When the late O.C. Tanner and his widow, Grace A. Tanner, gave an endowment to fund a "Gift of Music," James DeMars had yet to conceive "An American Requiem." Yet the piece fits the Tanner Gift of Music perfectly.
Written in 1983, "An American Requiem" has been described as "a new and important work of memorial music in the centuries-old tradition of honoring the memory of people of stature." The DeMars work - large and spiritual in nature - has called out references to composers ranging from Mozart to Andrew Lloyd Webber in its style and concept.Now, on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the LDS Tabernacle, the Requiem will be performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The Utah Symphony and a stable of soloists who also appeared on the CD recording.
As icing on the cake, the composer himself will be in town to conduct the concert.
Tickets are still available at the Utah Symphony Ticket Office and Abravanel Hall.
"The work was performed in 1995 in Washington, D.C., and New York," says Huck Gregory, secretary for the Tanner Gift of Music. "Tickets are free and are reserved by sections for these performances. Traditionally, standby seats are also available. We've always been able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend after 7:20 p.m. We encourage everyone to come."
Among the soloists, Simon Estes - a bass-baritone with credentials linking him to The Met, La Scala and London's Covent Garden - is the coup for the concert. Estes has sung at the White House for three presidents and been a distinguished member of the Juilliard faculty since 1986.
Nevertheless, a series of superb regional performances by tenor Robert Breault - director of vocal studies at the University of Utah - has given him almost as much local cache.
Linda Childs, a mezzo-soprano whose career has embraced a potpourri of major roles and solos, will sing, along with international opera star Audrey Luna. And, of course, the composer himself will be present.
DeMars has taught at Arizona State University since 1981. He has written "The Prophet" (based on the writings of Sufi teacher Jalaladin Rumi) and "Tito's Say," an Hispanic cantata.
The two performances of his requiem here will be the Utah premiere. An array of musical styles can be heard in the 75-minute piece. The Requiem opens with "Canticle of the Sky" - a homage to American Indians - and also features a Jewish rite, a poem by Walt Whitman set to music as well as traditional liturgical texts.
For information call 532-5200.