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Spouses Lunch
A member of the Tabernacle Choir, Fay Croxford, spoke to the spouses at a luncheon in the
Wilkinson Center. She began her remarks by singing the piece "The King of Love My
Shepherd Is."
"My favorite scripture at the moment is 2 Nephi 3:20. "Wherefore,
ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of
hope and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward feasting upon
the word of Christ and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall
have eternal life."
"Fay remarked that the great promise is actualized by
exercising faith! We, as women today, need huge reserves of faith just to face our
obligations and challenges in this crazy world. Being in the tabernacle choir requires
quite a leap of faith and hope, too."
"Most people wonder the same things about the choir so let me
quench your curiosity all at once. Temple recommend holding musical saints who pass
a fairly rigorous audition process and are at least 25 years of age may serve for 20
years or until we reach the age of 60...whichever comes first. You may think that sounds like
a long time for a missionary calling (we are actually set apart as musical missionaries
for the Church), but most of the retirees leave kicking and screaming long before
they feel they are ready."
"I'm a terrible salesman but selling the gospel with my
cool little missionary badge, tab choir tapes in my bag, and a song on my lips has
been easy because of the product of truth that sells itself! Most of the members of
our choir are in the busiest time of their life, middle age, with families and professions
to tend to but each seems to be able to fit in this most important assignment. A
variety of other roadblocks melt away when some of these folks decide this is where
they should serve. One sister followed a prompting from her patriarchal blessing
to audition. Most must overcome feelings of inadequacy to even apply, many studying
music theory and technique for years privately before taking the leap! One family even
moved to Utah without a home or job to come to here just knowing that this would be
their next church calling. That's faith!"
"There are about 320 singing members of the choir plus 40
members of the training chorale set up to acquaint new members with the choir's protocol
and rigor. We all rotate through that chorale once every seven years. We have been blessed
with genius at our helm....one director of music, Dr. Craig Jessop and two associate
conductors: Dr. Mack Wilberg over the Chorale and Dr. Barlow Bradford over the Orchestra
at Temple Square. Besides conducting, these men are master composers, pianists, public
relations wizards, scriptorians, and in my opinion...spiritual giants."
"We have three full-time organists/two associate organists,
and a huge support staff of producers, technicians, cameramen, secretaries, historians and music
librarians. We have a spokesperson, Lloyd Newell, a president, Mr. Mac of missionary
suit fame, and other administrative personnel, all under the direction of the First Presidency
of the Church. The singers serve without pay (except for the tremendous blessings,
of course). The choir finances the purchase and maintenance of our costumes, tours,
and other things incidental to our service through the sale of our recordings and concert
proceeds".
"I personally have felt fortunate to have been a part
of 18 general conferences, sung at the funerals of two prophets and other general authorities,
been part of the dedications of buildings, parks, monuments, and present at other celebrations
for the church and community. We have sung for crowds of thousands as well as for a
handful of young onlookers who just had to hear "God Be With You" as we passed
by. We've stood in the middle of concert halls worldwide and sometimes on dirt as
our stage and mountain peaks as our set. We meet religious dignitaries and world
leaders, movie and music stars, athletes and politicians. We get to sing with wonderful
guest conductors and musicians of all varieties, each adding their uniqueness and talent
to our music and many of them seeking out the gospel after their visit here. We even
sang with Mickey Mouse and Shamu the Whale!"
"The Tabernacle Choir was blessed with a whirlwind couple
of months in our preparation and performances for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Starting
in early January we got to rub shoulders at Abravanel Hall with musical greats like
Sting, composing geniuses like John Williams and Michael Kamen, the glorious Cathedral
of the Madeline Children's Choir, and a multitude of technical wizards as we recorded
music for the Opening Ceremonies. We also recorded at BYU the music of top LDS composers
for the upcoming Light of the World production in the LDS Conference Center. At times we
couldn't really see how all this music was appropriate or even related to each other
or to the games, (especially when we were blowing color coded Indian whistles or screaming
at the top of our lungs like hard rockers in Michael Kamen's band) but we had faith
our leaders knew best and we kept singing much to the delight of SLOC!"
"By February, the real fun began. We dueled voices with
the Native American drums for hours in the tennis building at the U of U waiting for
our turns to rehearse and perform in the stadium. We sang Happy Birthday to countless
Pioneers, Indians, and Children of Light who requested the novelty. We bundled up
in many layers against chilly temperatures under marshmallow coats and hats perched
in the best seats of the house! The opening ceremonies were so magical that our directions
to maintain our professionalism by standing motionless in the stands melted into cheers
for the athletes, tears for the tattered flag, and Craig Jessop leading our end of
the stadium in "the wave."
We learned about inspiration as President Hinckley almost
daily made subtle changes to the Light of the World production to insure its success.
We saw the spirit visibly touch our audiences in the Conference Center as we did our bit
of missionary work marching up and over "the world" and bidding all nations to come."
"We noticed the moist eyes of our guest artists in the tabernacle as they sang or
played their instruments in association with orchestra, choir, directors, and in
association with feelings they may not have experienced before. We ourselves were buoyed
up by the blessings of so many willing people to make our long hours comfortable and productive
as we served...from our amazing families often left at home to the church office
building cafeteria personnel who stayed late to make sure we had sustenance, to
the librarians who handled the ton of music and the dress committee who hemmed and repaired
and acted as our best cheerleaders. Everyone, including us, were pleased to serve as part
of Team 2002".
"Our faith was strengthened as we saw Isaiah's prophecy
literally fulfilled with all nations flowing unto the Lord's House in the tops of the
mountains. We marveled at His intervention in the weather, the general friendliness
and joy of the hosts of volunteers, as well as the safety and overall triumph of the
event. At the end of one of our Cultural Olympiad concerts we sang surrounded by
beautiful children dressed in the native costumes of the world and carrying proudly
the flags representing each. The words we sang, "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands"
caught my spirit by surprise, gave me comfort, and never rang more true. I don't have to
worry about the fate of this world at all...I only have to worry about keeping the covenants
I have made and do my best to share what I believe with my family and others I come
in contact with."
"During January, with so many obligations ahead because of
the Olympics coming to Utah, our director Brother Jessop was very worried. After asking
us all for our faith, fasting and prayers, he announced at one rehearsal that he woke
up at 3AM that morning. That wasn't unusual for him in this state of distress, but this
time all he felt was calmness and that everything would work out for the best, and it did!
Choreographing rehearsal place, time, music, sequencing, guests, accompaniment, costuming,
etc., to perform so much is a major thing. Sometimes we singers see the music we will
perform only once or twice before we're on and often the orchestra is sight-reading!
But, if we have studied and worked diligently in available rehearsal time, often taking
difficult music home, then we collectively and individually pray for Heavenly Father
to help us, His spirit always fills in where we lack".
"The music of the Tabernacle Choir seems to not only inspire
faith in those of us who sing, but in those who are within the reach of it's encompassing
sound. We have a fan club of at least two. George and Helen Pappas, non church members,
became interested in the choir many years ago. They bought all of our recordings,
attended many concerts, and at their own expense they follow us around the world
on tours. Even without the choir, these two talk about the mission of the choir
wherever they are. Once we received a letter from a former choir member serving a mission
in Greece who said that the Pappas' just finished two firesides where they were talking
about the choir's recent tour complete with Tab Choir tapes as door prizes and refreshments
for all. We wonder if the Pappas' don't become baptized just because then they wouldn't
be a novelty anymore!"
"One local Utah woman listens to choir music for inspiration
as she paints her beautiful folk art posters. We have had many experiences on tour where
the music seemed to boost the courage and faith of LDS members far from the center
of the church. In Madrid, Spain after our concert there, one LDS woman hugged me and
kissed me repeatedly. She kept repeating in her Spanish accent, "Today we meet in
Spain, next we meet with God!" When we were singing at an elegant Palau de Musica hall
in Barcelona our audience consisted of mostly high brow season ticket holders. They applauded
politely but with very stony faces at the beginning of the concert. By the end, they
were on their feet, handkerchiefs waving overhead with shouts of "Bravo! Encore!"
What had changed them? Probably not only the beautiful music because they were used
to polished musical performances. I have faith that what touched them was the testimony
of truth they felt through the music."
"On September 11, 2001, our scheduled concert for a Salt
Lake convention that evening took on a whole new purpose. President Hinckley suggested
it now be a memorial concert for our slain countrymen at the World Trade Towers in
New York. I have never sung America the Beautiful with more tears...or more hope
and faith... in our nation and it's ability to heal and stand again despite the terrorism
that had touched us all so deeply that day. I think that music that night and in the
weeks and months that have followed has played a large part in strengthening the
faith of Americans and the whole world to the truth and goodness and in something
higher then our own might."
One of my favorite Tab Choir numbers says this...
When in our music God is glorified,
and adoration leaves no room for pride
It is as though the whole creation cried,
Alleluia!
How often making music we have found
a new dimension in the world of sound
As music moves us to a more profound
Alleluia!
Let every instrument be tuned for praise,
let all rejoice who have a voice to raise
And may God give us strength to sing always....
Alleluia!
"I challenge you to let music work in your lives. Maybe you
won't have the choice opportunity to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but you
all have the chance to sing! Hum at your baby or grandbaby's cradle, teach simple
truths to your young ones as you join with them in singing the primary songs, sing
in Sacrament Meeting without apology or embarrassment and always, always keep a
song of faith in your heart! Thanks again to Linda for having faith in me to fill
some of your precious time speaking about the choir I love. May you nurture your faith
in our Heavenly Father as you progress through every day."
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