Meridian Magazine : : Print

Choir Members Needed for European Tour
By Gregor K. McHardy

Remember the feeling? You're crowded on risers with dozens of other people decked out in their slightly aromatic tuxes and gowns. You're watching your director like a hawk, remembering as you do each little
nuance you've worked out in rehearsal. The lights are hot. You can't see the audience. And that little trickle of sweat over your right eye is threatening to drip into your eye, but you dare not wipe it away for
fear of breaking the spell.

The place is the stage, and the group you're with is your choir. It may have been way back in high school or college, or more recently at a regional conference or other special event. But although you sing
regularly in your ward choir and you feel the spirit of adding to the most sacred of meetings, there's just something lacking in comparison to the good ol' days.

Now is your chance to recapture for a few weeks that magic of performing challenging music with a large group on a fabulous stage for a meaningful and appreciative audience. The top choral directors from BYU, BYU-Idaho, and the University of Utah are going to Europe in the summer of 2008, and you can be part of the choir!

The groups will be touring Austria, Germany, and Switzerland for 10 days. The cities to be visited include Vienna, Salzburg, Lucerne, Bern, and Zurich, culminating in a visit to the Passion for Music Festival held each year in Oberammergau, Germany, home of the world-famous Passion Play. A day or two will also be spent relaxing in the Alps, with time to soak in a mineral spa or hike the stunning mountain paths. Along the way the choirs will perform for the local Saints and their friends, and even attend a session at the Swiss Temple.

Those who sign up to sing in the group will receive sheet music and rehearsal tracks well in advance of the tour so that they can be prepared to sing together with Saints from all over the country. The group will then meet in the New York area for two days of rehearsals with Dr. Ronald Staheli (BYU), Dr. Brady Allred (UofU), or Dr. Kevin Brower (BYU-I), after which all will fly out together to begin touring.

Dr. Staheli will lead a group of adult members through Switzerland, while Dr. Allred and Dr. Brower will lead a group of adults and a group of young single adults respectively through Austria. All three groups
will converge on the Passion for Music Festival at the end of the tour, and then fly back to New York together.

So, if you're looking for a way to share your talents, share the gospel, and have a wonderful vacation at the same time, address your browser to the Mormon Choir at the Passion for Music Festival (http://MormonChoir.PassionForMusicFestival.com) and see what it takes to become part of one of these choirs.

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