SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The fourth and final performance of The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square’s “Songs of Hope” tour stop in São Paulo, Brazil, on Sunday, March 1, celebrated faith and hope as the musicians testified of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles welcomed those attending in the filled Ginásio do Ibirapuera arena, testifying of Jesus Christ as “the true source of inspiration and hope.”
He recognized that those in attendance had diverse beliefs, backgrounds and traditions. “We hope that everyone may likewise feel the spirit of unity and joy that marks this moment and feel spiritually uplifted,” said Elder Soares, who was accompanied by his wife, Sister Rosana Soares.
He added, “The music that will be presented today reminds us that, despite our differences, we share similar feelings, aspirations and dreams, and that beauty and harmony can unite us in a deeper way.”
The musical devotional Sunday featured singer Nathan Pacheco and a quartet of Beatriz Marmelo, Gabrielly Lourenço, João Daniel and Nicole Luz, all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also, children shared a story from the Book of Mormon about Jesus Christ visiting the Americas, with a chorus of about 200 more children joining them.
Guest harpist and native Brazilian Lethicia Caravello joined the orchestra during a medley of Primary songs — surprising her parents, Elder and Sister Soares. They were emotional as Caravello gave them a hug.
The concerts on Friday, Feb. 27, and Saturday, Feb. 28, also in the Ginásio do Ibirapuera, featured guest artist Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo. The concert on Saturday, Feb. 28, was streamed live on the Tabernacle Choir’s YouTube channel and is available for on-demand viewing.
For all three weekend performances, people lined up hours before the concerts, with the queues stretching around the block. The Ginásio do Ibirapuera — the same venue where the choir performed in 1981 — filled up each night with an estimated 6,400 attendees and an overflow area was available to view the concerts.
Also in attendance at the concert were members of the Tabernacle Choir presidency and the Brazil Area presidency and their wives. Elder Joni L. Koch, General Authority Seventy and the Church’s Brazil Area president, welcomed the audience in the arena and introduced Elder Soares.
The 320 choir members and 68 orchestra musicians, who are all volunteers, also performed earlier in the week on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Sala São Paulo.
São Paulo is the sixth stop on the choir and orchestra’s “Songs of Hope” tour — “Canções de Esperança” in Portuguese.
Singing Primary songs
It’s been more than 11 years since Caravello last visited Brazil. She now lives in the United States, is the principal harpist with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a married mother of two children. She also plays for other symphonies and orchestras and teaches music.
Caravello played the harp as the choir and orchestra performed a medley of “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” and “A Child’s Prayer.”
Before sharing the names of her parents, she told of how they encouraged her to play an instrument “even though I wasn’t too studious at the time.” When she decided she wanted to play the harp, it took time and effort to find access to an instrument and lessons. They also supported her in other ways, including late-night practices and having a vehicle large enough to transport a harp.
“My parents made many sacrifices throughout this journey to help me and followed what were probably many moments of divine inspiration to find a way for me to quite literally fulfill a dream,” she said. Caravello added her testimony of families, “The family is truly God’s plan for us to have happiness, and what an honor it is to know that it can be eternal thanks to our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Pacheco, whose grandfather is from Curitiba, Brazil, served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Campinas, Brazil.
“I represent thousands of young people who had the opportunity to do missions in Brazil,” he said, adding that while the missionaries had returned home, they never stopped thinking about Brazil and the people there, noting their faith in Jesus Christ. “Because there are no people like the Brazilian people.”
Pacheco sang one of his favorite songs, the soaring Italian aria “Nessun Dorma” by Giacomo Puccini, for which the audience stood, applauded and cheered.
For the next song of “I Am a Child of God,” he invited the audience to sing along as he led in Portuguese, many holding up the lights on their phones.
Toward the end of the concert, children narrated the account in the Book of Mormon of the Savior visiting people in the Americas after His Resurrection — including when Jesus Christ called the little children to Him and angels encircled them (see 3 Nephi 17).
Seven children narrated the story, while nearly 200 more gathered around the center stage as long, sparkly streamers came down from the ceiling.
The children, all dressed in white or light colors, also performed “Que Cristo Me Ama Eu Sei” (“I Know That My Savior Loves Me”). As the children sang, many people held up and waved the lights on their phones — and gave them a standing ovation.
‘Canções de Esperança’ devotional
The two-hour performance featured 20 musical selections — hymns of praise, two Psalms, three alleluias, songs from around the world, songs of charm and joy, music of a new generation and hymns of hope — under the direction of director Mack Wilberg and associate director Ryan Murphy.
The choir stood in front of screens framed by arches that highlighted a variety of images or videos for each song. Other circles and half-moons with cut-out shapes of flowers, plants and animals surrounded the stage and the lights illuminating the shapes changed colors throughout the devotional.
The concert was narrated by Church members from around Brazil, including Luz in the arena, and others were recorded messages that explored different aspects of the Church and the choir and orchestra.
The choir and orchestra members from Brazil were recognized during the concert: singers Alan Silva and Álvaro Martins and cellist Marcos Rangel, who all live in Utah; and Thalita Carvalho and Rodrigo Domaredzky, who are global members living in Brazil and have sung with the choir during general conference.
The concert opened with hymns of praise: “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” in English and Portuguese and “Come, Ye Children of the Lord” in Portuguese. Music based on two Psalms followed: “How Excellent Thy Name,” the opening chorus from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Saul,” and “148th Psalm” with cascading “hallelujahs.”
Next were two songs from around the world: “Gamelan,” designed to sound like an Indonesian orchestra with the choir rapidly singing a series of “ding” and “dong,” and “¡Ah, El Novio No Quiere Dinero!” a Sephardic wedding song in Ladino, a Judeo-Spanish language.
A trio of alleluias followed, first with the peaceful “Alleluia” by Giuliano Caccini. Then the soaring “Alleluia,” from “Psalm 150,” by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, which has seemingly disjointed individual parts building before coming together to fill the space with music. The audience stood as the choir and orchestra performed “Hallelujah” from Handel’s “Messiah.”
The choir and orchestra then sang three “songs of charm and joy”: the upbeat “Music Everywhere,” the jazzy “What a Wonderful World” and the traditional spiritual “My God is So High.” The orchestra then played the dancing and playful “Le Bal” from “Jeux d’enfants” or “Child’s Games.”
Following Pacheco’s songs, the quartet of Marmelo, Lourenço, Daniel and Luz performed a medley of “Peace in Christ,” “Walk With Me” and “Disciple of Christ,” to which the audience members sang and clapped along. The group began singing the Church’s youth theme music in Brazil, known as “Jovens da Igreja de Jesus Cristo.”
The choir sang a medley of “My Heavenly Father Loves Me” and “A Child’s Prayer” in Portuguese, with Caravello as a guest harpist in the orchestra. It was followed by the children presenting the story of Jesus Christ visiting the Americas and singing “I Know That My Savior Loves Me” as the choir and many in the audience held up the lights on their phones.
The concert concluded with hymns of hope: “Let Us All Press On” in English and Portuguese; and “The Spirit of God” in Portuguese. During the last verse of “The Spirit of God,” Wilberg turned toward the audience and invited them to sing along — and many did with gusto.
As the audience gave the choir and orchestra a standing ovation, they performed two encores: “I Believe in Christ,” in English and Portuguese; and their traditional farewell song, “God Be With You Til We Meet Again,” sung in Portuguese with the audience.
As the audience stood, applauded and cheered, many choir members wiped away tears, waved or made hearts with their hands as they exited the stage.
‘Simply breathtaking’
Daiane Monique Amorim of São Paulo said the concert “was a remarkable experience, as if heaven had literally touched the earth for a few moments.”
She had seen the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast in Salt Lake City in 2015. This concert was different.
“The structure, the visual arts, the thoughtful planning of the arrangements and the harmony among all the musicians were simply breathtaking,” she said. “Hearing the choir sing in Portuguese made everything even more special and moving. It clearly demonstrated the members’ great effort and dedication.”
Silva, one of the choir members from Brazil, greeted several family members after the concert.
Heliana Pereira, a sister-in-law who isn’t a member of the Church, said the concert was “very beautiful.”
Liris Mariano, one of Silva’s nieces and a Church member, liked when the choir sang “The Spirit of God.” Mariano’s two children, Isac Sales and Isabela Sales, both liked “¡Ah, El Novio No Quiere Dinero!” “It was unexpected,” Isac Sales said.
Mariano was also touched that the choir sang in Portuguese, which she said was very good. “That was a surprise.”
After the performances, members of the choir and orchestra had a designated area to meet and greet attendees. Missionaries Elder Aaron Chapman of Henderson, Nevada, and Elder Nathan Allred of Spearfish, South Dakota, who are serving in the Brazil São Paulo Interlagos Mission, joined the line of people of all ages waiting to take a photograph with choir member Chathum Nielsen, who has a distinctive mustache.
Chapman said his family would watch for Nielsen at general conference, and now he got to see him in person.
Sunday’s concert was also Chapman and Allred’s first time hearing the choir sing in person. They came as their mission president said it would be a spiritual experience — and it lived up to that, Chapman said. “Let Us All Press On” was a highlight as ”it was really nice to have all the members, all the people here interacting.”
For Allred, a highlight was hearing “I Believe in Christ” and then everyone singing “I Am a Child of God.” A difference with attending in person is “being in a room where you can feel the vibrations as they sing and also feel the Spirit at the same time.”
