I still am) and actually I was embarrassed to sing in front of people. Ironic now that I do that for a living, but regardless I was embarrassed. Well the first song that I ever performed in front of an audience was the MercyMe song "I Can Only Imagine" so it is so cool, and kind of has come full circle for me, that we put that song on our new album.

Hallels:  Tell us a little about your journey, before you were known as Veritas you were known as Shofar.  How did that change come about?

4 out of the 5 members of Veritas went to the University of Mobile. We sang together there in a group called Shofar. UM's mascot is a ram, and shofar is the rams horn. Shofar was a group that only sang at special events and big venues for the University, and the style of music was classical. In 2011 Dr. Roger Breland put on the Truth 40th anniversary tour and the guys of Shofar which included myself, Jeff, Jordan, and Scott sang as the male vocal line for that tour. During the concert Shofar would step out and sing a song, it was the vision and goal of Roger Breland to send Shofar out on the road full time after the Truth anniversary tour was over. Once the tour ended we did just that, we asked James to come and be a part of the group making the group 5 members, and we changed the name to Veritas. One reason for the name change was so that the name Shofar could stay at the University since it goes so nicely with their mascot. 

Hallels:  I absolutely love your upcoming new album.  You have quite a well range of material from traditional pieces to hymns to contemporary worship songs.  How did you end up with this collection of songs?

Selecting the songs for the new album was no easy task. We knew we wanted to have a blend of contemporary and classical music since our style is just that. We also wanted to sing songs that were familiar, songs that people know and love. We wanted people to look at the song list and say, "I love that song." It was definitely a joint effort between the five of us and the team at Fairtrade. James Reuger, our A&R guy is amazing and really guided us through song selection. I described our musical style and background earlier, and I think that this new album is a great representation of who Veritas is as a group and as individuals. There is something for everyone on this album. 

 Hallels:  I am just thrilled to hear your version of Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons."  Why did you choose this song?

 Something that the live Veritas concert was lacking was a true moment that the crowd could participate. A lot of our music is big and has epic orchestrations and huge vocal arrangements, so it isn't very "audience sing-a-long friendly" We knew we needed a moment that we could invite the crowd to sing and worship with us. 10,000 Reasons is a song that we knew we could stay true to our classical style and still have that participatory moment. The lyrics of the song are also very powerful, and it's a song that everyone knows and loves.

 Hallels:  Are there songs on this new record that you feel strongly about?  And why?

Several songs on the new record stand out to me. Agnus Dei is one of those, it is for me the most worshipful moment on the album. Another is our song, An American Anthology. This song kind of jumps out on the album, but it was very important to us to have a song that honored our Veterans and those currently serving in the Military. Personally, I have many family members that have served including both of my Grandfathers who were WWII and Korean war Veterans. Lastly, I'd say that The Hand That Holds The Storm is a song that I believe is going to encourage a lot of people. This is a new song that has a strong message. It is important to Veritas for the listener and audience member to know that we may "look" like we have it all together, but in reality we are walking through the same hardships and storms that they are. When people come to see a Veritas concert we want them to hear good music and feel encouraged, but we want them to see that we represent them. We have stories just like they do, and that the storms in our lives were put there for a reason, and the same hands that raised the heavens are the hands that will pick us up when we fall. Those same hands that put those storms in our lives will lead us through. 

Hallels:  For our readers who may want to find out more about you or where you are performing or purchase your new album, where can they go?

Our album will be available in all major Christian bookstores (Lifeway, Family Christian..etc.) on September 9. It will also be available at Barnes and Noble and Walmart. Fans can purchase the album online via Amazon music, iTunes, and also at www.veritasfive.com 

 

 

Tags : veritas veritas interview veritas hallels interview veritas new album veritas news veritas 2014 veritas christian album veritas contemporary classical