Bernhard "Bernie" Herms (born March 26, 1972) is a Canadian composer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. He has received and been nominated for

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

s, and

GMA Canada The Gospel Music Association of Canada or GMA Canada (formerly known as the CGMA) is a not for profit association, founded in 1974, whose purpose is to promote Christian music in Canada. History GMA Canada is created in 1974 in Ontario with ...

Covenant Awards The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in C ...

, due to his songwriting and music production work.

Early and personal life

Herms was born, Bernhard Herms, on March 26, 1972, in Canada, the son of a Pentecostal minister. His teenage years were mainly spent in Edmonton, Alberta, before he moved to Chilliwack, B.C. and later enrolled in

Trinity Western University , mottoeng = A Mighty Fortress Is Our God , established = Trinity Junior College (1962–1972), Trinity Western College (1972–1985), Trinity Western University (1986–present) , type = Privat ...

, in Langley, B.C. He later moved to the United States, transferring some of his school credits and enrolling in

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Shortly after moving to the school he met classmate

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

, another aspiring musician with similar taste in music. In an interview with The Canadian Press Herms described their early friendship as Paisley being a "guitar picker from Virginia" while he was "this long-haired classical piano player from Canada." The two men quickly built a friendship and worked with their classmates in the studio on a regular basis. Herms graduated from Belmont with his

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

degree in Classical Composition, during their 1995 commencement. He was honored by the university in 2009, with their Curtain Call Award.

Music career

Around the same time Paisley was signed to a record label and brought several of his school friends—including Herms—under his wing as bandmates. Herms began his own music recording career in 1997, with the studio album, ''Nocturne'', released by

Benson Records Benson Records was founded by Bob Benson and John T. Benson, who formed the John T. Benson Music Publishing Company in 1902. The record label started out as Heart Warming Records, creating house labels such as Impact Records, Greentree Records, R ...

. The subsequent studio album, ''Softly & Tenderly'', was released by Brentwood Records, in 1998. Eventually, he began to focus on a songwriting and production career, saying, "I realized my best game was having people I work with discover their best performances." He has gone on to a successful music production and

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

career and worked with artists such as

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

, Casting Crowns,

Natalie Grant Natalie Diane Grant (born December 21, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years (2006, 2007, 2008 an ...

Danny Gokey Daniel Jay Gokey (born April 24, 1980) is an American singer and former church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third-place finalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''.

, Tauren Wells, and many others. Herms co-wrote the GMA Dove Award Song of the Year, "East to West", with Casting Crowns vocalist, Mark Hall, at the

39th GMA Dove Awards The 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 23, 2008 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2007. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. Nominations were announced on February 14, ...

, in 2008. The song was nominated for the Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance at the 50th Annual

s ceremony, and the following year at the 51st Annual in the same category. Throughout his career he has also worked with artists like

("Stages"),

("All I Ask of You" duet with Groban),

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fr ...

and

. He won a Grammy Award for best contemporary Christian music performance or song for "Thy Will" by Hillary Scott and the Scott Family in 2017. The award was shared with fellow songwriters

Hillary Scott Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell (born April 1, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the co-lead singer of Lady A, previously known as Lady Antebellum, a country music group that was formed in 2006, and is signed to Big Machine Records ...

& Emily Weisband.

Personal life

Herms still resides in Nashville with his wife

, whom he married in a ceremony on August 27, 1999. They have three daughters, the first two being twins. The couple has worked together on music numerous times and frequently speaks about their supportive and collaborative professional relationship. Both he and Grant were nominated in the same Grammy Awards category for best contemporary Christian music performance or song in 2017. Herms won the award.

References

External links

Cross Rhythms artist profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herms, Bernie 1972 births Living people Canadian Christians Canadian record producers Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters from Tennessee