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Show Davis tdJ oumal SEPTEMBER 2, 1986 Still going strong Tabernacle Choir tours the Pacific Northwest Editors Note: correspondent Joyce Winters of Kaysville and her husband Burton, are two members s of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir who are from the Davis County area. The Choir recently returned from performances at Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Joyce recalls her impressions of the Choirs latest journey. the choir stopped and took a tour of the Boeing Aircraft Company. The By JOYCE WINTERS was slowly given room keys, grabbed a quick lunch, deposited luggage, and hurried to catch buses to go rehease in the Seattle Center. After rehearsal the buses transported choir members back to the hotel, where dinner was served in Reflex-Journ- largest building in the world with world-famou- airplanes being assembled was visited by the largest choir in the world, who refrained from trying to sing over the noise. Following the Boeing plant tour the choir and its traveling party Music. ..the measure of the planets motion, thrills through all hearts the uniform vibration, starting from God and felt from sun to sun. Making music in a big way, and trying to thrill hearts, is what the most famous large choir in the world is all about. ..the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Many Davis County residents are part of this the ballroom on the first lower level. After a great dinner the fun began! Try getting 496 people on five elevators. Needless to say, some choir members ended up walking converged at the Expo Theatre from their different hotels, to rehearse in the large open air, (but with a roof) facility. The audience of nearly 4,000 responded enthusiastically to the two hour concert. All the concerts were geared to a wide audience appeal, with classical, folk tunes and broadway music making up the program, the same program being repeated. Friday was a free day for choir and spouses to take in the fair and sights until dinner and concert that evening. With nearly 500 people in a group, all trying to see the best of expo, a method of how to beat the system was quickly worked out, and the word was spread throughout the company of what to see and how to beat the lines to see it. THE VICTORIA, BRITISH Columbia Stake of the LDS Church hosted the choir for a salmon dinner during the tour, feeding more than 500 in the traveling party. Making music in a big way... is what the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is all about. 5 great choir that has recently up 12 flights of stairs, some walked up 24 flights in order to hurry and re- turned from a minor tour to Canada. Its called minor in that it lasted six days instead of two weeks. But this tour was anything but minor when you realize the logistics of moving nearly 500 bodies by plane, ship and bus, over interna- tional boundaries, through customs, and then feeding and housing those nearly 500 bodies in a city worlds fair. The Choir, staff and some during a spouses were housed in Vancouver, British Columbia in eight different hotels. They usually stay in one hotel. But because of the large crowds at Expo86, the inns were full. It literally takes months or preparation to make all the arrangements to move this large body. Through the moving, the individual choir members has songs like Get Um Up Up, Move-UOut, or Nobody Knows the Trouble Ive Seen or Give Me Your Tired run through his mind as he crawls out of bed after three hours sleep to be ready to catch a plan or bus, only to hurry up and wait. Can you imagine what its like to find a rest stop with two positions and 500 needing services? Or to stand in line for a water fountain, a room key, or lunch? One learns to become a little more aggressive than usual. The eye that wants to catch five winks of sleep is wide awake for the fastest, easiest route. One soon learns where the exits and entrances other than stage doors are! Early Tuesday morning, Aug. 5, the choir left the Salt Lake Interna- tional Airport in two chartered planes. As soon as they arrived in Canada, the luggage was picked up by each member and everyone changed to one of eleven buses to back to Seattle for an evening con- cert. En route to the hotel in Seattle, . change into concert dress, then were transported back to the concert hall and tried to look fresh and awake to sing for two hours, after having had three hours sleep, and being up for 17 hours. Understanding that kind of schedule will give member insight when a asks a choir member, how was and the choir your vacation? member turns red in the face and bites his fist to keep from slugging the person who asked the innocent question. Of course a choir member will answer politely and say it was wonderful-ju- st great. In spite of the hectic schedule, the choir member will mean it when he says it was wonderful because of the outstanding experiences and thrills that came from touching hearts through music. Even though the whole choir was tired at Seattle, it responded to the conductor and gave a rousing performance that brought cheers, standing ovations and tears to audience and performers alike. non-cho- ir The choir rose early Wednesday morning to take buses to the pier to board the Princess Marguerite, and then sailed to Victoria on Vancouver Island. It traveled on double decker buses to the LDS stake Center, where a salmon dinner was served the choir group by church members. After a very stirring and emotional meeting, the choir boarded the buses to go to Butchart Gardens, a beautiful spot with over 200 acres of trees and flowers. The company all agreed it was a spot of heaven on earth. After the tour the choir was transported by bus back to the ferry to travel over to Vancouver, then to one of eight hotels. Thursday morning was free time for the group to shop, sightsee or visit the fair until 3 p.m., when they Expo '86 was worth seeing. Many of the favorites were, Canadian Pacific, B.C.s Discovery and Challenge, Ontario, G.M., Canada and Omni Max. Saturday brought a matinee and evening concert for the Choir, with regrets to have to bring the sight seeing Expo wonders to an end, along with the thrills of concer-tizin- g. On Sunday, the choir left their hotels bright and early to meet at the Orpheum Theatre to rehearse for the regular Sunday morning boradcast carried by BBC over radio to the world. After Music and the Spoken Word concluded, a special meeting was held for those at the broadcast. President Gordon B. Hinckley of the LDS Church spoke to those present. The choir again sang several numbers. The choir group returned to their hotels, had lunch and checked out of the hotels to board buses to go on a short tour of Stanley Park and Vancouver. Everyone ended up at Richmond Chapel where a Sacrament service was held. Again Pres. Hinckley spoke to the group. These kinds of intimate, spiritual experiences are highlights of a tour. After the meeting, the members in the area served a cold salmon dinner. write, Then it was wait-revisit, whatever to fill the hours until departure time. Three different flights brought the tired company home, the last group arriving in Salt Lake about 3 a.m. Monday morning, only to catch five winks after getting home, to rush back to the world of work, mothering, fathering, and everyday pressures. Once again they put behind them the hurried schedules, and little sleep. But forever theyll keep the memories-Memor- ies of love, of tears and warmth of people thrilling as one heartbeat to music. NOT ALL CHOIR trips are solid fun, as is shown here when a tour bus broke down in Victoria. Several male members had to push the bus to the top of this hill, where it finally got going again. ad, BRITT MARIE AND Norman Barnes of Fruit Heights, center, found out along with other members of the Choir that sometimes you end up waiting and waiting for something to begin. BLAINE AND NYLA Petersen, left, of Farmington, wait with other members to go on stage at Expo 86. The choir gave performances throughout the Pacific Northwest during its latest tour. L i ,'ETTE AND SPENCE Kinard, left, of Fruit Heights, gathered with other Choir members as they visited exhibits at Expo 86 in Vancouver during the choir's tour in early August. |