Mission buddies release LDS recording

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    By AMY KNUDTSON

    Singers/songwriters Justin Young and Chris Sorenson will perform Friday night at 7 p.m. in 151 TNRB.

    Sorenson, a junior from Virginia majoring in social work, and Justin Young, also from Virginia, met while serving in the Colorado, Denver South Mission.

    During high school Sorenson realized he wanted to write music to inspire others. He enjoyed expressing himself through poetry and wanted to be able to share his feeling and thoughts with listeners.

    In the meantime, Young was working on writing music. He was active in the Screen Actors Guild, and by the age of 14, had co-written a musical titled “The Wise Man and the Princess,” which was produced by Old Dominion University in Virginia.

    When they met, Sorenson gave Young three of his poems, and three weeks later, Young had set them to piano music. They spent the rest of their missions getting together on P-days to collaborate their talents.

    “I was amazed he had such talent. I just knew we had to do something with it,” Sorenson said.

    They began working together whenever they had a chance and continued their songwriting after their missions.

    In January, they recorded their first CD, “Just For Me,” a collection of Sorenson’s poems and Young’s melodies. The album has a Christian influence, but they feel it is different from other LDS music.

    All of their songs come from personal experiences and life situations they feel youth can relate to.

    “I always have my pen with me; some of the best songs I have written are spur of the moment and are written on napkins,” Sorenson said.

    They said they would like to be able to influence the youth for the better.

    “We feel LDS artists have a hard time connecting with the youth. In our CD’s we want to hit them with a sound they are familiar (with) and they like,” Young said.

    Though they want to target the youth, they feel their sound can also cross over into the adult contemporary category. But even more important than the type of listeners, they want their messages to touch the receiver.

    “This experience has been a dream come true. We can only hope our music can reach people and they enjoy it,” Sorenson said.

    Tickets to their performance are $3 and can be purchased in 3326 WSC (formerly ELWC) or at the concert.

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