By Larissa Salcido Carrick
The Utah Symphony joined The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square to present the 2019 O.C. Tanner Gift of Music concert series at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. Guest performers Megan Hilty and Brian Stokes Mitchell joined in the celebration, making it a night of patriotic tribute and the joy of music.
Starting in 1983, the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music concert series was the vision of late President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley, and his philanthropic neighbor and friend, Obert C. Tanner. The pair was eager to share their love and appreciation of music through the talents of the Utah Symphony and the Tabernacle Choir by offering free concerts to the Salt Lake City community. This year’s concert was the eighteenth time that these musicians and the benefactors present this gift. The performance was also in conjunction with the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike. It was on May 10,1869 that the last rails of the Trans-continental Railroad were laid in Promontory Summit, Utah with a single gold spike marking the finished product. This weekend’s musical performance was a tribute not only to the talent and appreciation of music, but to the unification of a country by rail. It was a night of patriotic enthusiasm featuring American classics such as America the Beautiful, Shenandoah, John Henry, and America, the Dream Goes On, among others. For myself, I found that it inspired a deeper love of America, which I did not realize I had been missing.
Led by conductor Mack Wilberg, the Utah Symphony and Tabernacle each delivered their usual standard of excellence. The American theme was prominently displayed with an enormous American flag hung directly behind the choir. Joining the Utah Symphony and Tabernacle Choir were guest performers Megan Hilty and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Each artist is recognizable as a Broadway star. adorned with awards and accolades. This is Stokes Mitchell’s second guest appearance in the O.C. Tanner Gift of Music concert series, since he previously joined the choir and orchestra for a performance in 2008. Megan Hilty enjoyed her first appearance with the Tabernacle Choir and Utah Symphony in this year’s performance. Stokes Mitchell’s first performance of Shenandoah demonstrated a surprising ability to quickly assume the longing and home-sicknesses of the piece with a voice that seemed to effortlessly fill the enormous Conference Center. In the middle of the concert, Hilty took the stage to perform a solo medley from Annie Get Your Gun and the audience immediately fell in love with her charm and talent. Stokes Mitchell and Hilty, together with the Utah Symphony and Tabernacle Choir, helped to invoked in the audience a renewed passion for American patriotism. After a standing ovation for all the performances, the audience was gifted with an outstanding display of fireworks as they exited the Conference Center. Many onlookers enjoyed the fireworks from the many balconies of the large and impressive venue. It was a spectacular night of historical reflection, appreciation, and love of country.
Unfortunately this was a one night only performance. The O.C. Tanner Gift of Music series comes around about every other year and although this year’s concert is over, the Utah Symphony and Tabernacle Choir regularly offer concerts that are not to be missed.
The Utah Symphony and The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square present The O.C. Tanner Gift of Music Concert Series
LDS Conference Center, 60 N Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84150
May 10, 2019, 8:00 PM
Tickets: Free
Contact: 801-240-1322
www.thetabernaclechoir.org
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