The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada.

History

GMA Canada is created in 1974 in Ontario with Covenant Awards. At the beginning, it was mostly for

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. Over the years, all styles of

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

have been included. In 2008 the association released a special three-CD collection to commemorate its 30th anniversary, the '' GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection''.

Mission

GMA Canada works to raise the profile and interaction of Christian artists, songwriters, producers, promoters and others working in Christian music with media, retailers, distributors and church leadership.

Management

The business of the association is conducted by a board of advisors drawn from its membership. The current board consists of Gregory J. Strom (president), Gordie Cochran, Jaylene Johnson, Melayne Shenkel, and Clarence Giesbrecht. GMA Canada is loosely associated with the Gospel Music Association in the United States.

Awards

GMA Canada is the presenter of the annual Covenant Awards, Canada’s national awards for the Canadian gospel music industry. The 2012 awards were presented November 7 as part of GMA Canada Week in Burlington, Ontario. Awards were handed out in 50 categories, including the GMA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award and the newly created Scott's Parable

Canadian Gospel Music Song Hall Of Fame Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

.GMA Canada
COVENANT AWARDS
, Official Website, Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2017

GMA Canada Song Hall of Fame

* "The

Huron Carol The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the ...

" (2012) Written in 1643 by Jesuit Missionary Jean de Brébeuf The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") was admitted to GMA Canada Song Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of its inaugural year. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people under the original name of "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, He Is Born"). The melody came from the traditional French folk song "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton. They became public domain in 2011. The song has been recorded by many Canadian artists including

Lianna Klassen Lianna Klassen is a Canadian Christian Celtic and Christian New Age-influenced musician, songwriter, speaker and worship leader. A Juno Award nominee and GMA Canada Covenant Award winner, Klassen has released seven albums to date. Her compo ...

, Cheryl Bear, Bruce Cockburn, Crash Test Dummies and

Tom Jackson Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

. * "Come, Now Is the Time to Worship" (2012) Written by Brian Doerksen in 1998. Doerksen, was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia in 1965 and is an internationally recognized worship leader and songwriter known globally for a string of well known modern worship songs including "Refiner's Fire" (1990), "Faithful One" (1998), "Hope of the Nations" (2003), "Holy God" (2006), and "Today (As For Me and My House)" (2004). He was recognized by the Gospel Music Association in the United States in 2003 with a special Dove Award for International Artist of the Year (only the second Canadian to be recognized), and has won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

and multiple GMA Canada Covenant Awards. "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" became his most recognized song, being sung in churches around the world. It has been recorded by

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

, Phillips, Craig and Dean, VeggieTales and many others. * "

My Jesus I Love Thee My Jesus I Love Thee is a poem written by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old, although one source says he could have been just 12 years old. The first two lines of this poem are nearly the same as a hymn wri ...

" (2012) The hymn "My Jesus I Love Thee" was written as a poem by

William Ralph Featherston William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875) was a Christianity, Christian hymnwriter who wrote the poem My Jesus I Love Thee. He is believed to have written the poem at the age of either 12 or 16 years. In 1876 Adoniram Judson Gordon, Adoniram Gordon ...

in 1864 when he was 16 years old. Featherston was from Montreal, Quebec and was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Montreal (later renamed St. James Methodist Church, then St. James United Church). He died in 1873. Music was added to the poem after Featherton's death in 1876 by Adoniram Gordon. The song has been recorded by hundreds of artists including The Wiebes,

Paul Baloche Paul Joseph Baloche Work ID No. 884337863 ISWC No. T9126089325 ( ; born on June 4, 1962) is an American Christian music artist, worship leader, and singer-songwriter. A native of Maple Shade Township, New Jersey,Price, Deborah Evans. "Higher Grou ...

, Amy Grant, Avalon, Capstone and Selah.

GMA Canada Covenant Hits Compilations

* ''

27th Annual Covenant Hits 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

'' (CMC, 2006) * ''

28th Annual Covenant Hits 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

'' (CMC, 2007) * '' GMA Canada presents 30th Anniversary Collection'' (CMC, 2008)

References

External links

* {{Official website, 1=http://www.gmacanada.ca Gospel music associations Music organizations based in Canada