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Show Provo Audience Applauds Desert Sentinels at Church Benefit I One characteristic of the chorus is its willingness to share its talents. tal-ents. Of the nearly 70 appearances j made by the group, a great many have been for church building benefits. ben-efits. The next appearance of the chorus will be at Elsinore, and a concert is scheduled in Spanish Fork the second week in December. Decem-ber. The Provo concert further established es-tablished the Sentinels' place as one of Utahs' best loved musical organizations and it was easy to ! see, from their splendid performance, perform-ance, why they were chosen to sing at such distinguished gatherings gather-ings as the National Federation of Music clubs festival and LDS General Gen-eral conference. They are a real credit to the state and especially to the people of the farflung communities com-munities of West Millard. N. L. Christensen in the Provo Herald " The Desert Sentinels, noted 40-voice 40-voice male chorus from Millard county, won the hturts of local concert goers with a superb two-hour two-hour program at the Provo Tabernacle Tab-ernacle Monday night. Warmly applauded by an appreciative ap-preciative audience, the Sentinels presented a varied repertoire ranging from classical numbers to music in the religious, humorous and popular categories. It was an audience's prrogram rather than an artist's. Tailored for the average listener, it included in-cluded some of the works of the masters but was not over-balanced on the long-hair side. Rather, it consisted, predominantly of numbers num-bers the audience knew and liked with emphasis on spirited patriotic songs and religious selections se-lections sung reverently and beautifully. The Desert Sentinels, appearing in Provo under the auspices of the Manavu LDS ward building fund committe, were directed by their organizer, and founder, Ladd R. Cropper, seminary principal at Delta. Del-ta. It was the second time Mr. Cropper a one-time member of the Cougar Quintet at Brigham Young University- had brought the chorus to Provo for a concert, the first appearance having been two years ago in the Joseph Smith auditorium. The group is unique in that its members live in rural communities and come together to sing. Most members are from Hinckley and Delta, although many come from the smaller scattered communities, traveling as far as 20 and 30 miles to the weekly practices. The Sentinels were responsive to maestro Cropper's baton Monday night, and their vaices Wended to produce rich tonal qualities and superb harmony. As their master of ceremonies, Dana Pratt, commented at the start of the program, the Sentinels Sent-inels stay together because "they love to sing." And their love for music was self-evident in their Monday night performance. In 'fact their warm, friendlyspirit was contagious con-tagious and the audience seemed to catch the mood, whehter the music featured the bombastic passages pas-sages of "Your Land and My Land" the sweet reverent tones of'I Need Thee Every Hour," or the rythmical, rythmi-cal, melodious measures of "Some Enchanted Evening." One of the highlights of the program pro-gram was Mr. Cropper's two bass solos, "Tomasso Rotundo," and "Old Man River." The latter sung as an encore number, was dedicated dedicat-ed to the family of Dr. C. E. Hyatt, chairman of the Manavu LDS ward building committee. Mr. Cropper was one of four LDS missionaries in the Northern States mission who converted and baptized Dr. Hyatt and his family years ago. Another high spot on the program pro-gram was the chorus' effective ren dition of the popular"Cool Water" with Eldon Soresnson, president of the chorus as soloist. The audience encored this number as it did two years ago in the Smith building build-ing and the Sentinels obligingly repeated it. Specialty numbers included two selections by o double quartet consisting con-sisting of Cluff Talbot, Jan Wright, Blaine Spendlove, Layton Bishop, Orlanda Hepworth, Evan Gardner, June Hinckley and Eldon Soren-son;and Soren-son;and two numbers by the Delta Seminary girls trio consisting of Kaye Moody, Virginia Rose, and Bonnie Riding. The concert closed to a rousing climax with Mr. Cropper leading into the chorus theme, "Thy Sentinel Sen-tinel Am I." Mrs. May G. Cropper, wife ai the conductor, accompanied the chorus at the piano. She has served serv-ed as accompanist since the Sentinels Sen-tinels were organized more than four years ago. |