You might not think you know Katherine Nelson, but you do if you watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration with Nathan Mitchell (a familiar actor who has played Joseph many times) and Katherine as Emma Smith. They are our favorite combination of actors for those roles over the years. Katherine was so Emma-like and so passionate about this work and so moved when Joseph went to Carthage, well, you started thinking she really was Emma. She also played the part of Emma in Emma Smith: My Story—another movie that I loved. So, do you remember her now?
Her real passion is singing and songwriting. As our good friend, Jason Deere (from Nashville) says of her voice: “Women react to her,” Deere said. “When she opens her mouth, people listen to her.” She has a smooth, passionate, breathy voice with, as one account said, “a hint of sandpaper.” Her music moves the soul.
Katherine started singing at age 3 and she told her mother when she was yet very young that one day, she would have a song on the radio. She has produced three albums and continues to love to sing. She joined Jason Deere on three different albums: “The Work: A Tribute to the Missionaries,” “Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet” and “The Trek: A Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers.”
We loved her so much that when our daughter, Michaela, was yet in high school and leading her Africa Club to do a benefit concert, we invited Katherine to come and add her rich voice and spirit and talent to the evening. Every time she comes on our Pandora or other stations we put together, our hearts and spirits perk up.
“I was never the girl with the school choir voice,” Katherine says as she describes the rich, velvety texture that sets her apart vocally from the rest. Hearing Katherine’s innately edgy, ethereal, and pointed vocals are just the first layer of artistry exposed. Piercing more fervent underpinnings of soul, her writing unleashes the heart of who she is and what she believes.” (From Latter-day Saint Musicians website)
Listen to this one piece (be prepared for emotions rising to the surface) of Katherine’s. Please, Katherine, keep singing and bringing us your unique and beautiful talent.