Sing Joy

*Sing **Joy! *is the upcoming debut album by Franklin Willis, who named the album because of the absolute joy he receives from singing. The album showcases Willis’ vocal ability yet couples it with musical variety in several genres of music including Blues, Samba, Folk, Jazz, Acapella, Soul, Spiritual, Medieval, and Traditional. Willis prides himself in “being able to bring musical diversity” into all of his performances in order to ensure there is “something for everybody”. Willis, a long time choral director and educator, says the inspiration for the album came from spending Christmas Eves with his family singing holiday classics such as Jingle Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Silver Bells, Joy to the World, and countless others. Led by his mother, he muses that “my most precious memories are from the Christmas season because it was all about family, music, and love. Singing those songs brought us closer together and created a family tradition that I have cherished for years.” In creating the album, Willis tapped into these memories and offered them in a stylistic way that exposes the versatility that is Christmas compositions. It is his hope that “listeners find not only joy from this album, but also peace, love, and laughter. Music is the pathway to the soul.”