She’s been known to be a businesswoman, a scholar, a writer, a community activist and a producer, but this Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum, Carolyn Arends will be a performer.

The Canadian performer is known to offer much more than just a regular musical performance to her audience.

With her unique blend of modern pop coupled with a strong message of hope, Arends leaves her audiences with something to think about.

“I have always hoped and dreamed and prayed that songs that explored the endlessly fascinating mystery of our Creator with gut-level honesty would translate into records that listeners of any ideology could relate to simply as good music,” Arends said.

While many musicians dream of making it to the spotlight the first day they begin practicing, Arends admits she had other goals in college that didn’t have anything to do with being a musician.

Arends started out as a pre-med major but her 8 a.m. chemistry classes soon convinced her that science was not her calling.

“I was trying to be a scientist in the body of a musician,” Arends said.

Obeying the vocation she was called to, it didn’t take long for Arends’ songs to climb near the top of the Canadian pop charts, the adult alternative radio charts, and the Christian formats.

Unlike other Christian bands such as Jars of Clay and Third Day, whose music is easy to categorize, Arends uses many different styles and techniques that make her distinct sound harder to label.

Arend’s latest album, Feel Free, includes songs with frequent use of funky percussive sounds and rhythms, coupled with instruments ranging from electric to acoustic guitar.

“I was interested in meshing two musical elements you don’t always hear together,” Arends said in a press release.

“I think of it as, ‘folk and rock get in a car wreck, but nobody gets hurt.'”

The wide range of musical styles incorporated into her music may be attributed to the fact that before she became successful as a solo performer, Arends spent five years writing music for other artists whose music encompassed many different styles.

Arends hopes her music will continue to be successful so that one day she will be able to have a tour of her own.

However, she desires more than anything else that her ministry will help lead her toward a stronger relationship with God.

“I try to spend every day striving to know God, and to be known by God,” she said.

As the subjects of faith and spirituality become popular topics in today’s culture, Arends hopes her music can address society’s spiritual hunger by gently addressing the reality of God in her everyday life.

“My desire is that people, in the midst of their busy lives, will begin to pay attention to, and be aware of the fact that God is alive, and is relentlessly pursuing them,” Arends said.