MTC Week #65 - Of Warland, McDonald, and Pilgrim's Hymn

The Chorale continued learning Mozart's Requiem this week. It's not quite "crunch time" but the concert is only three weeks away and we still have some perfecting to do for sure. Ryan gave us some high praise for the type of choir he feels we are, and have become. That was gratifying to hear. And as a bonus, the basses in particular were having a very "on" night Tuesday.  He said he was doing an experiment to see if the more praise he gave us the better we would sing. I think it worked! While I won't miss the time commitment that Tuesday rehearsals demand of me, I will miss working with Ryan in a smaller choir setting.

Dale Warland

So Thursday night was pretty crazy. We rehearsed for just a bit and then guest conductor Dale Warland took the podium to conduct "Pilgrim's Hymn." While I was not familiar with Mr. Warland, he certainly did a great job directing this wonderful song and making sure it fit his vision of what he wanted it to sound like. From Wikipedia, "Dale Warland (born April 14, 1932) is an American conductor, composer, founder of the Grammy-nominated Dale Warland Singers, scholar, teacher, choral consultant, and renowned champion of contemporary choral composers. Warland is one of only two choral conductors (along with Robert Shaw) inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame."

Following that, Bro. Wilberg took us through some additional pieces in preparation for Sunday and then we ran through two pieces which we were going to sing at a mini-concert later that evening. In no time at all, the time to depart for that concert was upon us and we boarded the buses for a short ride up the street to the Grand American Hotel.

Audra McDonald

This mini-concert was a non-publicized event for the choir, but the event we were singing at was certainly no secret. Gail Miller, wife of the late Larry H. Miller, was honored at a banquet where she was given the "Giant in Our City" award by the Salt Lake City Chamber. The choir sang two numbers at the end of that banquet, beginning with "One Person" and ending with "Climb Every Mountain." The latter featured a soloist, Audra McDonald who did a pretty fantastic job. One choir member described her as having a "chocolatey mezzo voice" (thanks Alex) and I think that fit rather nicely. Again from Wikipedia: "Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, and Porgy and Bess. She maintains an active concert and recording career, performing song cycles and operas as well as performing in concert throughout the U.S. She has won six competitive Tony Awards, more than any other actor, and is the only person to win all four acting categories." I might add that Ms. McDonald joined the Tabernacle Choir back in 2004 as a guest soloist for the Christmas Concert.

Which brings us to today's Music & the Spoken Word broadcast. It was another inspiring event and the Tabernacle today was packed (Spring Break?). There are several pieces we sang today that touched me, but I wanted to highlight the one conducted by Mr. Warland called Pilgrim's Hymn. When we sang this song last Fall, it just so happened that the composer, Stephen Paulus, passed away on that very same day. (More on that, and the song, HERE) I find that rather remarkable. The second verse is my favorite:

Even with darkness sealing us in,
   We breathe Thy name,
And through all the days that follow so fast,
   We trust in Thee;
Endless Thy grace, O endless Thy grace,

   Beyond all mortal dream.
  
While lyrics can be interpreted numerous ways, for me, this says that even though we go through dark times that cause our faith to waver, we can trust in a loving Heavenly Father who's grace is unmatched. Who's grace enables us to not only get through the darkness, but to learn from it.

And with that my friends, the Choir now turns its attention to General Conference which will commence this coming weekend. We'll have some extra rehearsals this week to prepare for this inspiring event--and we even had one today right after the broadcast. It was great not only practicing the hymns, but it was really fun to have all of the new choir members join us as they will be singing at Conference as well. 

Wow...has it really been a year since I was in their shoes?
Yep.

Until next time, God be with you.