Kara Tualatai, Rachel Hockett and Amanda Omartian met at church in 1993. They became instant friends and discovered, that among other things they had in common, they enjoyed singing together. Throughout their junior high and high school years, they had individual struggles, but found solace, escape, and a creative outlet with each other. They encouraged each other in their musical gifts. When it seemed that no one understood them, they understood each other. "Nobody made us laugh and dream like each other". What started as fun and a lot of silliness, turned into fully developed sound, which led to a lot of work as studio session singers. Amanda's father, Michael, always dreamed of a day when he would be able to produce an album that would showcase their uniqueness and a sound that wasn't invented "in the studio", but honed over 12 years of friendship and musical maturing.
The three girls of Prelude all hail from accomplished musical families. Rachel is the daughter of Billy and Sara Gaines, while Amanda is the daughter of Grammy award winning producer, Michael Omartian. Kara is the daughter of award winning composer Dave Williamson. As Prelude their music is filled with progressive symphonic arrangements reminiscent of 70s art work, while blending contemporary pop melodie and harmony. Writing their own music provides them with the opportunity to speak into the listener about real life issues and how a relationship with Jesus Christ is the solution to life's questions.
Learn To Fly
Following in the footsteps of their accomplished parents, Kara, Rachel, and Amanda, have joined forces to create their own musical legacy. Equipped with twelve years of “best” friendship, and more importantly, individual victories over personal life challenges, the Prelude trio not only bring expected talent to their debut release, Learn to Fly, but also a mature message of struggle and transformation.
The level of musical pedigree showcased on Learn to Fly is a rare gem. Progressive symphonic arrangements reminiscent of 70s art rock bring a refreshing approach to the vocalists’ contemporary pop melodies and harmonies, best illustrated on the song “Transform Me.” The group wrote SEVERAL original songs on the album, which also includes fresh arrangements of the Beetles’ song, “We Can Work It Out” and a choice selection of classic hymns.
The world class production of Learn to Fly is the work of Grammy award winning producer Michael Omartian, the father of the youngest of the three accomplished vocalists: Amanda Omartian, 25, whose mother is successful Christian author, Stormie Omartian. Rachel Hockett, 26, is the daughter of Dove award winning artists Billy and Sarah Gaines, and 28-year-old Kara Tualatai’s father is respected Dove award winning musical and choral collection writer and arranger, Dave Williamson.
