'Choir is mine'
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(Read Gerry Avant's blog as she accompanies the Choir on their 2009 tour.)
CINCINNATI, OHIO
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra opened its concert June 18 with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir by playing "Celebration Fanfare." There was plenty to celebrate on the first stop of the choir's 13-day tour.
Heavy rains had fallen in the Cincinnati area for several days prior to the choir's arrival. When the choir's plane landed, there was a tremendous rainstorm under way. The choir's president, Mac Christensen, said he was worried that the concert might have to be canceled since the Riverbend Music Center is a covered pavilion; 3,000 tickets had been sold for the lawn. The ground was saturated.
"Shortly after we arrived, the sun came out. By the time of the concert, the weather was quite pleasant. We believe in miracles," he said. Workers put down hay to help absorb the moisture, and the lawn area was filled with concert-goers.
About 10,000 people attended the concert. There was a double-draw factor. This was Erich Kunzel's first concert at Riverbend since it was announced in late April that he is battling cancer. The tremendously popular Mr. Kunzel has been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer of the colon, liver and pancreas. Music lovers' admiration of maestro Kunzel, coupled with respect and admiration for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, caused tickets to practically fly out of the box office.
This was the third time Mr. Kunzel, hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "The Prince of Pops," had directed the choir in concert. The first collaboration came when the choir performed at Riverbend during its 2007 tour. Last fall, he directed the choir and Utah Symphony in Salt Lake City.
Mr. Kunzel's association with the choir dates to 2005, when his pops orchestra recorded the musical score in Cincinnati and the choir did the vocal overlay in Salt Lake City for an album of three choral suites by Miklos Rozsa, including "Ben Hur," "Quo Vadis" and "King of Kings."
"The Tabernacle Choir is mine," he told the Church News as the orchestra and choir came together for a two-hour rehearsal. "I love them. That's why they're here."
Choir members have expressed concern for the maestro. In the final weeks of preparation for the concert, Mr. Kunzel spoke with the Church News in a telephone interview in which he stated firmly that he would be at Riverbend to welcome the choir as it began its summer tour. He kept his word.
As the choir's caravan of buses pulled into the center's parking lot during a light rain June 18, the maestro was waiting to greet them.
The Cincinnati concert was part of a series celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Riverbend Music Center, located on the north bank of the Ohio River. And it included an appearance by former astronaut Neil Armstrong, who 40 years ago next month became the first man to walk on the moon.
The former astronaut was brought on stage to narrate Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," which was performed to mark the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
