March 19, 2024

Heikkila, Hembry record Christmas album

Christmas is for Kids available now

After spending the year developing their music, friends Dani Heikkila and Mark Hembry have joined forces to record and produce a Christmas album for their family, friends and fans throughout the community.

Heikkila, a Newton High School senior, was a recent contestant on American Idol where she made it to Hollywood and created a fan base back home. Heikkila has a talent and passion for music and performance.

Hembry, a Newton resident and musician, had been working in a band with Heikkila since her return from American Idol. He wanted to make an album and asked her to be the lead vocalist on a new project.

“Making this album was a lot of work and it was definitely a learning experience for me, as I’d never done anything like this before,” Christmas is for Kids producer Mark Hembry said. “I’m glad Dani was able to do this with me because not only is she a talented vocalist, but I knew she’d gained quite a local following.”

Not only did the album give the two an opportunity to bring joy and the holiday spirit to listeners of the album, but a bigger opportunity to help bring joy and the holiday spirit to a group of kids in need.

Hembry thought a holiday album was a great way to raise money for a special group of children at Angel Tree.

Angel Tree is a branch of Prison Fellowship Ministries which focuses on the innocent lives of children who are affected by their parents crimesand are often left with feelings of abandonment and shame. Angel Tree helps mentor these children and give them gifts for Christmas to make their holiday a better one.

“All the profits of this album will go to kids who parents are incarcerated and help bring them presents this Christmas,” Heikkila said.

The album features a selection of 11 Christmas classics including Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Silent Night, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, Mary, Did You Know, Joy to the World, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Winter Wonderland, O’ Holy Night, O’ Come, All Ye Faithful, and How Great Thou Art.

Heikkila found Mary Did You Know to be her favorite song on the album, she said, because it is a very meaningful song and deserves a lot of emphasis and emotion.

Hembry found O’ Holy Night to be a favorite in the production process, he said, because it’s his favorite Christmas song and because of the outstanding vocals.

“Dani really nailed it, of course, she did a great job on the rest of them as well,” Hembry said.

Local guitarist and vocalist Nick Knudsen was also featured on Winter Wonderland.

“It was a hard project to keep up on but in the end it was really worth it. I’m just really happy Mark asked me to join him on this,” Heikkila said.

Christmas is for Kids can be found at the Newton Hy-Vee customer service counter, or electronically on iTunes, amazon.com and cdbaby.com/cd/daniheikkila. The link can be found on the Dani Heikkila Facebook page.

Contact Kate Malott at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or kmalott@newtondailynews.com.