BETWEEN THE LINER NOTES

The Annie Moses Band: More than a Namesake

By Mia Evans
The 700 Club

CBN.com – They are five extraordinary musicians from the same family tree with a sound all their own. They call it chamber pop, a spicy blend of classical, jazz, and pop mixed with some good ole fashioned country.

“My name is Annie. I sing and play the violin, and I just turned 23.”

“I’m Alex. I’m 20, and I play the viola.”

“I’m Benjamin. I play the cello, and I am 18.”

“I’m Camille. I play the harp and the piano, and I’m 15.”

“I’m Gretchen. I’m 13, and I play the mandolin and the violin.”

The youngest member of the Nashville group is nine-year-old Jeremiah. He plays a mean banjo and the classical guitar.

Their parents Robin and Bill Wolaver round out the group on vocals and piano. These award-winning Christian songwriters pen the music that leaves audiences breathless.

Annie says, “Annie Moses is actually my namesake and the namesake of our group, and she is our great-grandmother.”

Annie Moses worked in Texas as a hired field hand in the cotton field. She did her best to nurture the musical gifts in her daughter. Those seeds of faithfulness and loving sacrifice blossomed through the generations.

The Lord gave Annie’s granddaughter Robin a divine idea in college.

Robin says, “We had some Suzuki violinists that came and played in our music survey class. There was a little-bitty girl from Asia, and she was so tiny and cute. She had a violin… God spoke to me at that point and said, ‘When you have a little girl, they should do that.’”

Having a band with six kids certainly wasn’t in their plans.

“We didn’t have any idea this would happen,” says Bill. “We did want a large family and wanted to have children.”

Annie says, “As each child came of age, our parents really prayed and considered our talents and our personalities to determine what the best instrument would be. Things just kind of grew gradually from there.”

Around four years old, they each began lessons at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. During those early years, the children accepted Christ. Their parents encouraged them with prayer, patience and one-on-one practice sessions.

“Eventually practicing becomes like homework,” Alex explains. “You didn’t want to do it anymore than you do your homework. But mom’s rule was always you can quit anytime as long as you’re not down. You have to quit after you’ve had something extremely successful happen -- a competition you’ve won or a performance. But when that happens you never want to quit.”

Their discipline paid off. Annie, Alex and Benjamin studied at the Julliard School of Music on scholarship. During that time they felt a God-given desire to form a family band. They never looked back.

Ben says, “It’s just so much fun playing with my siblings. It’s just a really invigorating experience.”

“I have just learned so much about Jesus and trusting in Him through this process,” Annie says. “We grew up reading all these wonderful Psalms where it talks about praising Him with the strings and playing skillfully. So hopefully we will be able to make His praise glorious.”

The Annie Moses Band has released several albums and performs 100 shows a year. At the end of the day, they’re still family.

Anne says, “The Annie Moses Band is really a celebration of four generations of that legacy of faith and family and music coming together and hopefully creating something that’s a very powerful message for our generation.”

Want to learn more about the band? Chat with them live tonight!