Tell us a little about your family. 

I have been married for twenty years to my wonderful husband, Robert W Morse II. We met in 1991 at Jackson College of Ministries, Jackson, Mississippi.  He came to my hometown of Fairfield, Illinois, after graduation in 1992 and we have been here since that time. We have been pastoring the church I was born and raised in, the Jesus Name Pentecostal Church, for eight years. We have two children, Stuart fifteen years old and Lambri twelve years old. We also have a dog, an English springer spaniel named Roscoe, who thinks he’s just as big a part of the family as the kids!

What is your salvation story?

I was born and raised in an apostolic church. I was baptized and received the Holy Ghost when I was ten years old.  I am a pretty positive person most of the time and have a lot of faith in God.  Throughout my life when I have had decisions to make or have found myself in situations I did not know which way to turn or which direction to go, I have went to God in prayer and waited for his direction. He has always opened the right door for me to step through. I look back over my life in amazement to see how God has directed my steps.

Describe the nature of your ministry.

At this time, my music ministry is mainly leading the music dept of our local church.  I have done a few local concerts and am looking to start doing more concerts around our area.  If God opens the doors further than that, I will be willing to go for it.

What is your music background?

I started singing in church from age nine.  Our pastor at the time, had a daughter, Heilda Chipman, who worked with our singers and let me sing with the adult chorale, even though I was way younger than everyone else.  The first harmony part I sang was tenor with the men.  I was very shy at the time but she encouraged me to sing solos and then backed me up with worship and praise to God while I was up there singing. I also did a lot of singing with my neighbors, the Hallam’s. The mom played an acoustic guitar and sang, along with three daughters and one son.  I learned how to sing harmony parts very well while singing with them. We went to the nursing home every month and also sang at quite a few different places. I was also in my school choir from the sixth grade until I graduated high school singing first soprano.  I took note-reading piano lessons from age eight to thirteen. After that, I started learning to play the piano by ear, without lead sheets. At age fourteen I took over playing our church organ beside my mom, who played the piano. I played every service because there was no one else who could play.  I eventually took over playing the keyboard full-time a few years ago.

What is the vision/message of your CD?

All of the songs on my CD have a very positive message. I want people to know there is an all-powerful, mighty God who loves us and wants the absolute best for us! If we will put Him first and put our full trust in Him, He will lead and guide our every step!

You wrote all the songs on your CD-where do you get the inspiration for you songs?

Up until three years ago, I had never written a song before.  I really didn’t even know much about writing a song. It was not something I really thought I would ever do, not like a big dream of mine.  Actually, I had never liked writing much of anything. It was one of those things where God opened the door and I stepped out on faith and did what He laid on my heart.  God knows what works best for each of us.  With all of my songs, I got the music first.  I could play through the songs and knew what the different parts of the song would be, like the chorus, verses, bridge, and so on. After that, the words seemed to come straight from God! Most of my songs did not take me very long to write at all, some even less than fifteen minutes. On a few of them, I used a favorite chapter or verse out of the Bible as my inspiration. I have always like a variety of music styles, so I wanted my CD to also have a variety. It turned out to have styles that range from praise/worship to contemporary, from gospel to latin/jazz.

What your favorite part about the album-making process?

I would definitely have to say the studio time was my favorite part of the process!! Being there while the background vocalists recorded a few of the songs was very interesting.  Then, of course, it was my turn to record all of my vocal parts. Sitting in front of the speakers and hearing the playback of the song was so cool! Having never been in a studio before, and having never heard a song that I wrote come to life, made the experience even more awesome to me! I was in awe watching and listening to the whole process!

What is the best advise you have been given?

Turn to God first and He will give you direction for your every decision.

Where can we listen, purchase, and connect with you?

I have a basic website set up at this time where CD’s can be purchased through Paypal.  I am currently working on getting more information on my website.  They can also be purchased through the pentecostalpublishing.com, both hard copy CD’s and digital downloads.  They also have sample audio clips of all of the songs.  My CD is also available on iTunes, Amazon.com, cdBaby.com and quite a few other digital download stores. At this time, I have three of my songs uploaded on YouTube.com.  You can also connect with me on my facebook music page (Staci Tyree Morse Artist).

Fun Stuff

Ten years from now you will…

I don’t like answering questions like this! I’m a live-for-today type of person. Anyway, I will give it a shot. . .Ten years from now I will have written many more songs and recorded them and have gone back to college to be a Funeral Director.

Five things you can’t live without.

I can’t live without sleep, music, hot tea, family time and a good balance of quiet time and social interaction!

Any loves other than music?

I love my job at Johnson and Vaughn Funeral Home in Fairfield, Illinois. It is more than a job; it’s a ministry to those who are at a very difficult time in their lives.  At this time, I do door greeting, which means I meet many people, play the keyboard and sing if families need someone, set up flower displays, take flowers to the cemetery before the family arrives, deliver all other flowers, plants, and anything else we have for the family to their homes or churches. It is a very rewarding position.

Who do you want to send a ‘shout out’ to?

I guess that would be to those of you who have purchased my CD and have passed the word to others about my songs!  Being a new recording artist is more difficult than I imagined. Trying to get your music out there and get a fan base going is not so easy, especially being from a rural area of the country.  So anyway, thank you to those of you, my fans! 🙂