Visitors to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics will find at least one performing group that seems tailor made for an international gathering. But in fact, the International Children's Choir of Utah has existed since 1992.
This group, which fluctuates in membership between 125 and 130 children ranging in age from 6 to 16, will be featured in "Light of the World," the Church's theatrical offering at the Conference Center for the Olympics. In addition, the group will perform in three "Welcome the World" concerts that are part of the activities attendant to the Games.
The first of those concerts will be with the Utah Symphony on Jan. 26. And they will have smaller parts in the other two concerts that feature the Tabernacle Choir, one on Feb. 9 and the other Feb. 23, featuring the king'singers.
Filling Olympic engagements has been something of a challenge, said director Kathy Sorensen, who had to divide the choir into two performing groups, with 70 of the singers performing in "Light of the World," and the other 48 performing at the other events, including welcomes for visiting presidents, other leaders and royalty.
Having performed in such international venues as Smetana Hall in Prague, the Czech Republic; Carnegie Hall in New York City; and at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the group is frequently seen at Utah events including the Temple Square Concert Series. In fact, the second of the Temple Square Concerts broadcast over KBYU-FM last September featured the choir.
The International Children's Choir began as an outgrowth of Sister Sorensen's dissertation at the University of Utah, where she received a doctorate in music with a specialty in multi-cultural choral music. Pursuant to that, she researched the music of pioneer immigrants and refugees to Utah.
A member of the Wanship Ward, Coalville Utah Stake, and a member of the Tabernacle Choir, she had experience with choirs in Pennsylvania before she moved to Utah. She formed the choir by placing notices in local media. "I had the costumes handmade; today, they're imported from the actual countries," she said.
She estimates the choir has at least 100 costumes. "I know that, because we had to make sure that we had costumes from the 80 countries that are participating in the Olympics, and we have others besides," she said.
While the choir began to showcase the music of Utah's international heritage, "the focus now is more on welcoming people from around the world," she said, a mandate that seems a perfect fit in a city that is hosting the international games.
E-mail: rscott@desnews.com
