Faith Rivera
Faith Rivera (born Esther Faith Rivera in Waimea, Hawaii) is an American singer-songwriter. Rivera founded the independent record label and publishing company Lil' Girl Creations in 1996.
Rivera learned to play the piano in the first grade at her alma mater Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, Hawaii, and wrote her first song at the age of 13. She joined an all female band called APB under the instruction of Brian Albus, owner and instructor of Rock Works School of Rock in Hawaii. Rivera performed at local malls with her band from the age of 14 to 18. She then attended the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, CA and transferred to the Cal State University in Long Beach where she attained her BA in Commercial Music.
Since graduation, Rivera has been a prolific writer, mostly in the genre of New Thought Music. Rivera's original music has been featured on TV shows like Hawaii 5-0 & ER and with authors/teachers like Marianne Williamson to Jack Canfield. She has sung with Luther Vandross to Neil Young and wowed audiences from the Hollywood Bowl to the Honolulu Symphony, the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, Australia to Peace concerts from Tokyo to St. Croix and most recently worked as the music director for the Awakened World Conference in Italy.
Rivera performed in her first musical in 2011 alongside an all-star cast including Shirley Jones & Betty Buckley.[1] "The Real Love: A New Musical" was created with the poetry of Supreme Master Ching Hai and set to music by Oscar & 5-time Emmy winner Bill Conti (“Rocky”), 2-time Oscar winner Al Kasha (“The Poseidon Adventure”), Emmy nominee Doug Katsaros, Tony & Emmy winner Don Pippin (“Oliver!”), and Oscar & 2-time Grammy winner David Shire (“Baby”).
Rivera is most passionate about causes & organizations that are committed to peace & sustained abundance for all. She serves as a Peace Ambassador for Fine & Performing Artists for World Peace and was named the 2008 Biggest Giver for Humanity Unites Brilliance that provided food, water, education & micro-loans to women and children around the globe. This year Rivera received the 2012 Grace Note Award [2] honoring her contribution to the New Thought movement.
Awards
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Kumbaya" | Dance Song of the Year - Just Plain Folks [3] | Won |
| 2003 | "Forever Near" with John Henry Kreitler | Emmy Award - Outstanding Original Song - Passions | Won |
| 2006 | "Colors of Praise" | Most Uniting Song - EmpowerMA Posi Award | Won |
| 2006 | "Vision" | Contemporary Song - Just Plain Folks | Nominated |
| 2006 | "Song of One" | World Song - Just Plain Folks | Nominated |
| 2006 | "Suncatcher" album | New Age Album of the Year - Just Plain Folks [4] | Won |
| 2007 | "Kumbaya" | Personal Transformation Song - EmpowerMA Posi Award | Nominated |
| 2007 | "Standing As One" with Conneta Johnson | Most Uniting Song - EmpowerMA Posi Award | Nominated |
| 2009 | "Stand Together" with Harold Payne | Most Uniting Song - EmpowerMA Posi Award | Won |
| 2010 | "God Is" | Most Healing Song - EmpowerMA Posi Award | Nominated |
| 2011 | "Together (The Truth)" with Shawn Gallaway | Most Uniting Song - EmpowerMA Posi Award | Nominated |
| 2012 | Honoree | Grace Note Award - Unity Worldwide Ministries | Won |
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | In Search of Faith | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2001 | Faithgroove | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2003 | Wonder | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2005 | Suncatcher **JPF New Age album of the year | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2007 | Maluhia ~ Everyday Peace | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2008 | Raise Me Up | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2011 | Let It Out | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2011 | The World is Waiting for You (Book & CD) | Lil' Girl Creations |
| 2012 | Where I Live There Are Rainbows | Lil' Girl Creations |
References
- ↑ "The Real Love, A New Musical with Betty Buckley, Shirley Jones", www.thereallovemusic.com, 2011
- ↑ "2012 Grace Note Award Recipient", unityworldwideministries.org, 2012
- ↑ "2002 Just Plain Folks Music Awards Song winners", jpfolks.com, 2002
- ↑ "2006 Just Plain Folks Music Awards Album winners", jpfolks.com, 2006