Janice Kapp Perry was born in Ogden, Utah, and currently lives in Provo, Utah. She and her husband Douglas Perry (deceased July 2018) have 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 20 great grandchildren. They also had numerous foster children in their home through the years. Janice received her formal musical training at Brigham Young University where she played percussion instruments in the Concert Band and Orchestra.
In 1979 Janice released her first album of original songs, Where Is Heaven. Since that first album she has compiled an impressive list of productions: Almost 3,000 songs, 108 recorded albums, 2 full-length musicals, 8 sacred cantatas, and albums in Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese. She composed the hymn As Sisters in Zion in the LDS hymnbook and has ten songs in the Primary Childrens Songbook. She has co written six albums of songs with Senator Orrin G. Hatch. One of those songs, Heal Our Land, was performed in Washington, D.C., at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2001; at the Presidential Inauguration in 2005; and at the Kennedy Center in 2018. She has published a book, Songs From My Heart: The Stories Behind the Songs, as well as 8 volumes of Inspirational New Hymns For Choir and Home (containing 329 hymns), and 45 new Book of Mormon hymns. She has two books published by Covenant Communications: A Songbook for LDS Familes and Book of Mormon Heroes.
Janice’s works have been performed by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, The Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus, country duo Brooks & Dunn, Gladys Knight, The Osmonds–Second Generation, at Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power from the Crystal Cathedral, on the Oprah Winfrey Show after 9-11, as well as by countless other choirs and soloists throughout the world. What began as a simple home hobby has literally spread throughout the world and has involved the entire family. Author Joy Saunders Lundberg says “Janice has been hailed by some as the most prolific composer in the history of the church—she is the musical phenomenon of our time.”
Janice sang in The Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1993 to 1999. She and Douglas served a full-time mission to Santiago Chile from 2002-03 and a three-year church service mission in a Spanish ward in Provo. She continues writing, publishing and recording new music. In 2009 BYU-TV produced a sixty minute documentary entitled Janice Kapp Perry: A Life of Service and Song. In a poll published in LDS Living magazine (January 2013) entitled “100 Greatest LDS Songs of All Time,” Janice’s song A Child’s Prayer was number #1. Seven of her other songs were in the top 27.
Janice Kapp Perry • Honors & Awards
2020 • Honorary Doctorate of Christian Service in Music, Brigham Young University
2019 • Lifetime Achievement Award, LDS Film Festival
2019 • Lifetime Achievement Award, LDS Publishers Media Association
2019 • Honorary Mother of Achievement, American Mothers Association
2009 • BYU TV produced 60 minute documentary: “Janice Kapp Perry: A Life of Service & Song”
2006 • National Arts and Humanities Award, Provo, Utah Arts Council
2006 • Business Woman of the Year, Reed Smoot Award, Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce
2002 • Women on the Move Award, Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce
2001 • Women’s Chamber of Commerce Award for time, talents and dedication to community
2001 • Faith Centered Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award
(Pearl Award for musical achievements)
1999 • Heritage Award, Utah/California Women
1998 • Exceptional Merit Award, LDS Booksellers Association
1998 • National George Washington Medal of Honor from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge
(for the album Freedom’s Light done with Senator Orrin G. Hatch)
1997 • Alumni Distinguished Service Award, Brigham Young University
1994 • Exemplary Woman Award, Ricks College