For more than 50 years, Alexander Schreiner served as Salt Lake Tabernacle organist and, in the minds of many Church members, was a fixture for Sunday morning Tabernacle Choir broadcasts and Church general conferences.
Now, in the year of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the late Dr. Schreiner is being honored with a series of events in Salt Lake City.
Organized by the current Tabernacle Organ staff, the bulk of the events will take place Sept. 8 and will include a master class, lectures, a concert, a recital, a banquet and a documentary screening. A tribute to Brother Schreiner will be presented during the regular Sunday morning nationwide broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir on Sept. 9.
Most of the events will take place in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. The public is invited to all events, and they are free except for the banquet.
The Master Class is the first event, from 8 to 9:45 a.m. Sept. 8, featuring James Higdon, professor of organ at the University of Kansas. In the chapel of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Dr. Higdon will critique the performance of six to eight organists.
"The Cathedral of the Madeleine [of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City] is a co-sponsor of the master class," said Richard Elliott, a Tabernacle organist who is organizing the events. "Dr. Higdon is a great fan of Alexander Schreiner. It was a coincidence that he was going to be in town for a concert, so it happened to work out for us."
At 10 a.m. in the Relief Society room of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, Kenneth Udy, D.M.A., will lecture on "Alexander Schreiner: the California Years." He is the author of a book of the same title.
At noon, the regular organ recital in the Tabernacle will be devoted to "music that has something to do with Dr. Schreiner, that he composed or arranged or that he played a lot," said John Longhurst, the Tabernacle organist who will be performing the recital.
From 2 to 3:30 p.m., Dan Berghout, D.M.A., will deliver a lecture, "Alexander Schreiner: the Salt Lake Tabernacle Years." Dr. Berghout's doctoral dissertation on Alexander Schreiner is scheduled to be published later this year.
The banquet in the Bonneville Room of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building will include as guests of honor members of Brother Schreiner's family, including his sister, Norma Schreiner Foote, 85, of Boulder, Colo. It is from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The Tabernacle Gala Organ Concert is at 7 p.m. that evening at 7:30 p.m. and will feature current and former Tabernacle organ staff, as well as former students of Alexander Schreiner, performing works associated with him. They will include Clay Christiansen, Rulon Christiansen, Robert Cundick, James Drake, Richard Elliott, Bonnie Goodliffe, Linda Margetts, James Welch and Darwin Wolford. Admission is free but limited to persons 8 and older.
The broadcast Sunday morning is at the regular time, 9:30 to 10 a.m. The music and commentary will be a tribute to the organist.
Cost of the dinner is $20 per person. Reservations must be made no later than Sept. 4, either by calling the Tabernacle Choir office at (801) 240-4150, or by sending an e-mail to taborgan@ldschurch.org . Payment may be either mailed to the office or made at the door just prior to the banquet. The mailing address is Attn: Alexander Schreiner Centennial Celebration, c/o Tabernacle Choir, 50 E. North Temple St., 20th Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150-5510.
Since seating is limited at events other than those in the Tabernacle, interested persons are encouraged to call or send an e-mail giving their names, the events they plan to attend, and the number of persons in their groups.
