Los Angeles, California
The annual performance of Handel's "Messiah" by the Southern California Mormon Choir provided some firsts this year.
For the first time, the choir performed "an authentic baroque rendition of the "Messiah," accompanied by the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, said Gaye S. Smith of the California Public Affairs Office.
Baroque, according to The World Book Encyclopedia, is a term that can apply to many forms of art created and developed in western Eruope and Latin America from the 1500s to the 1700s. Baroque music was closely related to court and church life. George F. Handel of Germany was one of the great baroque composers.
Well-known arranger Leonard van Camp, who arranged the rendition, spoke during a lecture before the Dec. 8 performance about how he worked with Handel's own notations and prepared a score true to the baroque work as originally intended by Handel.
The van Camp lecture was attended by about 300 specially invited guests, including ethnic, religious and media industry leaders from throughout Southern California, who then stayed for the performance.
"This was a wonderful opportunity for us to let our friends and the community know that we appreciate all the good we have all been able to accomplish together this last year," said Keith J. Atkinson, director of the California Public Affairs Office.
Among those attending the performance, held at the renowned Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center, were Uri Oren, Israel's consul general, and his wife, Dee Dee; Israel's vice consul, Tsuriel Raphael; Shabbir Mansuri, executive director of the Islamic Education Council for the United States, and his familiy; the Rev. Mary Minor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles; George Caywood, retired executive director of the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles,; and The Rev. Orsey Malone, senior pastor of Community Neighborhood church in southcentral Los Angeles.
Also attending were Bramahachari David Stump and Swami Sarvadevananda of the Vedanta Society, a Hindu religious society; Dennis Prager, Jewish author, lecturer on Judaism and host of a radio talk show; The Rev. Barry Smedberg, executive director of the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council (VIC), and his wife, Betty; Arlene Landon, VIC staff director and her husband, John Quinn; Ernie Wallengren, a television writer-producer who is known for work on "The Waltons," and "Life Goes On," and his wife, Cheryl; and Art Rascon of KABC television news, and his wife, Patti.
Representatives of local Chinese businesses also attended, along with staff members of the Japanese consulate.
In speaking of the success of the "Messiah" performance, Brother Atkinson said: "Our Jewish friends joined us on their first night of Chanukah (Hanukkah). Also, our Muslim guests drove many miles to be with us, and all expressed deep gratitude at being part of the evening. As a result, much good will was created, which will be of great benefit to the Church in our efforts to build bridges of understanding and cooperation among the wonderfully diverse communities we are privileged to work with here in California."
Long Beach, California
The Southern California Mormon Choir celebrated its 40th anniversary Sept. 18 on board the Queen Mary ocean liner docked in Long Beach, Calif.
President Howard W. Hunter of the council of the Twelve attended the gathering of current and former members of the now 120-voice choral ensemble, consisting of members from throughout Southern California. The anniversary celebration, held in the Grand Salon - the main hall - of the luxury liner, which is now a permanent tourist attraction in the area, included dinner and music performed by the choir. Sending congratulatory proclamations to the event were the mayor of Los Angeles, Richard Riordan; and state Sen. Marian Bergeson, who is LDS.
Present at the event were the current choir conductor, Douglas Custance, and all three former conductors, H. Frederick Davis, Russell Fox and Brent Pierce. During the evening, each took his "turn at the baton," said Steve Bills, executive vice president of the choir.
"The choir performed numbers directed and prepared by each of the four conductors during their tenure," he said. "It was part of our nostalgic celebration."
During this "nostalgic celebration," a new tradition began. Brother Davis, who founded the choir and was its conductor for the first 27 years, was presented the first annual Frederick Davis Lifetime Achievement Award, for which he is the namesake. Brother Bills explained that the award will be presented in future years to others who devote many years of meaningful service to the organization.
Brother Davis, 84, was honored "for founding and nurturing an organization that, from its very first concert, has been widely acclaimed for its excellent and inspiring musicianship and for its selfless service to the communities of Southern California and to local LDS congregations," said Brother Bills.
In receiving the award, Brother Davis said the choir was the fulfillment of a lifetime dream.
Since its founding on Sept. 18, 1953, the choir has performed concerts of classical, sacred, folk, patriotic and popular music throughout California, as well as in the Western United States, Hawaii, Mexico, Israel, New Zealand and Australia.
This dream began in 1952 when Brother Davis approached then stake Pres. Howard W Hunter of the Pasadena Stake with the idea of an LDS choir. Pres. Hunter and John Russon, president of the Los Angeles Stake, wrote to the First Presidency early in 1953 asking permission. Approval for the choir was granted, and the first rehearsal and founding meeting was held in the Wilshire Ward meetinghouse in Los Angeles.
Brother Bills related: "As part of the founding meeting 40 years ago, former local church leader Bryan L. Bunker offered a dedicatory prayer that included the following supplication: 'Bless this little ripple now beginning that it will grow into a mighty wave, and become a great power in the promulgation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.'
"That prayerful petition has proven to be more than merely prophetic," Brother Bills noted, "It has become the defining essence of the Southern California Mormon Choir - the lively, beating heart of an organization that, at 40, isn't getting older, it's just getting better.
"The choir has thrilled and inspired countless thousands who have attended concerts in venues ranging from the Los Angeles Music Center, the Hollywood Bowl, the San Francisco Opera House and the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square, to the hundreds of Latter-day Saint meetinghouses that dot the Southern California landscape," he added.
One of the choir's most widely recognized local customs is its traditional Christmas season presentation of Handel's Messiah in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. This year, the choir will perform the Dec. 8 with the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra.