Bio

QUICK BIO FACTS:
- Currently working with Grammy Award winning Producer Charlie Peacock
- featured in CCM magazine's Indie Spotlight
- Produced and wrote every song on her first cd and sold close to 2,000 cds in the first year of the release of "God Sees" independently
- featured in Eugene Weekly, Register Guard newspapers for her success as an independent artist
- Has had songs on Christian Radio Weekly Indie Radio Singles Discs 3 times
- "God Sees" made it to the number 1 spot on IndieHeaven.com Radio Chart and others have been in the top ten multiple times.
- Nominated for 3 Momentum Awards with Indieheaven.com 2007
- Won the Momentum Award for "Inspirational Artist of the Year" with Indieheaven.com

Anna Gilbert is a completely independent, self-produced, and self-composed artist. Her musical exploration began at a very young age when her father and mother introduced her to the piano and singing. One of her favorite past times as a child was making up songs while her father played simple chords on his acoustic guitar. Anna's childhood was one which thrust and immersed her into the very core and heart of song writing. Her parents played in a blue grass band and sang in a quartet, and her father was a music major and teacher before becoming a pastor and worship leader. It was at her church in Eugene, Oregon that she gained much of her musical experience singing and performing in church choirs and small musical groups.

It was in elementary school that song writing became one of Anna's first loves. After winning an award in the fifth grade for her song composition in a state wide competition, Anna knew she had a strong passion to move people through the medium of music and worship.

Throughout Anna's teenage years, she developed a large repertoire of song compositions. She began filling up notebooks, journals, slips of paper, and cassette tapes with lyrics and song ideas. A poet at heart, Anna's love for writing and composing kept her up many nights of the week. At just age 15 she began publishing and copywriting her worship choruses and her church of over 3,000 people began singing them on a regular basis. It was then that she also began to lead her church in worship services from the piano. However, her major and monumental decision to devote much of her life to song writing and music was inspired by Michael W. Smith while watching his Christmas concert one evening in Portland Oregon. The beauty of his music, ministry of the artists performing with him, and vibe of the show inspired her to strive for musically creative ways that could touch the hearts and spirits of people. She never wanted to merely perform songs for the sake and sole-purpose of entertainment, but rather touch their hearts through creative melodies and fresh lyrics. She left the concert with a fire and inner-drive to expand her imagination and write songs with subtlety and character.

She began incorporating motifs within her songs reflecting upon her life experiences, struggles as a Christian, problems in relationships, insecurities, and friendships. Anna wanted to avoid the cliche pop world and find a way to be truly authentic.

Listening to artists such as Sarah McClachlan, Chris Rice, Ginny Owens, and Norah Jones for inspiration, Anna gathered her best songs in order to record her debut album. At just age 20 she began the recording process in a small studio in Eugene. Without the funds to hire an arranger or producer, Anna embarked on her project with only a couple friends to help her do the arranging and producing. She finally had a finished product a year later in 2003 and released her CD God Sees in Eugene and Portland on an extremely local and independent level. Without a website, marketing capabilities, or major publicity, God Sees sold 1,000 copies within the first 6 months of its release. As the word spread and the buzz grew, she began being invited to sing and lead worship at churches and events in Oregon, Washington, and California.

Anna has now sold 2,000 records independently, and is in the process of creating her sophomore project. All of her music is available world wide on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, and many more legal digital distribution sites throughout the UK. She currently leads worship at her home church and plays in a touring Youth Worship Band on occasion.

Another one of Anna's loves is writing. Recently graduating with a degree in English, she enjoys reading and writing poetry and reading books. She will often incorporate many of the motifs from her poetry within the lyrics of her music. She hopes to one day teach English at the High School Level.