It has been over a year since I have written about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But my difficulty finding time to write should not be taken as an indication that things have slowed down. Mack Wilberg, the music director of the Choir, has often compared the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square to a train that never stops to let its passengers off. Members may find it necessary to take a break here and there, but when it's time to get back on, the train doesn't even slow down—you have to run alongside, jump, and hold on for dear life!
Let's take the past year as an example. Our journey began with the 2008 Easter concerts, which were especially near and dear to me because they featured my father's sacred service, The Redeemer. What a glorious memory! This was the 30th anniversary of the 1978 premier of this touching and spiritually rewarding work at Brigham Young University under the direction of Dr. Ralph Woodward. It was Woodward who originally conceived of the piece and asked my Dad, Robert Cundick, to write it. Things came full circle in 2008 because Mack Wilberg—who had just taken over as director of the Choir—was Dr. Woodward's rehearsal pianist in 1978. This meant that he had a special appreciation for the composition and was uniquely prepared to provide a sensitive interpretation.
The Summer of the Valleys
In July and August our train continued on into what could be termed the “summer of the valleys.” Each of our three concert destninations had a valley tie-in. The first was an unusual edition of the yearly Pioneer Day concert at home in our own Salt Lake Valley. I say unusual because the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square paired with the Osmond Family to not only commemorate Pioneer Day, but also the culmination of a full year's celebration marking 50 years in entertainment for the Osmond Brothers.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs at the new Sun Valley Music
Pavilion with Alasdair Neale and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Click to Enlarge.
At one point in the program, Donny and Marie had a little fun getting the women of the Choir to chime in, “I'm a little bit country” and the men, “I'm a little bit rock ‘n roll.' It fit right in, because this concert had a little bit of just about everything. From “Shenandoah” to “They, the Builders of the Nation” to old Osmond favorites like “One Bad Apple” and “Down by the Lazy River,” this energetic program—which also included historic clips of Osmond performances through the years—was a great hit with the audience.
Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, makes a special presentation to the Osmonds and their music
director. Click to Enlarge.
Donny Osmond got the men of the choir to lighten up and let their hair
down a little bit! Click to Enlarge.
Our second destination was beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho, where we helped inaugurate a stunning new music pavilion which was funded by Sun Valley owners Earl and Carol Holding and Sun Valley Symphony supporters. There is always a special joy to be found in singing under a guest conductor who expresses a special appreciation for us, and director Alasdair Neale clearly loved every moment of the experience. The Sun Valley Summer Symphony was superb! Add to that the rare opportunity to cast inhibitions aside, break out our long-suppressed vibratos, and sing with opera chorus gusto as we joined mezzo soprano Denyce Graves in selections from Bizet's Carmen and Verdi's Aida, and we had the recipe for an unforgettable experience!
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs with the Utah Symphony for the Deer
Valley Music Festival. Mack Wilberg conducted the concert. Click to enlarge.
The final of the three was a performance at Deer Valley with the Utah Symphony. Mack Wilberg directed the entire concert. What a magnificent job he did not only of conducting, but hosting . He seemed completely at home not only before the Utah Symphony, but in introducing several of the works to the audience. With a deft combination of insight and humor, he heightened interest in the music and provided a personal touch that drew performers and audience together in a performance of hymns, psalms and folk songs.
Tanner Gift
Continuing our travel into the fall, our next destination was the latest edition of the Tanner Gift of Music concerts. Every two years there is a special free concert pairing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Utah Symphony. The series began in 1983 with an endowment from philanthropists Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner and the O.C. Tanner Company. This year's guest artists were Denyce Graves, who had just performed with us at Sun Valley, Tony award-winning baritone Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Erich Kunzel, conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
The 2008 Tanner Gift concert. With a spectactular Conference Center
backdrop, the Choir and Utah Symphony perform a patriotic number. Inset:
Brian Stokes Mitchell, Denyce Graves, and conductor Erich Kunzel
acknowledge the applause. Click to Enlarge.
Titled “An American Songbook,” this concert was filled with patriotic songs and hits from Broadway. Most of us were unfamiliar with Brian Stokes Mitchell, who had been recommended for the concert by Utah Symphony Conductor Keith Lockhart. “Stokes,” as he is called, was absolutely phenomenal! How could we not have known about him? He has been dubbed “The Last Leading Man” by the New York Times and has performed in venues as diverse as Broadway, Tanglewood, and Carnegie Hall. The audience was wildly enthusiastic and we only wished he could have performed more.
Ring, Christmas Bells
To our surprise, it was only a few weeks later that we got our wish! Choir leadership had been so impressed when they considered Mitchell for the Tanner concerts that they engaged him for Christmas as well. “Ring, Christmas Bells” included not only “Stokes,” but actor Edward Herrmann as narrator. Counting the Choir, Orchestra, 28-member Bells on Temple Square supplemented by 80 additional ringers from area high schools, and 80 dancers, there were over 700 performers on-stage. What a spectacular sight! Don't miss this when it is broadcast throughout the United States on public television this Christmas. It will also be available on CD and DVD.
President Monson expresses appreciation to baritone Brian Stokes
Mitchell and actor/narrator Edward Herrmann. Ed has great respect for
the Church and a particularly close connection--his wife and children
are members. Click to Enlarge.
Ring, Christmas Bells! The finale to the 2008 Christmas Concert featured
more than 800 performers on stage. Click to Enlarge.
Fruits of Our Labors
To read the article so far one would think that our train was an express. Not so; it is a local train that never misses its weekly pass through the Choir's long-running radio and television broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word. And that is not to mention the all-important General Conference sessions as well as rehearsals and recording sessions. Fruits of the latter this year included three CDs: Rejoice and Be Merry , a recording of selections from the 2007 Christmas Concerts; Praise to the Man, a CD honoring the Prophet Joseph Smith; and Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing: American Folk Songs and Spirituals , which was released just this past week. The latter is our first recording since Mack Wilberg became Music Director (it was actually recorded before Praise to the Man ), and what could be a better debut recording for Mack, who is known the world over for his stirring and beautiful arrangements of hymns and folk songs. The Salt Lake Tribune called it, “one of the choir's strongest.” Purchase information can be found here:
Also out recently is a marvelous new DVD which captures the 2008 Easter performances of The Redeemer I spoke about at the beginning. This one is a little unusual in that it is being offered through distribution centers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Purchase information can be found here:
Easter, 2008: Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square
with soloists dressed in Biblical robes perform "The Redeemer" by Robert
Cundick. (See below for a YouTube video from the performance). Click to Enlarge.
Although there is no CD, this is an instance where the music is even better when including the visual element, because the performers' expressions speak volumes about their feelings for the Savior as they sing and play. It is wonderful to have this recording available just in time for Easter and there must be many who agree, for it has sold 3000 copies in just two weeks. The YouTube video below features a sample—the selection “How Beautiful Upon the Mountains.”
I recounted my father's experience writing The Redeemer when it was last performed in April of 2001. If you would like to learn more, the article can be found here.
Picking Up Speed
That just about winds it up for this year, and this was a “light” one because it didn't include a full tour. Starting with this weekend's General Conference our train really picks up speed. Next week we will jump into preparations for concerts April 18 and 19 in honor of the centennial of Salt Lake City 's Cathedral of the Madeleine. Then it will be time to prepare for a tour! Between June 18 and 30 we will visit seven cities in the central United States : Cincinnati, Ohio; St. Louis, Missouri; Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; Norman, Oklahoma; and Denver, Colorado. Specific concert dates and ticket information can be found on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's events page by clicking here:
A New Assistant Conductor for Our Train
Talk about a train that never stops! But fortunately, we will be picking up a new conductor! Our new Associate Music Director, Ryan T. Murphy, will be joining us on June 14—just in time to dash alongside the train and pull himself up on caboose where he will ride along for the tour.
Newest Baton in the West: Ryan T. Murphy was just named as Associate
Music Director for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He will join us just in
time for the 2009 Central States tour after finishing up his doctorate
at Boston University.
Ryan is a native of Newtown, Connecticut. He is currently finishing up his doctorate in choral conducting at Boston University. His bachelor's and master's degrees are from Brigham Young University where he also served as assistant to Mack Wilberg for several years. His experience directing musical theater at Sundance Institute in Provo, Utah and Tuacahn in St. George, Utah will surely come in handy for our spectacular Christmas productions.
Ryan and wife Jennifer met while singing in the Concert Choir at BYU. They have three children: two girls and a boy. Fortunately, Ryan is already used to a frenetic pace. He is currently conducting six choirs in the Boston area, including the Wakefield Choral Society; two choirs at the prestigious New England Conservatory; one at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, an internationally recognized secondary school affiliated with the Conservatory; and two Catholic Church choirs.
Summing Up
As our train heads around the next bend we always look forward to seeing what's in store. This past year under our fabulous new director (and composer and arranger extraordinaire), Mack Wilberg, and his interim associate, Ed Thompson, has been an exciting and fulfilling one. We look forward with great anticipation to the arrival of our new associate music director, Ryan Murphy. Each year, as our train goes on its way, there will be some who must leave us and some who will join. But the latter had better have their running shoes on, because the train is not going to stop!
Robb Cundick is the eldest son of Tabernacle Organist emeritus Robert Cundick. He has sung in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir since July of 1990. Robb earned a Ph.D. in Medical Informatics at the University of Utah and is a medical computer programmer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. Father of five, he is married to the former Laurel Soderborg. His articles for Meridian contain his own observations and do not represent the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or the Church in any official capacity.
Let's take the past year as an example. Our journey began with the 2008 Easter concerts, which were especially near and dear to me because they featured my father's sacred service, The Redeemer. What a glorious memory! This was the 30th anniversary of the 1978 premier of this touching and spiritually rewarding work at Brigham Young University under the direction of Dr. Ralph Woodward. It was Woodward who originally conceived of the piece and asked my Dad, Robert Cundick, to write it. Things came full circle in 2008 because Mack Wilberg—who had just taken over as director of the Choir—was Dr. Woodward's rehearsal pianist in 1978. This meant that he had a special appreciation for the composition and was uniquely prepared to provide a sensitive interpretation. 
To read the article so far one would think that our train was an express. Not so; it is a local train that never misses its weekly pass through the Choir's long-running radio and television broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word. And that is not to mention the all-important General Conference sessions as well as rehearsals and recording sessions. Fruits of the latter this year included three CDs: Rejoice and Be Merry , a recording of selections from the 2007 Christmas Concerts; Praise to the Man, a CD honoring the Prophet Joseph Smith; and Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing: American Folk Songs and Spirituals , which was released just this past week. The latter is our first recording since Mack Wilberg became Music Director (it was actually recorded before Praise to the Man ), and what could be a better debut recording for Mack, who is known the world over for his stirring and beautiful arrangements of hymns and folk songs. The Salt Lake Tribune called it, “one of the choir's strongest.” Purchase information can be found 
