LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The artistically acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall and the new Los Angeles Cathedral formed the backdrop for performances by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Saturday, Feb. 5.
Invited to headline the closing concert at the National Association of Choir Directors in Los Angeles, the Tabernacle Choir did not disappoint the thousands of professional musicians, conductors and performers gathered to hear the most accomplished choirs in the United States. Standing ovations were plentiful as the choir shared its repertoire with some of their most appreciative admirers from churches, colleges and high schools around the country.
The prior evening, the Tabernacle Choir performed in concert at the Cox Arena in San Diego before an audience of more than 5,000.
In Los Angeles, the choir offered three back-to-back performances. The first was at Disney Hall. After that, all 300-plus singers and musicians walked the length of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Music Center to reach the destination of their second concert, the 11- story, 500,000-square-foot Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels where another packed audience awaited.
Surrounded by the art and the symbolism of Catholicism, Craig Jessop lifted his baton and the Orchestra at Temple Square began the familiar strains of "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," filling the cathedral sanctuary with music of faith.
After a full program and a second standing ovation, the Tabernacle Choir and orchestra moved again, by bus this time, to follow St. Olav's Choir, the Northern Texas University Choir, and Louisiana State Choir, in a final repeat of the concert at Disney Hall.
"It's a 'roadshow' of choirs," quipped LDS composer Michael McLean as he and his wife, Lynn, waited to cross the street to Disney Hall for the last concert in the round-robin event.
Though the performances were closed to the public at large, the concerts marked the first time the Mormon Tabernacle Choir had performed in Los Angeles in 40 years. Some 100 choirs were selected from all over the country to share performances at the semiannual convention of the Choir Directors Association.
"This was absolutely the best moment of the entire week," said conductor Tony McNeill of the Friendship Baptist Church of Charlotte, N.C. "To be able to hear the real Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person was just overwhelmingly moving. Such a blessing they are."
Kennedy Wakia, a choral director from Kenya, now finishing his advanced music education at the University of Miami, gave all of the gathered choirs their due, but said of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, "They are in a class by themselves."
Dr. Lula Ballton of the African American West Angelus Church of God in Christ had brought her mother who was visiting from Springfield, Mo. "My mother has listened to the choir broadcasts all her life. This wonderful concert has been the highlight of her visit," she said.
Dr. Theo Schramm, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Huntington Beach, was effusive in his praise. "Hearing the Tabernacle Choir in concert has been the climax of my life," he said.
Dr. Manuja Hinduja, a Hindu from India said, "This choir transcends culture and connects directly to that universal yearning in everyone's heart to draw closer to God."
Included in the audience at the concert in San Diego were community, government, business and religious leaders.
Bill Geppert, vice president and general manager for Cox Communications in San Diego, said, "I am overwhelmed at the beauty of the choir's performance."
Judy Walsh, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable-San Diego, who was accompanied by her son, said, "We are so impressed to learn that the choir and orchestra are all volunteers."
Sandi Dolbee, Religion and Ethics editor for the San Diego Union Tribune, wrote a two-page article about the choir that appeared in the newspaper the day before the San Diego concert.
