Behind the music

Read the inspiring 'crossing over' story behind the making of Kathi Wilson's music CD 'Nothing Will I Withhold...'


Kathi Wilson has been writing and performing songs inspired by the Holy Spirit for all of her adult life. She has recorded several CDs of these amazing songs, but to be honest, they were always done on a shoe-string budget (almost no budget actually), and the sound quality just wasn’t very good.

Nonetheless, friends and family made the CD’s prized additions to their music collections, listening to the beautiful and powerful songs over and over again.

With the family together for Christmas, Kathi handed out a CD of new music. It was simple, just Kathi singing and accompanying herself on piano, the first recording she had made since her operation.

Over a year earlier, Kathi had been suffering from severe shooting pain. She was diagnosed with deteriorating vertebrae in her neck, which was causing pinched nerves and resultant chronic pain. The only solution was potentially dangerous surgery, putting Kathi in a very vulnerable position. Beyond the usual dangers associated with spinal surgery, the doctor was going to have to operate through the front of her throat, moving her vocal chords in order to repair the problem -- clearly an unnerving prospect. He explained that her voice could be damaged in the process, potentially leaving her unable to speak for the rest of her life. That brought Kathi to her knees. Much like Abraham willingly bound his precious son and laid him on the altar (Genesis 22:2), she prepared her heart to sacrifice whatever might be lost, if it was the will of God.

With the prayer support of family and friends, the brilliant work of her surgeon, and above all the faithfulness of the Lord, Kathi came through the surgery with miraculous results. The pain was gone, her neck returned to full strength and even the scar on her throat virtually disappeared. Amazingly, Kathi’s singing voice came back even stronger and more beautiful than before.


The songs that Kathi had recorded for a family Christmas gift had come out of that crossing over experience. After hearing the CD for the first time, Bryn Williams (Kathi’s brother) was impressed with how anointed it was. Listening a few more times, he was persuaded that the album had to be professionally produced.

All ten songs were diamonds in the rough, each strong in its own way, forming a complete album with a natural progression from song to song, taking the listener through a transformational experience from beginning to end.

Something that struck Bryn, and many others who listened to the CD, was the way the songs seemed to take up residence in the listener’s heart and mind. Many were listening to the album over and over again, day after day. Young children were singing the songs to their parents, and knew all the words to the songs.

The songs relaxed people, making them feel better, ministering to them, and connecting them at a deeper emotional level to a spiritual experience sometimes hard for them to explain. There was a power and beauty experienced that seemed to have a transcendent, supernatural effect. The songs brought them into closer communion with God, cutting through the clutter and stresses of everyday life. The music seemed to become internalized, coming back at different times to encourage and support them. Like an anointing oil, it flowed to the places in their lives that needed healing, insight, or comfort. Many reported the feeling of being changed and somehow 'worked on' by the Holy Spirit from within as they listened.

Bryn felt a clear call to make sure that the album would become a powerful vehicle for the Lord’s purposes.

As a businessman having no experience producing music, Bryn approached a professional producer who had made Grammy Award-winning albums with a number of Christian artists. The producer thought the music was something special, and was interested in taking on the project, but the costs to engage him to produce the album independently were beyond the means of the family.

After an assessment of the situation and much prayer, Bryn decided to produce the album, intent upon finding a way to achieve a professional result within the limited budget. Depending on the Lord for guidance and inspiration, Bryn and Kathi embarked on the project.

First onboard was John LeVasseur, owner of Sound Design Music Studio, a state of the art recording studio in Lancaster, PA. John believed in the music. He became a creative collaborator and the technical foundation for the project. A talented musician himself, John performed synthesizer parts that completed the orchestration of the songs.

John suggested that Kathi talk with David Cullen, an amazingly gifted professional guitarist who has played on Grammy Award-winning albums. David met with Kathi, but at first had reservations. After hearing the music the next day, though, David called to say he was 'in'. He joined the team, bringing his inspired magic to the project.

Working with only a chord chart, David opened himself to play what the Holy Spirit led him to play. Most of the guitar tracks on the album are first take recordings that just came to David. He played several guitar tracks for each song, and the bass tracks as well. Since he was one person playing several parts, they all had to be done one at a time, oftentimes with limited correlation to each other in the overall context of the song.

It was later, in the mixing stage when all the guitar tracks were put together and arranged, that it was revealed how amazingly well they worked with each other, the piano, and the vocals. It could not have come together more perfectly if every note had been written ahead of time. It was apparent that the notes had been written in David’s heart, and he had delivered them through inspired surrender.

Kathi asked her daughters, Hannah and Hadassah, to sing background vocals on the album. They have sung with Kathi at all kinds of concerts, worship services and revivals since they were very young. There is an amazing ‘genetic’ compatibility to the way their voices blend together. And there is beauty, spirituality and powerful emotion that only a mother and her devoted daughters, committed in their faith, can bring to Kathi's songs.

As producer, Bryn directed the project and financed it. Despite having no prior music production experience, the role came naturally as he got into it. With his hi-tech systems engineering and project management background, he quickly became comfortable with the software and music crafting process in the studio, developing innovative techniques in the mixing and mastering processes to achieve the desired musical results. As a musician (drummer), he had the musical instincts and 'ear' needed, and knew intuitively the results he was looking for in the studio. Working with talented people, supported by the Lord's guidance and provision, the vision for the album was achieved.

We all loved working on this album. The experience changed us. We feel blessed to have been a part of it. We pray that the music ministers to you the way it has to us.

Kathi has written hundreds of wonderful songs over the years. We look forward to going back into the studio to make more albums as 'Nothing Will I Withhold...' finds a larger audience, financing production costs.