Voice of the choir
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
For the past 19 years, Lloyd D. Newell has introduced the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to audiences in the Tabernacle on Temple Square, in the Conference Center and on stages at various concert venues in many states and nations.
His is the voice that provides the narration for the choir's weekly network broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word." On concert tours, his announcements give audiences a personalized glimpse into the lives of members of the choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. On the concert tour from June 18-30, for example, his narration included interesting bits of information, such as the last time the choir had been to a particular city or state and which members of the choir and orchestra had ties to the areas in which the concerts were being held.
On July 19, when the choir will commemorate the 80th anniversary of its weekly broadcast, Brother Newell will be on hand to announce the program. An interesting fact is that in its eight decades of broadcast history, "Music and the Spoken Word" has had just three announcers: Elder Richard L. Evans, (1930-1971); J. Spencer Kinard (1971-1990) and Brother Newell, who began announcing in 1990.
As this year's concert tour began winding down, Brother Newell spoke with the Church News about the tour and shared some of his observations about the choir in general.
Each tour, he pointed out, has its own highlights. For him, this year's summer tour's most touching moments occurred not in front of audiences of thousands but in the company of choir and orchestra members and their guests in smaller, more intimate settings.
He spoke of having visited sites of significance in Church history, particularly Nauvoo, Ill.; Winter Quarters in Nebraska; Kanesville, Iowa; Independence, Mo., and Liberty, Mo.
He described the scene of choir members and others gathering around the Liberty Jail exhibit, which depicts the harsh conditions under which Joseph Smith and others were incarcerated for several months.
"Everyone gathered around that prison temple and sang, 'We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,' " Brother Newell said. "I don't think I'll ever forget that.
"Then, at the Winter Quarters Visitors Center, some of the choir members sang, 'Come, Come, Ye Saints.' At Council Bluffs, Iowa, we visited the reconstructed Kanesville Tabernacle (where Brigham Young was sustained in December 1847 as President of the Church)."
Brother Newell said he had an awareness of the significance of places in the regions around the concert venues, and he wanted to share some of that insight with concert audiences.
At the concert in Des Moines, Iowa, he introduced the hymn "Come, Come, Ye Saints," and told the audience that it was composed by William Clayton, a Mormon pioneer who passed through Iowa and camped at Locust Creek in April 1846.
"I noticed at times that some of the choir members sang with tears in their eyes," Brother Newell said.
In the Church News interview, he spoke of some of the people he met during the tour. "Church members are thrilled to hear the choir," he said, "but I've met several people who are not members of the Church who were also thrilled to attend the concerts. One couple, not LDS, drove three hours to hear the choir. They know that it's one thing to hear the choir on CD or to watch it on a television special, but there's something about being in the same hall and hearing the choir in person," he said.
People thanked Brother Newell after concerts, but he realized that they were thanking the choir and orchestra through him.
"The choir lifts, inspires and touches people's hearts," he said.
He added that it was his privilege to witness audiences' responses to the choir.
"Many people said, 'I've never heard anything like this,' or 'It was a beautiful, moving experience.' Couple that with going to places of significance in Church history with the choir; how can you describe something like that?"
Of the choir and orchestra, Brother Newell said, "These are good people. I want to give audiences a flavor, so they can see that these are individuals with good hearts, who love music and who, most of all, love the Lord."
