The Tabernacle Choir sang its way on tour into eight states and a Canadian province July 19-Aug. 1. Judging from audiences' responses - prolonged applause, cheers, standing ovations and calls for "more" - the tour was a successful musical odyssey that took 290 of the choir's 325 members on a whirlwind venture.
The choir performed in nine cities in the United States and one city in Canada where it presented two concerts in one evening. (See Church News July 25 and Aug. 1 for previous articles on the choir tour.)Commemorating the 500th anniversary of the voyage of Columbus to the Americas, choir members logged 5,525 miles by chartered plane and buses. They left Salt Lake City July 19 and returned Aug. 1. They performed July 20 in Richmond; July 21, Toronto, Ontario; July 22, Rochester, Mich.; July 23, Columbus, Ohio; July 24, Cleveland, Ohio; July 25, Milwuakee, Wis.; July 27, Minneapolis, Minn.; July 28, Ames, Iowa; July 30, Springfield, Ill.; and July 31, Independence, Mo.
At two points during the tour, President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, attended concerts: in Toronto and Independence. Members of the North America Northeast and North America Central area presidencies joined choir members on the tour. Elder Lynn A. Sorensen of the Seventy and a counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency accompanied the choir throughout the time the singers were in the Northeast area, traveling by bus and plane with them. Elders H. Burke Peterson, Hartman Rector Jr. and Graham W. Doxey of the Seventy, the presidency of the North America Central Area, met the choir at each of its concerts along the way in this area.
In Independence, President Hinckley was hosted by Wallace B. Smith, president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The concert in Missouri was held in the Auditorium, world headquarters of the RLDS Church. Before the concert began, President Smith extended a greeting and welcomed the choir to the Auditorium. He turned the podium over to President Hinckley, who thanked the RLDS leader for the hospitality extended in offering the Auditorium for the concert, which was attended by about 5,000 people.
Throughout the tour, choir members experienced a variety of weather conditions, ranging from hot and humid to cold and wet. Rain beleaguered them most of the journey, but inclement weather proved that while the choir has drawing power, their fans have staying power. This was the case particularly in Rochester, Mich., where the choir performed outdoors at Meadowbrook Music Festival. About 2,000 people were seated under a shelter, and an additional 1,500 or so sat on a hillside during the concert, despite the fact that rain fell throughout the evening. When a drizzle turned into a downpour, people who were not under the shelter drew their ponchos, tarpaulins and blankets closer and huddled under umbrellas. Even those under the shelter shivered from the cold.
Typical of choir fans at that concert, Roger and Linda Preedee of Rochester, Minn., arrived early and spread a picnic supper on the hillside before the concert began. They and their son, Steve, brought a friend, Anna Karlova of Moscow, Russia, to the concert. None was LDS, and none had heard the choir in person before although each had heard recordings. Looking at a sky that threatened rain, Preedee said, "We're prepared. We're glad to be
here, and have looked forward to this for too long to let rain keep us away."
Wendell M. Smoot, president of the choir, said: "This was a very exhausting tour physically. The choir did 11 concerts plus their weekly Sunday morning broadcast, for a total of 12 events in 14 days, which sets somewhat of a record for the choir in terms of its usage in such a short period of time. In addition, the choir sang two numbers in the Kirtland Temple, performed a mini-concert in Nauvoo, and some choir members sang at a fireside in Minneapolis.
"The tour was everything I expected and more. We had outstanding crowds. More than 65,000 people, most of whom are not Latter-day Saints, came to hear the choir sing during the tour. That number shows the tremendous interest that people have in the choir and the Church. In several places we could have held two concerts rather than one because of the demand for tickets and the great interest shown on the part of non-members as well as members."
Pres. Smoot said the choir's tour was planned over a period of five years. "At the outset, during the planning stage of this tour, interest was shown in having the choir perform not only in concert halls and theaters, but also in some large sports arenas. We doubted that concerts in the arenas could be successful. As it turned out, the results were successful far beyond our expectations."
One of the most successful concerts in terms of audience size was in Milwaukee, Wis., where more than 13,000 filled Marcus Amphitheatre on the shore of Lake Michigan. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performed with the choir during the second half of the concert, playing to its largest audience, according to orchestra officers.
"The choir members, although they were physically tired, received a spiritual and emotional uplift with each concert and remained upbeat throughout the entire tour," Pres. Smoot said. "We were concerned that as we got down to the last two or three concerts that we would be exhausted but that did not prove to be the case. When we arrived in Independence for our last concert, we saw the large Auditorium of the RLDS Church was filled. The choir was rejuvenated."
Pres. Smoot credited much of the success of the tour to choir director Jerold Ottley and associate director Donald Ripplinger, and to Tabernacle organists John Longhurst, Clay Christiansen and Richard L. Elliott. Except for the Auditorium, which features a 110-rank organ with more than 6,000 pipes, the organists accompanied the choir on piano and synthesizer.
"Once again, our music directors and organists distinguished themselves in the manner in which they presented an eclectic program much to the satisfaction and enjoyment of some very distinguished patrons," Pres. Smoot said. "We had in some of our audiences members of national choral societies who had come to our concerts to see how we were able to handle effectively a large choir in some of the more difficult pieces the choir sang. I am intensely pleased with our entire musical staff."
Lloyd Newell, announcer for the choir's concerts throughout the tour, tied the program together with information about the choir's history and members. He also gave information about ties the Church or choir members had in each city or state in which the singers performed.
In each city where the choir performed audiences applauded vigorously, calling for encores. In every place, after the last number on the program was performed, people shouted from the audience a request for the choir to sing "Battle Hymn of the Republic." In Springfield, a group of concert-goers shouted the song title in unison until it was announced that the choir would sing its most requested number.
Audiences applauded as the first bars of the song were played, and joined in singing the choir on the last stanza. To close each concert, the choir sang its signature hymn, "God Be With You." Time and again, people in the audience wiped tears from their eyes.
