5 LDS siblings sign recording deal

Editor's note: The Deseret News periodically runs stories such as this to show what national publications are saying about Utahns. The Brown family moved from Alpine to the New York area in 1995 to allow the children to study at Julliard.

The story at first seemed like a cultural curiosity: Five squeaky-clean Mormon siblings come to New York to study piano. All five are admitted to Juilliard, one of the most demanding conservatories in the world, and study with the same teacher.

That was nearly four years ago, when the Brown brothers and sisters received a wavelet of publicity. Recently the story has acquired a new dimension. They signed a five-CD deal with BMG Classics/RCA Red Seal at the end of March, adding layers of complexity to their lives.

The new commitment has forced the family to work out compromises with the traditions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For its part, the church sees the Browns as a powerful means to spread its message.

BMG officials said they did not want to emphasize the Mormon connection, adding that they hoped the Browns, a passel of willowy and comely youths 18 to 25, would boost sales among younger people and reach a new classical audience.

Members of the family said they relished the idea of having a career that kept them together. They said they were happy to serve as emissaries for the Mormon Church. They embrace the idea that their image and a repertory of bite-size classical pieces could attract new classical music listeners.

"How else are you going to get to young kids with this type of music?" said Gregory Brown, 21, who is graduating this year from Juilliard. "They look at Mozart and Bach as something nerdy kids do."

Their father, Keith Brown, said his children would appeal to parents disgusted with what he considers an increasingly trashy entertainment world.

"The kids have a kind of clean youth-culture look that sits well with corporate America and parental America," said Brown, who helps manage his children's careers. He and the siblings were interviewed separately by telephone before a Brown family concert at the Wortham Center in Houston last Sunday.

Along with Gregory, the other performers are his elder sisters Deondra, 24, and Desirae, 25, who have undergraduate and master's degrees from Juilliard and often perform as a duo; Melody, 20, who is also graduating from Juilliard this year; and Ryan, 18, who attended Juilliard's preparatory division before breaking away and starting at the Manhattan School of Music last September.