Photography
© 2006 Debbie Gehris. All rights reserved.
By Brian C. Roberts
Editors’ note: Our dear friend, Brian Roberts, has just completed
20 years of service in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We pled
with Brian to take some hours to transform from being a singer
to a writer and give Meridian readers a perspective on his
experiences in the choir. The following is a heartwarming,
inside voice from the choir we all love.
20 years! Who would have thought
anyone would spend that much time in one calling in the Church?
Aside from a few General Authorities, that is something unheard
of today. But there it is! After an inauspicious beginning
on Thursday, January 16, 1986, I have managed to remain an
active member of the world renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir,
completing 20 plus years of service on Sunday, June 11, 2006.
During this remarkable period
I have participated in the solemn assemblies of three Presidents
of the Church (Ezra Taft Benson, Howard W. Hunter and Gordon
B. Hinckley); sung in the 3,000th and 4,000th
broadcasts, not to mention the 60th and 75th
anniversary broadcasts; sung at the Bicentennial Presidential
Inauguration; witnessed first-hand the rededication of the
Nauvoo Temple; joined with the Choir in singing for literally
billions during the Opening Ceremony of the 19th
Winter Olympics; toured Europe, the former Soviet Union, Australia
and New Zealand and many of the United States; sung at the
Garden Tomb at Jerusalem; and performed with the likes of
countless celebrities from the respected newscaster Walter
Cronkite to television actress Angela Lansbury, from pop icon
Sting to Motown maven Gladys Knight, and from renowned composer
John Williams to renown diva Renée Fleming.
Thanks to the encouragement,
kindness and support of my dear friends, Scot and Maurine
Proctor, and my colleague Robb Cundick of the Choir, I hope
to briefly chronicle what has not only been a unique chapter
in my life, but the amazing opportunity I have had to take
part in such an unheralded chapter in the history of the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir.
My Beginnings with the Choir
You’ve probably heard it before
— so many saying they’ve always wanted to sing with the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir. Not so with me. During my high school
and early years at college, I really didn’t have an interest
in joining the Choir. However, during my mission to Korea
(1975-1977), I began to have a change of heart.
Then later, while finishing a
degree at BYU, I served as an officer in the Oratorio Choir
under director Ron Staheli. During that time the choirs at
BYU were invited to participate in General Conference. To
prepare for the occasion, we thought it would be nice to invite
Dr. Jerold Ottley, then music director of the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir, and his wife JoAnn to come to BYU and give a fireside
to the choral students about what to expect with their experience
at General Conference. Because of my role as an officer in
the Oratorio Choir, I was to be the liaison with Jerry and
JoAnn to see they got where they needed to be while at BYU.
It was a wonderful opportunity and I was particularly struck
by the personable and humble countenance he and his wife carried.
This was a person I wanted to get to know better.
Then in the mid 80’s, I heard
about a concert being planned for the Tabernacle where the
Choir would be performing with the famous Air Force Singing
Sergeants. I had heard so much about the Singing Sergeants
that I just could not pass up the opportunity. So I got myself
a date and went. And though I was thrilled to hear the Singing
Sergeants (who at that time were under the direction of Captain
Craig Jessop — how ironic!), I was absolutely stunned, amazed
and blown away with the performance of the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir. From that point on, my goal was to join the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir when the opportunity afforded itself.
Such an opportunity came just
following my 30th birthday in 1985. Back then
you could not even call the Choir office for an audition until
you were 30, as opposed to age 25 today. The audition process
hasn’t changed much since then. It is still at times nerve-racking
and just a wee bit intimidating (Read all about the process
in this two-part series — Part
1 and Part
2). I filled out an application, got my bishop’s recommendation,
and began the process. And as fate would have it — or, more
accurately, should I say, as intended by the Lord from the
beginning — I made it through, an opening in the 2nd
Tenor section of the Choir was available, and I received my
letter congratulating me on my call as a musical missionary
and a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the late fall
of 1985. Little did I know what remarkable experiences awaited
me.
The Rigors of the Choir
Being a member of the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir can be both exhilarating and exhausting.
And it is always time-consuming. During the course of a normal
week, you could expect to spend an average of 5½ hours in
Choir-related activities (Thursday evening rehearsals and
Sunday broadcasts). And that doesn’t include the commute
time. Then there are the extra rehearsals to prepare for
concerts, recordings and tours. They swallow up a good deal
of the Tuesdays and quite a few extended rehearsals following
a broadcast on Sundays. And then there are the events themselves,
many occupying Friday and Saturday evenings, and plenty of
Wednesdays, too. In fact, where the extra activities in the
past would be the exception, in recent years, with the demands
on the Choir increasing so dramatically, it has become the
norm.
Brian Roberts doing what
he does best: Singing!
Case in point: During 2002,
the Choir had the distinct honor of participating in the Opening
Ceremony for the 19th Olympic Winter Games that
were held in Salt Lake City. In conjunction with the Olympics,
the Choir also scheduled a series of concerts in the Tabernacle
with John Williams, Frederica Von Stade, the King’s Singers,
clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and percussionist Evelyn Glennie
as guest artists. On top of that, the Choir also had an active
role in the Church’s contribution to the Olympics, “Light
of the World” — a pageant-like presentation done in the Conference
Center. Each of these events had its own music with its own
rehearsal schedule running up to the Games.
When the Olympics finally came
in February, the Choir was in Salt Lake City every day of
the month with the exception of four days (and all but 8 of
the 31 days in January). The only way to make it work was
to imagine that the Olympic experience was akin to a major
(and I mean MAJOR) Choir tour. But we made it and performed
in four concerts to some 30,000 people in the Tabernacle,
around a half-million in the Conference Center, and millions
and perhaps even billions on live TV during the Opening Ceremony.
What an opportunity for not just the Choir but for the Church
as well. And though grueling, the ordeal was met with grit
and all in the Choir were humbled by and grateful for the
experience.
But the ones who were most challenged
during such times are not the Choir members themselves, regardless
of how trying the schedule might be, but our families, who
sacrifice much for us to be in the Choir. For me, this was
particularly unique.
I entered the Choir as a single
in 1986. Two years later, through a blind date, I met my
future bride, Denise. After a lengthy courtship of all of
three weeks, we were engaged in February of 1988 and married
Memorial Day weekend of that year, 2½ weeks before the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir left for a tour to the South Pacific (Hawaii,
New Zealand and Australia)! Not too many people can say that
they went on their honeymoon with 350 of their closest friends
— but that we did. It was a choice experience for both Denise
and me, and one we will long cherish. Needless to say, we
were known as the “honeymoon” couple on the tour and had our
fair share of ribbing and teasing during the three-week excursion.
In fact, one of our close friends whot sang in the Choir at
the time commented to us that if we could survive a Choir
tour together, our marriage was destined to last forever.
Well, survive we did and our marriage has as well.
Since I was married while a member
of the Choir, our children, Michael, Kevin, and Amy, have
only known Dad in the Choir. For those in the Choir with
young families, being away so much can be trying. You miss
a lot of events — first words, first steps, bumps and bruises,
activities, parent/teacher conferences, music lessons, practices,
games, school concerts, and so on and so forth. It also means
that Dad isn’t there a lot when Mom has to get kids ready
for and go to church. In fact, when your ward meeting schedule
switches to an early hour you become unofficially “inactive”
and your spouse a choir widow. In our current ward Denise
related how once while on such a schedule someone came up
to her thinking she was a single parent or widowed to express
her admiration of how Denise faithfully comes to every meeting.
It does become a source of much fun at times.
In many instances, the Lord has
been a great help and protector of Denise and the kids while
I have attended to my Choir responsibilities. One such experience
occurred on a Saturday during an October General Conference
a few years ago. Of course, I was in Salt Lake to fulfill
my responsibility with the Choir. In addition, I had to stay
the day because the men of the Choir were also scheduled to
sing during the Priesthood session that evening. As with
every time the Choir meets, the formal rehearsal begins with
a prayer offered by a member of the Choir. I was particularly
impressed with the prayer that morning as the individual invoked
the protective care of the Spirit on our families as we fulfilled
our calls during General Conference. Little did I realize
how important that inspired prayer would be for my family
on that day.
After the morning session I got
a quick bite to eat at the mall in Salt Lake and returned
to the Little Theatre in the Conference Center to enjoy the
afternoon session of Conference before we had to return to
the Choir loft to prepare for the Priesthood session. Early
during that afternoon session I was approached by another
member of the Choir, who informed me I was wanted on the phone
at the Conference Center Ticket Office.
Surprised, I went with him to
the ticket office and answered the phone. It was Denise.
She was a bit distraught. She needed information about our
insurance, which we had just changed that week and that I
had in my car. When I asked why, she said while she and the
children were traveling home on I-15 following a touch football
game of Kevin’s, the right rear passenger window of our van
had been shot, apparently by a pellet gun fired by some teens
and a young adult as a prank. The pellet hit the window right
next to where Kevin was sitting and completely blew it out.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. It was an answer to that morning
prayer by a faithful Choir member that my family was not seriously
injured that Conference weekend.
Then there is the music... and
music, and music and more music! It has been estimated that
during the course of any given year the Choir will see approximately
350 individual pieces of music, from sacred to secular — classical
to contemporary. During the course of time much of it becomes
memorized, either by force or by fate. That aspect has changed
significantly as well during the 20 years of my tenure. Originally,
pieces were rarely if ever memorized, generally a couple for
a concert — although there were always four that had to be
memorized from the moment you entered the Choir — “God Be
With You”, “Come, Come Ye Saints” (first the Cornwall arrangement,
but more recently, Mack Wilberg’s), Malotte’s “The Lord’s
Prayer”, and of course “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
But in the last half-dozen years, the memorization requirements
have increased substantially; and for good reason. With songs
memorized, the ability of the director to better mold the
Choir into a fluid instrument that is responsive to the nuances
and unique characteristics of a given piece is greatly improved,
thus enhancing the edification to both the performer and the
listener (D&C 50:13-22).
There’s only so much that one
can do in a short period to prepare music for the weekly broadcast
of Music and the Spoken Word, especially with all the
other demands on the Choir. But the conductors do all they
can to push that preparation to the limit and many members
of the Choir take music home to work on it. In the end, the
lights go up, the cameras roll, and “Gently Raise the Sacred
Strain” heralds the beginning of yet another broadcast. And
whatever the preparation, you feel each week that the Lord
acknowledges the preparation and steps in to make up the difference
and another wonderful broadcast is carried over the airwaves.
It is an amazing process and you know the Lord is very much
a part of it.
Experiences with the Choir
After 20 years with the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir, it would be safe to say that there were
a few experiences during that time that would inspire and
move you. And it has always been amazing to see the hand
of the Lord in it. Two related incidents stand out in that
regard.
The first was early 1991, as
the Choir was making its final preparations for its tour to
Eastern Europe and the then Soviet Union. The announcement
of the tour was met with great excitement and anticipation.
But that was quickly tempered after U.S. and coalition forces
invaded Iraq in January 1991 as part of Desert Storm. Anxiety
heightened as word began to circulate that travel to Europe
was not being recommended by the U.S. State Department.
Because of this, President Wendell
Smoot, then President of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, approached
our General Authority advisor President Gordon B. Hinckley
(who has served in that capacity since 1971) about those concerns.
After consultation with President Hinckley, President Smoot
came back to the Choir to inform them that President Hinckley
said, in essence, “Don’t you worry. You go on with your preparations
and go on your trip to Europe.” So we did and the rest is
history, as that trip was one of the most successful in terms
of missionary efforts that the Choir has ever had.
In contrast, the other experience
revolved around the summer of 2005, when the Choir had again
planned a major trip to Europe. Initial plans had the Choir
flying to Denmark where they would board an ocean liner/cruise
ship and tour the Baltic countries and Scandinavia. Financial
and logistical concerns resulted in the cancellation of that
trip and a new tour was planned for Great Britain, which included
a concert in Cardiff. This was significant to me personally
because my final tour with the Choir would include Wales,
my ancestral homeland (my Roberts’ line came from Wales in
1856 and crossed the plains with the Bunker Handcart Company).
To make it even sweeter, the Choir eventually added a stop
to Paris at the end of the tour and I had a nephew just called
to serve in that nation.
Shortly after April Conference
2004 and after the funeral of President Hinckley’s wife Marjorie,
President Hinckley asked the Choir leadership to come to his
office to discuss the pending 2005 tour. During that discussion
he expressed reservations about the Choir going on that trip,
citing concerns about security and other related matters.
He then asked the Choir leadership to let him speak with his
counselors in the First Presidency and he’d get back to them.
The next day he asked them to return. They went to his office
where he told them that the trip to Britain was to be canceled
and that they go to the Pacific Northwest instead. “I need
you more in Portland than I do in Paris,” said President Hinckley.
So the joke became, the Choir went from a boat on the Baltic
to a bus to Boise. As fate would have it, instead of finishing
my Choir career with a concert in my ancestral homeland, I
finished it with a concert in my hometown, Boise, Idaho, before
many of my family who still live there and countless friends
and acquaintances that knew me as I grew up.
Read Part 2 of Reflections
on 20 Years in the Tabernacle Choir in tomorrow’s issue of
Meridian Magazine.
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