It's all up from here...
We began our first day at door #1 of the Mormon Tabernacle inside Temple Square. Dr. Richard Elliot, our gracious guide and host, gave us an incredible 'behind the scenes' tour of the Tabernacle and its basement areas. We saw the choir's dressing rooms, lockers, rehearsal spaces, and their impressive music library, which included rows and rows of music on moveable shelves. We also were able to watch some of the rehearsal for Music & The Spoken Word from within the recording studio. After our special tour we were taken to reserved seats in the main hall for a live performance. Music & The Spoken Word is the longest running broadcast in America and it was truly a privilege to hear this amazing concert in person. This performance was also extremely memorable because they announced us as special guests before the start of the concert and asked us all to stand. They told the audience our story, from Dr. Elliot coming to play at Lebanon Valley College to our hard work and fundraising to visit Salt Lake City. After the conclusion of the concert we were greeted by all three of the Tabernacle Organist: Richard Elliot, Clay Christiansin, and Andrew Unsworth (Pictured Below). Then we wandered around Temple Square for a while before heading to our next destination.
With Dr. Elliot's recommendation we decided to walk to the Cathedral of the Madeleine for the 11:00 AM Mass. This impressive building is the mother church of the diocese for the entire state of Utah and it was just as beautiful from the outside as it was on the inside (pictures are located in Tuesday's blog). The mass was truly something special. It featured a magnificent children's choir along with the 77/79 rank English Style Organ, which contains over 4,000 pipes! The Choir performed many works that would be a monumental achievement for the average college-level choir, and it seemed too good to be true. After hearing Music & The Spoken Word and the children's performance, we left completely awestruck.
Our next stop was St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral - finally our chance to play the organ! Each person had time to play this organ and we all discovered different sounds and features that we enjoyed, especially the retractable monitor screens on both sides of the console. This organ was recently rebuilt by the Bigelow Company and it was was a gem; from rich sounding romantic foundations to a barque inspired positive. While other students were playing, we had the chance to wander around and listen in the church or go outside to eat our sack lunches in the garden. After spending the afternoon at St. Marks, we returned to the Condo and the Hotel for a quick siesta before dinner and a concert.
Today was a special day because it was Dwight's 21st birthday. After our short cat nap, we began to search for the perfect place to take Dwight for his birthday dinner. We soon discovered Squatters Pub Brewery and it was the perfect choice. The food was delicious and the service was great. Dwight had quite the birthday. He was treated to seeing Music & The Spoken Word, a Mass at The Cathedral of The Madeleine, playing at St. Mark's Cathedral, and a great dinner. However we still had one or two more treats in store.
First, we would be returning to The Cathedral of The Madeleine for a full fledge concert by the outstanding choir we had heard earlier. Second, on the way to the Cathedral we would be able to view the solar eclipse that was only visible in Utah and a few other states. The next eclipse visible in the U.S. will only occur in the year 2017. We even had special glasses to view the sight! After spending a while gazing at this amazing act of nature we made our way to the Cathedral of the Madeleine. The concert that we beheld was something that is hard to describe in words. The children's choir was now accompanied by a quartet of adults, the organ, a clavichord, and occasionally different string and brass instruments. It was incredible to see these young children sing and read music with such ability. They performed serious works including the Mass in G Minor By Ralph Vaughn Williams, which the Lebanon Valley Concert Choir performed two years ago. The acoustics within the Cathedral were perfect and this choir really understood how to use them.
During the intermission we finally got some more details about this group from the people in the row behind us; it turns out there is a choir school (Grades K-8) within the Cathedral. The students are auditioned in Kindergarten and soon after they begin their training. They perform in 4+ Masses a week and several concerts per year, all the while taking classes in music reading, theory, etc. It is quite the prestigious school. This group, The Cathedral Choir, was simply magnificent, and a perfect way to end the day. We all went home exhausted, but in ecstasy from everything we were able to do and see.
With Dr. Elliot's recommendation we decided to walk to the Cathedral of the Madeleine for the 11:00 AM Mass. This impressive building is the mother church of the diocese for the entire state of Utah and it was just as beautiful from the outside as it was on the inside (pictures are located in Tuesday's blog). The mass was truly something special. It featured a magnificent children's choir along with the 77/79 rank English Style Organ, which contains over 4,000 pipes! The Choir performed many works that would be a monumental achievement for the average college-level choir, and it seemed too good to be true. After hearing Music & The Spoken Word and the children's performance, we left completely awestruck.
Our next stop was St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral - finally our chance to play the organ! Each person had time to play this organ and we all discovered different sounds and features that we enjoyed, especially the retractable monitor screens on both sides of the console. This organ was recently rebuilt by the Bigelow Company and it was was a gem; from rich sounding romantic foundations to a barque inspired positive. While other students were playing, we had the chance to wander around and listen in the church or go outside to eat our sack lunches in the garden. After spending the afternoon at St. Marks, we returned to the Condo and the Hotel for a quick siesta before dinner and a concert.
Today was a special day because it was Dwight's 21st birthday. After our short cat nap, we began to search for the perfect place to take Dwight for his birthday dinner. We soon discovered Squatters Pub Brewery and it was the perfect choice. The food was delicious and the service was great. Dwight had quite the birthday. He was treated to seeing Music & The Spoken Word, a Mass at The Cathedral of The Madeleine, playing at St. Mark's Cathedral, and a great dinner. However we still had one or two more treats in store.
First, we would be returning to The Cathedral of The Madeleine for a full fledge concert by the outstanding choir we had heard earlier. Second, on the way to the Cathedral we would be able to view the solar eclipse that was only visible in Utah and a few other states. The next eclipse visible in the U.S. will only occur in the year 2017. We even had special glasses to view the sight! After spending a while gazing at this amazing act of nature we made our way to the Cathedral of the Madeleine. The concert that we beheld was something that is hard to describe in words. The children's choir was now accompanied by a quartet of adults, the organ, a clavichord, and occasionally different string and brass instruments. It was incredible to see these young children sing and read music with such ability. They performed serious works including the Mass in G Minor By Ralph Vaughn Williams, which the Lebanon Valley Concert Choir performed two years ago. The acoustics within the Cathedral were perfect and this choir really understood how to use them.
During the intermission we finally got some more details about this group from the people in the row behind us; it turns out there is a choir school (Grades K-8) within the Cathedral. The students are auditioned in Kindergarten and soon after they begin their training. They perform in 4+ Masses a week and several concerts per year, all the while taking classes in music reading, theory, etc. It is quite the prestigious school. This group, The Cathedral Choir, was simply magnificent, and a perfect way to end the day. We all went home exhausted, but in ecstasy from everything we were able to do and see.