I arrived in Provo, UT, late Sunday. On Monday, I was invited to join my friend, Dr. Stephen Jones, (Fine Arts Dean at BYU) and his beautiful family for an afternoon tour of the new Draper Utah LDS temple near Provo. There are just over 100 LDS temples in the world. 12 of them are here in Utah. (There is also one in Dallas...perhaps you've seen it.) It's been almost 30 years since the last one was built here. The public can tour temples during "open house" prior to their dedication. Once the temple is dedicated, entrance to it is restricted to those who apply for and receive a "temple recommend" from their bishop. The most common ordinances that take place in a temple are marriage, confirmation, sealing of children to families, the endowment, and baptism for the dead. Here is a page with a bit more information on those temple ordinances. For a Methodist boy, this was a unique and intriguing opportunity! The Draper Utah Temple is built of the finest materials including granite from China, Makore wood from Africa, and limestone from France. The "celestial room" was particularly stunning. The construction lasted two years. Read more on the Draper Temple here.
These two weeks will be intense. I'll be in rehearsals, lessons and classes at BYU most days. On Friday of this week, I'll be at University of Utah to meet and observe Dr. Brady Allred and his choirs. Brady was a student of Ron Staheli at BYU and Don Neuen at Eastman. It's a small world, indeed! Today, Stephen called Mack Wilberg (Morman Tabernacle Choir director) and asked if I could attend rehearsal this Thursday. Wilberg invited me to sing with them! And, I was asked to provide a brief bio so that Wilberg can introduce me to the choir. What an opportunity!
The weather here is not bad. We had a bit of snow today, but the rest of the week should be nice. To say the mountains that surround this place are stunning is a gross understatement. When the skies clear, I'll post some pics. More soon!
4 comments:
Hey Chris!
I think it is INCREDIBLY cool that you are getting to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!
Wilberg actually arranged one of my favorite choral pieces I have ever sung: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing! We sang it last year in the All State Choir.
Your journey sounds extremely fascinating and I must say that I am very envious of the experiences you are having!
Wow! Have a great time!!
Charles said: Congratulations on singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Oh, while you are there, ask them if they would come sing for Saturday Night Worship. Just kidding! You may be learning from all those great musicians but they are learning from you as well.
What an experience!! I saw the MTC perform once...incredible! And the setting so completely different from your Crystal Cathedral experience, I'd imagine. SLC is one of the most interesting places I've ever been. My Mormon cousin and her family hosted us and gave us a full week's education on the temples, rituals, etc. patiently & honestly illustrating the differences and similarities between their beliefs and mine, as a lifelong Protestant. Fascinating! I'd have loved more than anything to see the inside of one of the temples, but there were none un-dedicated at that point. But she painted lovely verbal pictures of rituals they'd performed inside for others in our family.
Post a Comment