Maranatha! recently announced the addition of Steve Rice and Phil Sillas to its creative team.
Rice will take on the role of vp of publishing while Sillas steps in as vp of A&R (photos available upon request). To
coincide with his hire, Rice will set-up a music publishing office for Maranatha! in Nashville, Tenn.. Located on
Music Row, it will serve as a creative shop for numerous worship leaders and songwriters as they collaborate for
upcoming Maranatha! projects.
“Maranatha! has been a pioneer in modern day worship music for more than 30 years. The team here has
incredible heart and vision for music that proclaims God’s goodness and leads today’s and tomorrow’s church
into His presence, Rice said. “I am both honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with this team and
build on this huge foundation. I am truly looking forward to what God has in store for us at Maranatha!.”
Bringing numerous years of experience to the Maranatha! team, Rice was responsible for an entire publishing
company at EMI with a roster of more than 70 writers and artists and a very active 24,000 song catalog, as well as
being the visionary and developer of the phenomenally successful Worship Together brand. Rice has signed and
worked with writers and artists that include DC Talk, Steven Curtis Chapman, Avalon, and Newsboys, and he
initiated a series of strategic changes that opened unprecedented doors for EMI writers within the Christian music
industry. Highlights from Rice’s EMI tenure include major motion picture soundtracks like A WALK TO REMEMBER
(Mandy Moore/5 EMI CMP songs), PHENOMENON (John Travolta) and DANCE WITH ME (Vanessa Williams), and
TV shows like Party of Five, CSI, Touched By An Angel and Dawson’s Creek. EMI CMP writers also began to
get increasing numbers of general market cuts with artists like Eric Clapton, Barbra Streisand, Lee Ann Rimes,
Bonnie Raitt, Wynonna, and others, including Grammy “ Song of the Year” Change The World, and pop and
country chart-toppers like Every Heartbeat and I Need You.
Sillas, a writer of hit songs and a top producer with an eye for identifying talent, has seen his songs land in
prominent television series such as Melrose Place and Days Of Our Lives. He co-produced and wrote
“With All Your Heart” for the Pokeman soundtrack featuring Plus One. Writing hit songs such as “The Promise” and
“God Is In This Place” have placed Sillas at the top of the radio charts with back-to-back # 1 singles. ASCAP
recognized “The Promise” and “God Is In This Place” as two of Christian music’s most played songs in 2001. In
addition, Sillas co-produced “The Promise,” the title cut on Plus One’s record-breaking debut album and “A Prayer
For Every Year” on Plus One’s Christmas, with 14-time Grammy winner David Foster. Avalon, Aaron Neville,
Natalie Grant and Janna Long are just a few of the artists in addition to Plus One that have recorded songs written
by Sillas.
Maranatha! has also hired Don England, formerly the event manager for EMI/Worship Together conferences.
England will now serve as the Nashville office manager for Maranatha!.
Founded in 1971, Maranatha! is the music publishing branch of The Corinthian Group, Inc. Maranatha! exists to
train, equip and serve the church by producing praise & worship music that is biblically accurate, culturally relevant
and artistically excellent, and also by joining with various ministries and church organizations, helping them to
accomplish the goals and visions God has given them. Since the introduction of the early praise albums in the late
1970s, Maranatha! has sold over 30 million units worldwide. Other industry recognition for Maranatha! projects
include numerous RIAA platinum and gold awards, an ASCAP 2001 Christian Music Award for “Lord, I Lift Your
Name On High,” and a Grammy in 1991 for A Capella Kids in the category of Best Album For Children.
