Saturday, June 20, 2009 St. Louis: Tour Gateway for Choir and Orchestra The area around St. Louis was first inhabited by native Americans, later known as the Mississippi mound builders. The French later occupied it as part of the expansive swath of territory that constituted “Louisiana.” Here, at the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers, they established an important settlement in 1703 and named it for Louis IX. One hundred years later, in a transaction known as the Louisiana Purchase, the French sold the Louisiana territory, which included St. Louis, to the United States for $15 million. Subsequently the steam boat era contributed to making St. Louis an important trade and transportation hub. As such, it was important in LDS history because many British and Scandinavian converts immigrated by sailing to New Orleans and then coming up the river to St. Louis, whence they embarked by wagon, handcart, and, later, train, for Utah and the intermountain west. St. Louis’ commercial importance led to its continued growth throughout the 1800s, to the extent that by the end of the nineteenth century it was the fourth largest city in the United States. Although it ranks sixteenth today, with 2,871,421 people in the greater metropolitan area, it remains one of the most important cities in the Midwest. Indeed, its past—and current—position as a bridge between east and west earned its nickname “The Gateway to the West,” a role marked by the well-known Gateway Arch, a 630-foot steel arch located on the Mississippi riverfront in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, the Arch is the tallest monument in the United States. Construction began in 1963, and it was opened to the public in 1967. Filming session at the Gateway Arch (Click to enlarge). The Gateway Arch was the scene of a Mormon Tabernacle Choir video and photo shoot that began our third day of the tour on June 20, 2009. Gathering in the lobby of the Hilton at 6:00 a.m., the Choir then walked the few blocks to the Arch, forming a train of women in their blue dresses and men in their black suits and bow ties. There we “enjoyed” the St. Louis high humidity and 90-degree temperature through the course of a photo shoot that lasted more than two hours. In addition to still shots by Church News reporter Gerry Avant of the Choir and its directors, Mack Wilberg and—for the first time—Ryan Murphy, the Bonneville television crew also filmed extensive video footage of the Choir singing “Saints Bound for Heaven” and “Bound for the Promised Land,” both of which fit the city’s heritage with LDS pioneers as well as the nation’s western expansion as a whole. The shots were done with a variety of cameras and booms, including some taken by executive producer Ed Payne, who was seated, and sometimes hung partially out of a helicopter that made several passes over the Choir below. Mormon Tabernacle Choir Music Director Mack Wilberg (l) and newly-appointed Associate Music Director Ryan Murphy pose together "officially" for the first time. (Click to enlarge). The Choir and its guests then had some rare free time for the rest of the morning and the early afternoon. Choir members used their time variously; many visited tourist sites in the city; some used the time to exercise—using the hotel fitness room, running and walking around the Gateway park, and a few even biked; and several even rested! During this time the members of the Orchestra at Temple Square who were accompanying the tour arrived, but they did not even have time to check into their rooms. After a quick lunch in the hotel, they were whisked away to the Scottrade Center for sound check, where our organists had already arrived to begin the complicated task of adjusting sound levels and technical support. Like the setup of the stage and equipment by our crew, which usually begins at 7 a.m. the morning of the performance, sound checks are an important part of every concert’s preparation of which most in our audiences are rarely even aware. The Choir arrived last for sound check, where Dr. Wilberg took us through the program, starting and stopping to check transitions and then rehearsing us more thoroughly on specific pieces. Finally, before dismissing the Orchestra so that its members could at last get into their hotel rooms before dinner, we rehearsed our encore number, “This Land Is Your Land.” Starting with St. Louis, the Choir has engaged special “guest conductors” to lead this popular number, and for St. Louis our guest was none other than former Missouri governor, U.S. senator, and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Mr. Ashcroft came to the rehearsal, which gave him an opportunity to address the Choir and Orchestra. Noting his connections with Utah senators Orin Hatch and Robert Bennett, he also confessed that he has many Choir recordings on his iPod and appreciated its important role in inspiring the country through its ministry. A practicing Christian and a lifelong member of Assemblies of God, Mr. Ashcroft invoked the blessings of the Lord upon us during our tour and upon our audience that night. Former Missouri governor, U.S. senator, and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft practices for his guest conducting appearance with the Choir and Orchestra. (Click to enlarge). The venue for our St. Louis concert was the Scottrade Center, a 19,150 seat arena that opened in 1994, originally for the St. Louis Blue’s hockey team. While it was virtually impossible to come close to filling such a large arena, our audience that night was warm and enthusiastic. For the Choir, it was “our” first concert, having been guests of the Cincinnati Pops in the first concert of the tour at the Riverbend Music Center. This was enjoyable for the Choir because it made St. Louis our first concert with our own orchestra; our own host, Lloyd Newell; and our full tour repertoire. Having the Orchestra at Temple Square with us is important to us as Choir members. While it is a privilege to sing with professional orchestras such as the Cincinnati Pops, which bring their considerable skill and expressiveness to performances, we—and our audiences—value our own orchestra’s experience in accompanying the Choir and appreciate, in particular, what it uniquely brings to our performances. Members of the Choir strive to follow the injunction of 1 Corinthians 14:13 to “sing with the spirit,” and it is our conviction that the members of the Orchestra similarly play with the spirit, bringing their commitment and testimony to their music in a unique and moving way. Likewise, Lloyd’s familiar hosting and his sharing of aspects of the Choir’s mission and history to tour performances brings an element of Music and the Spoken Word to our concerts. Just as the Choir strives to "sing with the spirit," members of the Orchestra give their all to "play with the spirit." (Click to enlarge). The full tour program breaks into several sections or music sets. As always, we opened with the Wilberg arrangement of the “Alleluia Fanfare/Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” which also began the first set, Hymns of Praise, including Morning Has Broken and Wilberg’s own Hymn of Praise. The second set, Music of the Masters, included Mozart’s “Gloria in Excelsis,” Pavel Chesnokov’s “O Lord God,” and Gioachino Rossini’s “Cum Sancto Spiritu.’ The Chesnokov piece is from the Russian liturgy and reflects the rich choral tradition of the Orthodox church. A prayerful plea to the Lord, “O Lord God” also features a line based on Psalm 104:22 that has great meaning for Choir members and singers everywhere: “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live and praise Thy name while I have my being.” The Rossini piece, which is both a playful number and an exercise in musical endurance is from the Petite Messe Solenelle, which on another occasion Dr. Wilberg has characterized as being neither “small” nor “solemn.” As such, it gave both the Choir and Orchestra a chance to show off their ability while having a lot of fun performing. The next set, Music of the World, included audience favorites “¡Ah, el novio no quere dinero!”a Sephardic wedding hymn; “Danny Boy,” a traditional Irish melody; and “Betelehemu,” a Nigerian carol. The first and last of these numbers, including choreography and lively percussion, gave the audience a view of the Choir as they have never seen it before. Music Director Mack Wilberg encourages the Choir and Orchestra to give their best. (Click to enlarge). The first half of the concert ended with a short set, Two American Folk Hymns, both of which express a deep appreciation for the grace of Jesus Christ, one that we all share. First, Dr. Wilberg’s arrangement of “Amazing Grace,” allowed us to share our own testimonies of the transformative and saving power of Christ in a song so beloved by so many other Christians. In addition to the familiar early verses of the song, the final one reflects a love of the Choir and so many believing music lovers: “When we’ve been there, ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no more days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun.” Next, we closed this set, and the first half of the concert with another moving Wilberg arrangement, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” which is rapidly becoming another Choir signature piece. Continuing the theme of grace, we sang, “Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God. He to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood . . . O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be. Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering soul to thee.” After a 20-minute intermission, the first set of the second half consisted of Songs of the Land, including “Saints Bound for Heaven,” “Homeward Bound,” and “Cindy.” The next set, Songs of Faith and Hope, featured some of the great, individual talent of the choir. The first and third songs of this set showcased our own Alex Boyé, who, as in Cincinnati, sang stirring renditions of “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” and “Rock-a-My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham” while accompanied by the Choir. The importance of the Choir’s moves into the important genre of African-American spirituals cannot be underestimated. In addition to preserving the great faith and endurance of those who created these songs, our singing songs such as these reflects the growing diversity and ethnic richness of the Choir’s sponsoring church. Beginning with the St. Louis concert, these two songs framed an improvisation of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” by Tabernacle organist Richard Elliott. Exhibiting Dr. Elliott’s virtuosity, his stirring performance was, as always, real audience pleaser. Choir member Alex Boyé's passionate singing was a hit with the audience. (Click to enlarge). The penultimate set of the concert’s second half, Songs of Inspiration from the American Theater, included “Come to My Garden” from The Secret Garden; “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel; and “God Bless America” from This Is the Army.” After the Spoken Word by Brother Newell, the Choir’s final two scheduled songs were signature pieces “Come, Come Ye Saints” and the ever-popular “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Following the encore “This Land Is Your Land,” led, as planned by Mr. Ashcroft, we closed the concert by singing the benediction “God Be with You Till We Meet Again.” The standard way of concluding a Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance, many of us missed singing this at the end of the Cincinnati concert, where we were guests. This final number gives us a chance to actually look at and connect with the audience as we sing our farewell and pray the Lord’s blessings upon our listeners as they leave. Members of the audience were all smiles. (Click to enlarge). The audience’s response was warm and appreciative, as reflected by comments from some as they left: “It was fantastic. Just wonderful. I loved ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic,’ ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ the spirituals.” Raymond and Brenda Kerr. “Absolutely awesome. It was incredible. First time I’ve ever heard the Choir in person. My favorite was ‘Come, Thou Fount.’ I live in Springfield, about three hours from here.” Diane Bushman. “It was wonderful; it was a beautiful experience. It was something that everybody in St. Louis should have been here to experience. It was outstanding. My name is Queen Marva; I’m a minister here in St. Louis.” “I thought it was so beautiful and lovely. Why don’t we do this every day? To go from normal life and have this Choir come on stage, out of nowhere, this sound and this spirit is what the whole world needs every day. Thank you so much.” June Sommer On to Des Moines, with a stop off for some sightseeing in Nauvoo, Illinois! By Eric Huntsman, Baritone