In order to alleviate any misunderstanding from the top, the Mormon Orchestra and Choir of Washington, D.C., is not the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. “We are part of the same church and we have the same purpose as the Tabernacle,” David Hardin, the choir’s associate director said. “They’ve been around a lot longer than us, but we are honored to be mentioned in the same sentence.”
| IF YOU GO |
| Mormon Orchestra and Choir of Washington, D.C. |
| Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday |
| Info: $21 to $50.40; 301-581-5100; strathmore.org |
And they especially were honored to be invited by the Music Center at Strathmore to perform in concert Saturday to kick off the holiday season.
“I love the music of the Christmas season,” Hardin continued. “And when we were given the opportunity to sing at Strathmore, we all sat down and [decided] to go with a very traditional program that will be largely familiar to the people that come to hear us.”
Indeed, the 90-voice Mormon Choir, along with the 40-piece Mormon Orchestra (volunteers all) will perform a varied repertoire of Christmas music in a show they have called, “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him.”
“We wanted to give the area an opportunity to hear firsthand what the Mormon Tabernacle Choir likes to do for their Christmas shows,” Haleigh Vance, president of the Mormon Orchestra, said. “We are performing a lot of what they do for their big Christmas broadcast on the public radio station.”
Songs and carols and solo instrumentals featured in the program include Leroy Anderson’s 1950 version of “A Christmas Festival,” J.S. Bach’s “Ave Maria,” “I Saw Three Ships,” the old English carol “The First Noel” and “O Holy Night.”
A particular favorite piece of both Hardin and Vance is the “Russian Christmas Music” with choir. Sung and played to a narrative of the story, “A Christmas Bell for Anya,” this heartwarming piece reflects on the loneliness of a little girl at Christmas and gives, Hardin said, “… Strathmore patrons something to dig their teeth into.”
Vance, who said she is thrilled about their first performance at Strathmore, summed up the goal of both orchestra and choir when she said: “We want everybody to walk away from this concert ready for the Christmas season [and] for the right reasons — to find piece and happiness at this time.”
