The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s sacred music concert during Philippines tour highlights prayer, hope

MANILA, Philippines — The applause for The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square at the sacred music concert began before they sang or played a note. As the 323 choir members and 60-plus orchestra members were walking in to take their places in the Quadricentennial Pavilion at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday, Feb. 25, the audience of nearly 5,000 began cheering.

The sacred music concert on the “Himig ng Pag-asa” tour or “melody of hope” tour stop in the Philippines was at a private Catholic school that dates back to 1611 — older than Harvard University in the United States — and is Asia’s oldest university. Interspersed during a section of the program were four young adults of different faiths who spoke about the power of prayer.

Those of many different faith backgrounds gathered to hear the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra perform in-person for the first time. This tour stop of the choir and orchestra’s multicity, multiyear “Hope” tour is their debut visit to the Philippines.

One of those was Cardinal José Fuerte Advíncula, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Manila, who first heard the choir’s recording of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” some 40 years ago when he was in his 20s. He said he also uses the choir’s music during meditation.

“It’s very amazing how music, how songs can actually make us feel closer to one another. When actually we should be so because we are all our brothers and sisters. We have one common Father — God,” Cardinal Advíncula said. “And I think that should not prevent us from working together, for the betterment of our brothers and sisters.”

Cardinal Advíncula sat with Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the choir and orchestra’s sponsoring organization — and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, who also attended the concert. The Andersens have been ministering in the Philippines for more than a week and also spoke to the choir and orchestra earlier Sunday during sacrament meeting. The Church’s Philippines Area presidency — Elder Steven R. Bangerter, area president, and counselors Elder Yoon Hwan Choi and Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., all General Authority Seventies — and their wives were among other Church leaders who attended.

Songs and prayers of hope

The choir and orchestra sang 14 songs plus a trio of encores, standing in front of a mural of a sun beaming over a field of trees, grass and sheep. The men of the choir and orchestra traded their white shirts and ties for traditional long-sleeved Filipino barongs embroidered with the choir’s logo, three stars for the country’s three largest islands and three rays of the Philippine sun. The women wore ponchos over their dresses that were embroidered with the sampaguita, the country’s national flower.

One of those encores was choir director Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of “Bahay Kubo,” a Filipino folk song. The audience cheered when it was announced and sang along with the choir — and many held up their cellphones to record it, too. And, later, as the choir was filing out of the arena, the audience members sang it to choir and orchestra members.

The choir and orchestra began with hymns of praise with the boisterous “Alleluia Fanfare” combined with “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” then “In Hymns of Praise” and “Awake and Arise, All Ye Children of Light,” all arranged by Wilberg.

Next were “two songs that use just one powerful word: alleluia,” said Lloyd Newell, the announcer for the choir’s weekly broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word.”

“Alleluia” with a meditative, almost spiritual chant-like melody was followed by the soaring “Alleluia, from Psalm 150,” with seemingly disjointed individual parts building before coming together to fill the space with music.

The choir and orchestra performed the celebratory “¡Ah, El Novio No Quere Dinero!” a Sephardic wedding song, sung in Medino, an ancient Spanish Hebrew language, and the hand-clapping Nigerian carol “Betelehemu,” sung in Yoruba. “The first song is about hope in marriage. The second about hope in the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ,” Newell said. “Both celebrate the wonder of life and the beauty of God’s plan for all His children.”

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Next were a trio of songs of hope from the American songbook: “A song about music, a song about life, and a song about love,” Newell said. They are the upbeat “Music Everywhere,” with music by assistant conductor Ryan Murphy and “The Pilgrim Song” and “My God So High,” both arranged by Murphy.

Interspersed in the three songs — “Meditation” arranged by Wilberg, “The Prayer” from “Quest for Camelot” and “A Child’s Prayer” — in the “Prayers of Hope” section were four young adults from different religious backgrounds sharing about hope.

Antoinette Yvonne Carpio, a Catholic student majoring in vocal performance, said, “Prayer has given me a comfort that I can’t explain. And through Him, despite all my troubles, He gives me the strength to love everyone as He loves me.”

Alexis Sandino, a Buddhist who recently graduated with a master’s degree in choreography, said, “Because of prayer, I found that I was embraced, loved, heard, resurrecting my life to walk with stronger conviction, with light, love and happiness.”

Reema Macadato, a Muslim student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics, shared: “Prayer has been my anchor, steadying me through life’s tumultuous waves and gentle tides. It’s more than the ritual. It’s a profound connection with Allah.”

Keon Mikhael Patio Serrano, a Latter-day Saint student preparing to study software development, said that after serving as a full-time missionary, he began to understand that prayer “is a deliberate and a meaningful conversation, wholeheartedly.” He added: “I pray because I love [God], and I want to feel that love for me as His child, created in His image.”

The choir and orchestra recognized Leo Marcelo, a tenor who is a native Filipino, and dozens of choir and orchestra members with a connection to the Philippines.

Sundae Mae Indino and Ronald Baa, two of the choir’s global participants who auditioned with the choir and flew in to sing with them at general conference last year, joined for two hymns of hope — “I Believe in Christ” and “The Spirit of God.”

With a standing ovation from the audience, the choir and orchestra launched into the signature “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” followed by “Bahay Kubo” and then singing “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” to applause and cheers from the audience.

Hearing the choir in-person

Among those wanting to talk to and take a photo with Mack Wilberg were Brig. Gen. Charito Plaza, a wing commander in the Philippines Air Force, and Sister Angelina Morales Julom, who teaches at University of Santo Tomas.

“It was so fabulous,” Paza said of the concert, adding she was grateful for the opportunity to hear the concert.

Sister Julom said it was “excellent.”

A dozen members of the choral group from Central United Methodist Church Manila also took a group selfie with Wilberg. They had listened to choir’s recordings — online, CDs and cassette tapes — and had tried to sing some of their songs before.

Frances Blances, the choral group’s conductor, said the concert was “a dream come true” and “so overwhelming.”

Hearing them in person was “like a thousand, a million times” better, she said with a smile.

Missionaries, including those from the Manila Missionary Training Center and those who brought friends, attended the concert.

Both President L. Whitney Clayton, first counselor in the choir’s presidency, and President Gary B. Porter, second counselor, noted the enthusiasm and energy of the audience.

President Clayton said, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very involved in interfaith activity in the Philippines.” The area’s leaders are looking for ways to bring people together with common interests and common hope “to build the Philippines and to build the people.”

President Porter said that prior to the concert, they had dinner with area religious and business leaders. The Philippines is a majority Christian nation, with most Filipinos identifying as Catholics.

“They are all so interested in hearing the Tabernacle Choir,” he said.

President Porter noted the memorable moment when the choir sang “Bahay Kubo” and the audience joined in. It was “fun for us to feel that connection and you could just feel the love of Filipino people that they had for the choir and that we have for them. It was a wonderful experience.”

Choir’s ‘Hope’ tour

There are 323 members of the 360-voice volunteer choir on tour and 69 members of the orchestra, along with choir leaders and staff. These “musical missionaries” are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days and choir members have a monthslong audition process. The choir’s origins date back to 1847 when pioneer members of the Church formed a choir to sing at a conference of the Church weeks after arriving in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley.

The choir and orchestra will be in the Philippines through Thursday, Feb. 29. In addition to the sacred music concert, they will perform two concerts in the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 27, and Wednesday, Feb. 28. The concert on Feb. 28 will be livestreamed on the choir’s YouTube channel, and local Church leaders are encouraging people to gather to watch it.

Guest performers for the SM Mall of Asia Arena are Broadway singer-actress and “Disney Legend” Lea Salonga, singer-songwriter Ysabelle Cuevas and TV personalities Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Paolo Abrera.

The Philippines is the second stop on the multicity, multiyear “Hope” tour. In June 2023, the choir and orchestra’s first stop was in Mexico last year. Choir officials announced on Wednesday, Feb. 21, that the fall tour Sept. 5-12 will be to Florida and Georgia in the southeastern United States.