In May of 2001 a small group of people began holding Christian Science
Sunday services on the south side of St. Louis. It was a precious group
of people, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to drag out my guitar
from my college  days and do a little singing in this informal setting.
At first I would arrange hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal to sing.
Then I tried writing new musical settings for words from the Hymnal. Slowly
I began setting familiar Bible passages to original music and finally one
day I decided to attempt setting a Bible story to music and the result
was the song "Jairus' Daughter" (click to hear
a sample). This led to many more Bible stories and Bible passages
set to music, and now there are over 50 of them in existence, with more
on the way.
The congregation seemed deeply touched by the solos that were being shared,
simple as they were, and in fact they asked me if I might make a recording
of them so that they could enjoy them more often. So in early December
of 2002, only a few weeks before Christmas, I contacted a friend, Peter
Stevens, and arranged for four hours of recording time in his home-studio
to make a Christmas gift of 13 songs to share with family and friends.
This first offering, "Sweet Sacred Solos" was
without a doubt lacking in polish and  refinement, but it was, after all,
just going to be a gift to a small group of friends, and I had to work
fast to get it produced, copied, and ready for Christmas-giving.
The response from these gifts was nothing less than astounding to me.
People seemed to be greatly comforted and to even find healing in these
folk hymns, and soon there were requests for "Sweet Sacred
Solos" coming from all corners of the US and even a few other
countries. By this time, our Informal Group had become a Christian Science
Society, and two friends from my college days who were music majors with
me, Sue and Carey Loomis, were sharing the solo duties
with me.
Carey took over most of the guitar playing, I continued to do most of the writing and Sue supported with harmonies and recorder interludes. Thus the Solo Committee came into existence.
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 Encouraged by the responses to "Sweet Sacred Solos," we recorded another CD for family and friends called "Grateful Hearts Unbounded." It's a compilation of some of my solos and some of the work of The Solo Committee.
For Christmas 2003, we produced "Peace Be Still" to
share, and it includes 16 songs, all of which are performed by The Solo
Committee. These songs had their start as church music, and many tell Bible
stories. Some  are thoughtful, some are upbeat, but all emphasize God’s
loving, healing presence.
In 2004 we released our "kids" CD called
"3
Steps and a Bounce."For this CD, we wanted to tell stories kids
could enjoy, do some teaching of Bible basics like the Ten Commandments
and The Beatitudes, and talk to kids about how they can pray. We
were blessed to be able to include many of our own children in this effort.
Sue and Carey’s kids all came: one son played the bass, another
did  percussion, and their daughter chimed in with added harmonies. Susan’s
kids were all involved too: two daughters lent their artistic talents
with watercolors for the cover and photos for the liner, and a third
daughter provided the most precious gift of her son’s voice introducing
the title song, “3 Steps and a Bounce” (click
to hear a sample).
All of our music has one and only one purpose and that's to heal and comfort.
We hope that as you listen you feel wrapped up in the music as though it
were a blanket of Love or a hug from God. It's our great joy to share it
with you.
And in 2005, we were so pleased to release, "I Am
Holding You." What's so special about this Bible-based group  of songs
is that they speak from God's perspective: "I Am Holding You," "I
Will Comfort You," "I Will Pour Out My Spirit," "With Me." We're
convinced that this CD will bless everyone who yearns to feel their
tender oneness with the all-loving Principle of the universe.
Susan Mack, Sue Loomis, & Carey Loomis
The Solo Committee
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