In honor of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the New World, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will be visiting a little unexplored territory of its own this month, as part of a two-week tour that will take it to eight states and one Canadian province.
Included on the July 19-Aug. 1 itinerary will be concerts in Toronto, performances at Michigan's Meadow Brook Festival and the Milwaukee Symphony's Summer-Nights Festival, and the choir's first appearance at the RLDS Auditorium in Independence, Mo.In addition, Utahns will have a chance to sample the tour repertoire at a concert Friday, July 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
According to Tabernacle Choir director Jerold Ottley, the program reflects the various purposes of the tour.
"First, of course, the Columbus quincentenary," he says. "But our concert with the Milwaukee Symphony also marks the 150th anniversary of the church in the state of Wisconsin. And for similar reasons we'll also be making stops in the Kirtland (Ohio) and Nauvoo (Illinois) areas, as well as Jackson County, Mo."
Included will be a sampling of the choir's basic repertoire, via such things as Norman Dello Joio's "A Jubilant Song," three choruses from the John Rutter Requiem and "Of the Father's Love Begotten."
The spirit of exploration will be reflected in Vaughan Williams' "Toward the Unknown Region" - his first major choral work - and the choral finale of a new Crawford Gates piece that will be premiered in full under his direction in Milwaukee, "A New Land Called Home."
More Americana comes in the form of arrangements of Matthias Keller's "American Hymn," "Cindy," "Shenandoah" and "When the Saints Go Marchin' In," the last two of which come from the choir's recent Argo album.
Other extracts from choir recordings will also figure on the tour, such as the Robertson setting of "The Lord's Prayer" and Cornwall's arrangement of "Come, Come, Ye Saints."
Admission to Friday's concert is free but limited to those 8 and older. Ottley and Donald Ripplinger will conduct, with keyboard accompaniment by Tabernacle organists John Longhurst, Clay Christiansen and Richard Elliott.
Following the tour, the choir will also perform Tuesday, Aug. 4, in Brigham Young University's de Jong Concert Hall. - William S. Goodfellow