Who is Andra Moran?

Andra Moran lives  in Nashville, Tennessee where she works  as a songwriter, singer, author, worship designer and freelance touring musician in a variety of settings. 

In addition to her work in concert and commissioned music, Andra is a consultant in worship design, modern liturgical music and ministry in churches and conferences across the country. She is regularly engaged as a clinician and workshop leader, teaching songwriting, worship design and creative expression.

Andra has released seven full length albums and three EPs, in addition to a bilingual album titled Chant Spontané which was released by the Reform Church of France. Andra’s songs have been published in contemporary song and hymnal collections and are sung in liturgical gatherings across the United States, Canada and Europe.

Andra is the co-founder of The Convergence Music Project with Bryan Sirchio, Christopher Grundy, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Cameron Trimble and Brian McLaren. Launched in 2016, CMP was built as a new model of publishing infrastructure to connect progressive songwriters with congregations. CMP seeks to provide a soundtrack for worship, reconciliation, resistance and renewal.

In 2012, Andra added “author” to her resume, writing the leadership devotionals for One Great Hour of Sharing and K-Tunez Praise,” in 2013 for Capitol Records / Brentwood Benson. Andra is also the author of curriculum for the Center for Faith and Giving (2018) and the Ecumenical Stewardship Center (2019).

Andra’s book, Brim: Creative Overflow in Worship Design, co-authored with Rev. Dr. Suzanne Castle, was released in 2013 by Chalice Press. Brim is the recipient of the Editor’s Choice Award by Worship Leader Magazine and was chosen as a favorite resource of the Wild Goose Festival.  Through BrimProject.com, Andra and her coauthor Suzanne offer artist renewal retreats and congregational resources for art-oriented worship.

Beginning in 2020, Brim’s digital worship kits have resourced  congregations with materials for online and hybrid worship that allowed vital ministry to continue despite the challenges of gathering for worship during the pandemic.  Andra regularly shared music and led worship virtually from her home in Nashville for congregations across the country as touring was suspended during the pandemic.

In 2019, Andra Moran was included in the Center For Congregational Song's list of 25 Women Songwriters You Should Know. In 2021, Andra was a featured presenter with Convergence at the Wild Goose Festival. Also in 2021, Andra released a winter album, “Joy Anyway,” a collection of Christmas carols with fresh arrangements and a focus on hope and joy. 

In July of 2023, Andra worked with her congregation to release “Prayers From The Bridge,” which features voices from her church that range in age from 3 to 93. Andra and her worship band recorded original prayer songs and hymns, some of which were written in workshops that Andra led with congregants using art as spiritual direction. 

Currently, Andra sings and writes full time, and works part time on the staff of Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville  as the Creative Director and worship pastor. She enjoys cooking, hiking, reading, making it through airport security with no do-overs, and seeking adventure with her five year old daughter, named after the heirloom lilies in that bloom in her garden.

 

 

All About Andra by Brandon Gilvin


I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Andra play.

But I can tell you it’s been different every time. Gathered together in grand worship spaces, huddled around small intimate campfires, sipping bourbon in a smoky bar, or sitting in the sunshine, talking about what makes music of all kinds so sacred.

I can also tell you her shows remind me of the same thing every time: Sitting in a dorm room, debating our favorite bands. When I tried to convince her that I was a bigger R.E.M fan than she was, Andra pulled out a vinyl copy of R.E.M.’s Reckoning, complete with a price tag from a used record store in Germany.

She won the argument. Then she gave me the LP. For keeps.

That’s the sort of person Andra is. The kind who will disarm you with her wit and intelligence, but who radiates both a resilient hope and an understanding that life is very, very complicated. That’s the sort of artist she is, too.

Andra studied music formally at Belmont University in Nashville, TN, all the while apprenticing in Nashville’s bars and clubs, swapping songs and stories. Her honest, passionate writing won her respect and friendship—and those friendships helped her hone her skills as a writer and performer.

Andra’s music expresses both a deep sense of faith and a mature sense of self. She attributes that to being the daughter of two insightful, progressive ministers, one of whom worked as an Army Chaplain whose calling took the Moran family all over the world. She grew up making friends from all sorts of backgrounds, seeing people at their best and their worst, and discovering that she was able to call both Leipzig and Leavenworth home.

Over the last two decades, Andra has made her home in Nashville where she partnered with some of Nashville's most accomplished musicians to make six full length albums and three EPs. 

Accessible but unique, hopeful but never naïve. Andra’s the type of musician you want to hear over and over and the type of friend you want to keep forever. Buy her records, go see her play, or book her to perform. She’ll teach you a thing or two, then give you her blood, sweat, and tears in her performance.

For keeps.


--Rev. Brandon Gilvin
Fellow Seeker, Fellow Writer, Friend.
Associate Director, Week of Compassion
 

All About Me by Andra Moran

All About Me by Andra Moran 

 If you are looking for me, try my back porch or the garden first. If I’m not there, I might be at Fido, my favorite coffee spot, having a snack and reading or scrawling in my journal. I’ve kept a journal since the fifth grade. A lot has happened since then. I chased a dream to Nashville, and found here a collection of super creative people; wonderful friends who share with me their passions and hopes and art in all forms. It’s a beautiful thing, life in Music City. 

I have a strong affection for Little House on the Prairie. I grew up moving around a lot as a kid, so my definition of home is broad and bilingual—but in my mind's eye, there's also a fantasy of a log cabin with wheat fields shimmering in the distance. I believe that home is where the heart is, but also that you should travel as much as you possibly can! 

I love to sing in the kitchen and to host dinner parties. I’m hopelessly sentimental. I don't like mosquitos or bean sprouts. I love my spunky 5 year old daughter, my superfun 80s cover band, Guilty Pleasures, yardsales, making it through airport security with no do-overs, and honest conversation.