Katie Fritz

Music has always made Katie feel at peace. "It's what I like to do after an amazing day or after a discouraging one. It was always an outlet for me to express myself in a way that I couldn't otherwise do." Now her lifetime interest has led to the production of her first CD.

Katie remembers making up songs before she could even write. She wrote songs when riding on the tractor with her dad, playing outside, or while sitting inside. "Everything was a song to me. If there wasn't one I could think of, I made one up. Sometimes I just sang my thoughts." When she was able to write, she would make up lyrics to prerecorded songs that were on her grandma's keyboard.

In middle school, she began singing in front of people at church and in her school's music programs. She and her cousin began playing music together, and it was then that she became more interested in her own music. During her high school years her writing really took off, but she was hesitant to share her songs with others. "I just wasn't confident that they were 'good enough.'" She recalls. So she continued to sing different places but mostly other people's songs.

In college, one of her best friends was a recording major. One day he asked to record her. Though she always felt it would be awesome to record a CD, she was surprised when he asked her. Her dream was beginning to unfold. She trusted him with her music like no one else; he supported and encouraged her-offering a lot of great insight and ideas for her music. She felt that it was a safe place to open up and share her music. Being vulnerable did not feel threatening with him. They recorded numerous songs together and, after he graduated, she continued to record with two other friends.

College offered many opportunities for Katie to share her music. She performed for her college's Pre-Exam Jam, talent shows, Bible Study, FCA, and was invited to perform at the home of Barton College's president on several occasions. "It wasn't necessarily the performance that I loved," states Katie. "I was sharing my songs with others because if one person could relate and was affected by them, then it was all worth it."

All of Katie's songs have a story. Her ideas and inspiration come from the Lord. Many times the songs just "write themselves" in just a few minutes. Other times she will get part of a song and the rest will come later. One of her songs, "Loved," is about a friend who struggling with depression, cutting herself, and cancer. "It goes through the stages of what she struggled with until she came to the realization that she was good enough…that she really was loved-despite her view of herself." The friend was given months to live and was sharing with Katie details of what she wanted at her funeral. "It just didn't sit right in my spirit," Katie said. "I told her that we believe in the God of the Bible. God did miracles then and if he's still God…he can still do it!"

After visiting with her friend, she was driving home when the song came to her heart/mind. She turned off the car radio and began singing the lyrics. She remembers saying, "Great Lord, that's awesome, but how am I going to write them down while driving on I-95?" Just like that, the traffic came to a complete stop. She quickly grabbed a pen and paper and wrote the lyrics down. As soon as all of them were down, the traffic began moving.

"I began to pray specifically. I prayed that the next time she went to the doctor they wouldn't find it…that it would just disappear." Just a few weeks later, her friend called saying she had never seen so many doctors cry in her life; they couldn't find it…the cancer was gone!

Katie chose the title "Remnant" because many of hers songs are based on life experiences (of either herself or people she knows). The songs come from her spirit out of what is "left over" from situations, so she felt it fitting to give the CD that title.

Katie continues to write music and perform at various places. If you would like her to perform or lead worship at an event, please feel free to contact her!
-J. Miller