Sundays In Belvedere is the album that launched the Piano vs. Poverty project in 2011. Originally intended only as a gift for PvP founder Carter Cook’s grandparents in Belvedere, South Carolina, it contains 10 hymn arrangements for solo piano (including “How Great Thou Art” and “It Is Well With My Soul”), as well as two duets featuring Carter and his wife, Michaele. Individual tracks and the full album are available digitally from Apple Music and Amazon.
Christmas Gifts was released in October of 2013 and contains 10 familiar holiday songs, with Carter and Michaele playing four solo arrangements each. The album also contains a husband-wife duet on “Sleigh Ride” and the touching vocal debut of the Cooks’ daughter, Austin (age 11), on “The Gift.” Individual tracks and the full album are available digitally from Apple Music and Amazon.
Tellin’ Stories, released in October of 2014, is a spoken-word album of humorous and inspirational stories told by pastor/comedian/storyteller Andy Lambert. Andy uses a variety of creative techniques to deliver his message, including this “backwards” telling of the story of David and Goliath. Individual tracks and the full album are available digitally from Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.
Songs from the Hearth is the November 2015 debut album of The Unbroken Circle, which is unofficially known as Wake Forest University’s multi-generational string band. What began as an informal monthly jam session over a potluck supper has grown into a high-quality recording of bluegrass, country, folk, and gospel tunes like “Tennessee Waltz” and “Will the Circle be Unbroken?” by a talented group of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of Wake Forest. In addition to music, the album includes a reading of W.B. Yeats’ poem, “The Fiddler of Dooney,” by Mr. Wake Forest himself, legendary English professor and Provost Emeritus Ed Wilson. Individual tracks and the full album are available digitally from Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.
Released in December of 2018, Joy to the World is a collection of instrumental Christmas favorites performed by talented Winston-Salem high school and college students who regularly combine their love of music and community service through performances at local homeless shelters, churches, retirement communities, and a group foster home. The album ranges from upbeat, jazzy renditions of “Go, Tell It on the Mountain” and “We Three Kings” to peaceful, touching versions of “O, Holy Night” and “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.” Individual tracks and the full album are available digitally from Apple Music, Amazon, and Spotify.