'Music has power to heal, but God is the author of healing'

A Winnipeg Christian artist and music therapist is releasing new music, hoping to draw listeners closer to God.

"I've been recording at Steve Bell's studio downtown here and I've got three songs coming out. I'm so excited," says Danielle Savard.

The first single to hit airwaves on September 3, 2021, is titled 'Gently.'

"I wrote this song earlier this year when I was actually at a retreat centre. I had a lot of time to myself, to reflect on my life, just be in silence and solitude. This song came to me when I was thinking about how grateful I have been for having done a prayer program a year prior on discernment."

Savard says during that time she learned how to hear from God. 

"God's voice stills and calms and convicts. I discovered He gives us deep peace when He's showing us His will and the way for our life. His voice doesn't cause fear or agitation or confusion."

The single talks about God's voice being gentle. As the Bible verse in 1 Kings says, it's a still small voice. 

"I work as a music therapist in a nursing home. Songwriting has really been something that has helped me get through a lot of dark moments during the pandemic. That's where music and my faith collide."

Savard works with people who have Alzheimer's or dementia, playing music for them. On top of releasing Christian music as an artist, she has been doing music therapy for four years. 

"The whole point of the profession is to use music as a tool to reach a non-musical goal. I help seniors with memory recall, decreasing agitation and depression, and I'm also trained in neurologic music therapy."

She took specialized training in Toronto and uses neurologic therapy on people who've had a traumatic brain injury or stroke. 

"It's really cool how music can heal you. I've had clients that have lost the ability to speak because of a stroke. Even though the left side of the brain that processes language that's been damaged from the stroke, you can actually pull from the right side of the brain which processes music and reteach the brain how to speak again through singing."

Savard sees her work in music ministry and therapy as a career and hopes her music has a positive impact on listeners as well. 

"Music has the power to heal, bring people together, and lift the spirit. What I personally love is when faith and music collide because that is where true healing can happen. Music has the power to heal but God is the author of healing."

The following two singles from Savard will be released later in 2021.