40th ANNUAL DOVE AWARDS PRESENTED
Martha Munizzi Lost Dress, Won Dove
Martha Munizzi wins Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year Dove Award for Change The World
photo by Aaron Crisler / GospelMusicUpdate.com
by Judy Nelon
Photos by Aaron Crisler / GospelMusicUpdate.com
The GMA Dove Awards brings gospel music artists into Nashville for the ceremony at the Grand Ole Opry House. The hundreds of artists, their agents; managers, booking agents, record company executives and PR agents turn it into gospel music's best attended reunion during the time they rehearse, eat and just have a good time sharing road stories.
What does Martha Munizzi, a Dove nominee do when she realizes her dress is not going to show up hours before she is scheduled to appear as a presenter on the televised GMA Dove Awards show on Gospel Music Channel? With determination, her mom Faith Fredrick and a good friend, that’s me, she easily found what she needed by show time.
Mary Alessi, Martha’s twin sister, also a nominee in one of the two categories Martha had nods, waited backstage for her sister to return just in time for the two of them to find their front row seats with husbands; manager Dan Munizzi and pastor Steve Alessi. Martha had only been in her seat a few moments when her name was called as Dove Award winner for Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year, Change the World. The lost dress replaced, Dove award won: things do work out.
The story of the gifted sisters has fascinated me since I met Mary Alessi at a Florida conference thinking she was her look-a-like twin Martha. Both tall, slender blonde beauties with powerful voices have made their individual marks in the contemporary gospel music genre with praise and worship as the natural sound of both sisters.
The girls come from a gospel music family heritage and as teens launched their own group Testament with Martha’s friend, now husband, Dan Munizzi. Mary left the group to marry Steve Alessi and they now pastor in Miami, FL. Martha’s husband Dan gave up the stage to guide his talented wife’s music to the top of the charts with best selling albums and a Stellar Award.
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