Lianna Klassen is a Canadian Christian Celtic and Christian New Age-influenced musician, songwriter, speaker and

worship leader Contemporary worship is a form of Christian worship that emerged within Western evangelical Protestantism in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the charismatic movement, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many ...

. A Juno Award nominee and

GMA Canada 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 Award The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in Ca ...

winner, Klassen has released seven albums to date. Her compositions are

chants A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

and meditations on the themes of

praise Praise as a form of social interaction expresses recognition, reassurance or admiration. Praise is expressed verbally as well as by body language (facial expression and gestures). Verbal praise consists of a positive evaluations of another's att ...

, prayer and

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

. Stylistically they have also included Christmas carols, contemporary praise, country music and Christian folk. Notable songs written by Lianna include: "Song for Canada", "I will Not Be Silent" and "Song of Declaration." Klassen was born on August 25, 1961, in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

and has been based out of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and most recently,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec. Lianna was a worship leader at Northview Community Church in Abbotsford for several years. She wrote her first

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

song at the age of 14 and has been performing since the age of eight. Klassen is married and has three children. Her son Jordan Klassen is a singer-songwriter.

Discography

Songs on compilations

* ''Window of Hope'', "Song of Declaration", "Doors and Windows", "Listen to the Sound" & "Salvation" (Gospel Music Foundation, 2002) * '' Sea to Sea: I See The Cross'', "You Are God And You Are Wonderful" (CMC, 2005) * ''Sea to Sea: The Voice of Creation'', "Celtic Blessings: You Are The Peace" (CMC, 2007) * '' Sea to Sea: Christmas'', "Huron Carol" (Lakeside, 2009)

Notable appearances

* duet with Graham Ord on: "Like Joshua of old", on his album: ''Regarding the Maker'' (Knewsense Records, 2005)

Awards and recognition

;

Covenant Awards The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in C ...

* 2001 Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year: ''Love In the Ruins, Hope In the Wasteland'' * 2001 Inspirational Song of the Year: "Song for Canada" * 2005 nominee, Inspirational Album of the Year: ''Out of Borderland'' * 2007 nominee, Folk/Roots Song of the Year: "Celtic Blessing" * 2007 nominee, Inspirational Song of the Year: "I Am" * 2007 nominee, Instrumental Song of the Year: "Repentance Lament" * 2007 nominee, Folk/Roots Album of the Year: ''The Guest'' * 2007 nominee, Album of the Year: ''The Guest'' * 2011 Inspirational Album of the Year: ''Songs For The Journey – The Story Goes On...'' ;

Juno Awards 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 ...

* 1999 nominee, Best Gospel Album: ''Listen to the Sound'' ;Shai Awards (formerly The Vibe Awards) * 2002 nominee, Female Vocalist of the Year * 2002 nominee, Contemporary/Pop Album Of The Year: ''Love In the Ruins, Hope In the Wasteland'' * 2002 nominee, Worship Album of the Year: ''Love In the Ruins, Hope In the Wasteland'' * 2002 nominee, Song of the Year: "Song for Canada" * 2003 nominee, Female Vocalist of the Year * 2003 nominee, Inspirational Album Of The Year: ''Once Upon A Time Forever After'' * 2004 Seasonal Album Of The Year: ''Once Upon a Time Forever After'' * 2004 nominee, Female Soloist of the Year * 2004 nominee, Song of the Year: "The Women's Song" * 2005 nominee, Female Vocalist of the Year * 2005 nominee, Inspirational Album of the Year: ''Out of Borderland''

References

External links

*
Lianna Klassen's Official German home page
Retrieved 2008-11-01.
Lianna Klassen's MySpace
Retrieved 2008-10-18. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klassen, Lianna Living people 1961 births Musicians from Vancouver Canadian Christians Canadian folk musicians Canadian women singers Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian performers of Christian music Canadian Mennonites