The Dove Channel tonight debuts its first original series, Frankly Faraci, a talk show with famous people of faith hosted by veteran journalist Matthew Faraci. The first Frankly Faraci spotlights The Piano Guys, four men from Utah — a pianist, cellist, video producer and music producer — known for playing classically-influenced music in unusual and stunning locations. What you may not know is that all four are men of faith and give God the credit for their success on stage and off.

The Beginning

The Piano Guys started in Saint George, Utah in a piano store aptly named The Piano Guys. Owner Paul Anderson began to think of creative ways to market his pianos and came up with the idea of doing YouTube videos that would go viral.

Pianist Jon Schmidt walked in the store one day hoping to practice for a gig that night. Paul approached Jon about being in a video that would promote the store and Jon’s music. The store didn’t sell any more pianos because of the YouTube ads but something more important began to unfold.

“Jon pulled me in,” explained cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, “because we’d been playing together for, I don’t know, ten years at that point.” He had just moved onto music producer Al van der Beek’s street. Al asked him, “‘I’ve got a studio, why don’t we jam, why don’t we write music together?’ So I pulled him in.”

And a phenomenon was born. The four men became The Piano Guys, writing songs and filming in extraordinary settings, like on the side of a cliff. The group has over 60 videos on YouTube with over 1.2 billion views and six albums with Sony.

The Foundation of Prayer

The music they write and pieces they combine come from a place of purpose — and prayer is their starting point. “Every time we shoot a video, every time we choose a song in the studio we say a prayer together,” said Al. The effect on the audience isn’t something they can take credit for, he said, but it’s purposeful. “If we can make a positive impact in even one person’s life it has all been worth it to us,” a statement on the group’s website says.

The joy that The Piano Guys bring to the stage isn’t just for the show but wells up from deep inside. Happiness that isn’t ephemeral, or joy, said Steven, comes from the core. That core for him is faith and family. “As long as that’s intact, joy is only around the corner, no matter what’s happening in life.”

All four believe that they have a purpose — a calling — that they must live out, trusting God to take care of them on their journey. Al said that this is the first time he feels like he’s fulfilling his life’s purpose. “We can just have faith moving forward that we don’t need to worry about what’s going to happen in a year or two from now.” He said as long as he focuses on the Kingdom of Heaven, the promise that “all these things will be added unto you,” will be fulfilled.

It hasn’t always been worry-free, however. Steven recalled a time when he thought about what would happen if he woke up and he had nothing left to give. He said he got the coolest answer from God. “I love God’s sense of humor,” he said. “He said, ‘Stop worrying, all the ideas are mine … except for the bad ones, those are yours.’ It was such a great moment of Heavenly Father picking me up and dusting me off and saying ‘Look, when did I ever give you the impression it’s all up to you? You show up and I promise I’ll take care of the rest. You just gotta trust me.’”

Learning to trust God about His plan for their lives was a common theme for the guys. “We know that Someone Else is in charge of this,” said Paul. “…I’ve learned and grown a lot through this process, especially through faith and believing that anything is possible if you put it in God’s hands. I mean, anything is possible.” Jon agreed. “When you put your life into God’s hands, that’s when things turn out right.”

The Most Difficult Testimony

That may be the most difficult testimony of all to believe, especially since Jon’s daughter Anna passed away in a hiking accident last October. Even so, Al said, Jon has remained faithful through everything and been a great example to them all. “Through that whole thing, he reminded everyone as they were, you know, feeling the pain and the sorrow that, ‘You know, we need to remember all the wonders, all the times when God did answer our prayers the way that we wanted to.’”

Thousands of people over the world prayed that Anna would be found alive, but that’s not what happened. Al said still Jon told them, “You know, well, that’s how it is, but that’s not going to change my faith. I’m still grateful and I’m still going to remember that my purpose is to continue on what I’m doing and to never doubt that.”

The guys are quick to point out that anyone can have their joy and purpose. “To anybody out there, I would say that God loves you, most of all. If you look at The Piano Guys, we’re ordinary guys. Anybody can do what we’ve done. And I don’t mean play cello or play piano, I mean put your life in God’s hands. … You can do that too. It’s a matter of just knowing that He loves you and trusting Him.”