Choir presents program to honor Pres. Hinckley

President Hinckley, who passed away one week earlier, had been the choir's adviser for 37 years.

"We lovingly called him 'friend' because of his extraordinary supervision of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and its broadcasts for so many decades," said Lloyd D. Newell, the choir's announcer.

"No one has loved 'Music and the Spoken Word' more; few have had a greater influence upon it. President Hinckley has overseen the broadcast since 1971. He has been its champion and visionary leader from the broadcast's mid-life to the present. But more than that, he has been our beloved associate and dear friend."

The musical tribute included "Danny Boy," which was one of President Hinckley's favorite songs, with Daren Bradford playing the penny whistle and Tamara Oswald the harp, and the choir and Orchestra at Temple Square joining in.

Organist Richard Elliott performed an improvisation of "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."

Other numbers on the program included "How Firm a Foundation" and, from Felix Mendelssohn's "Elijah," two selections: "Lift Thine Eyes" and "He, Watching over Israel." Also, the choir performed "My Redeemer Lives," the words of which were written by President Hinckley. The final tribute was a performance of a farewell hymn, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again."

After the program, choir director Craig Jessop presented a gift to each of President Hinckley's sons and daughters and their spouses, who had joined him on the dais. Jessop announced that for President Hinckley's 96th birthday, the choir produced a computer-manipulated photo showing the church leader's face superimposed in the choir's tenor section. President Hinckley kept the photo on a credenza next to the desk in his office and often showed it to visitors.

Representing President Hinckley's family, Elder Richard G. Hinckley, a son and member of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy, thanked the musicians for their service, and made special mention of choir and orchestra members going to the viewing in the Conference Center's Hall of the Prophets after their rehearsal Thursday night and singing "one last time" for President Hinckley.

Elder Hinckley said that because of the love President Hinckley had for the choir, the family invited the musicians to a special viewing, during which they surrounded the casket and sang "Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide," "We Thank Thee, O God for a Prophet," and "God Be With You Till We Meet Again."

E-mail: gerry@desnews.com

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