A recent collaboration between the Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia, the Resurrection Catholic School Choir, and Sean Gasaway of the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance, has resulted in an inspirational song called “His Story.”
“His Story” is about Jesus Christ and how His story reflects in our lives. The song came about through a program led by the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance (MSA) called Mississippi Music Arts Therapy (MMAT) which aims to improve student outcomes through music therapy. It offers in-school, after-school programs, seminars, and consultations, focusing on music theory, lyric writing, song form, and melodic construction. The program’s goals include fostering collaboration, exploring the connection between emotion, imagination, and song, and helping students learn the nuances of writing and performing their own music.
The road to this project began last summer when Lucretia Simpson, M.Ed., CALT (certified language therapist) and classroom teacher for Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia (Lighthouse), which is a special purpose school for dyslexic students, attended classes at the MS Arts Institute to get ideas with which to teach her students. One of the classes she attended was a songwriting class presented by Sean Gasaway of the MSA.
Simpson wanted to incorporate the arts into her classroom and was interested in teaching her students how to write songs because rhyming, writing and spelling are difficult tasks for dyslexic students.
“I thought if they could incorporate songwriting into their learning then maybe it would make things easier for them to grasp,” Simpson said.
After speaking with Gasaway about the idea and meeting with her admin team, she arranged for Gasaway to come work with her students.
Lighthouse and Resurrection Catholic School (RCS) are two schools that participate in the MSA’s MMAT Program. In the Fall of 2024, Sean Gasaway, the Education Director/Publisher/Label Executive of the MSA, started off the day with 1st-6th grade students at Lighthouse and they came up with what turned into the chorus for the song.
“I thought it would be cool to take the word ‘history,’ split it into ‘His Story’ and use it as a double meaning about Jesus Christ. By the end of the workshop, we had the ‘hook’ and the chorus done,” Gasaway said.
Gasaway then traveled to RCS to meet with the choir, led by music teacher, Vicki Bosarge. There, he shared the choruses written earlier at Lighthouse. Gasaway and the RCS choir finished writing the verses over the course of two more visits. Gasaway developed the sound track once Bosarge established the best vocal key for the students.
In January, Lighthouse received a Leo Seal grant which funded the production. In April, all the parties, including 140 students, recorded the song at the Our Lady of Victories Sanctuary in Pascagoula.
“Performing a song I co-wrote and sung in front of 75,000 people at a football game was special, but it’s more fulfilling to write a song with a group of students,” Gasaway said. “Writing and recording ‘His Story’ with the Lighthouse Academy and RCS Choir is near the top on my list! I’m very grateful to be able to do this and lead the MSA’s MMAT Workshops across the state.”
The hope for all those involved in creating the song is that it brings joy and love of Christ to others, and that people find inspiration through it.
“I love the third chorus of the song as it speaks about the Power of God’s resurrection: ‘When he arose, it shook the world into confession,” Bosarge said.
“His Story” was released by The Mississippi Songwriters, Inc. record label on May 2, 2025. It is available on all music platforms worldwide and all the proceeds will be going directly to both schools through the distribution platform.
Credits:
Written by Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia, RCS Choir, Vicki Bosarge, Sean Gasaway
Produced by Sean Gasaway
Music by Soelberg Music Tracks – Nashville, TN
Tracking Engineer: Jess Soelberg
Vocal Arrangement by Vicki Bosarge, Cherie Ruff, Sean Gasaway
Vocal Tracking and Editing Engineer: Christopher Duncan
Vocal Editing and Mixing: Jess Soelberg
Mixed by Sean Gasaway & Jess Soelberg
Mastered by Gasaway Music Mastering Service
Click here to listen to the song.
