Music piece honors handcart pioneers

PROVO — A century and a half ago this winter an early snowstorm held 1,200 European immigrants in its icy grip as they pushed handcarts across the Wyoming wilderness.

LDS Church President Brigham Young dispatched men and wagons loaded with supplies from Salt Lake City hundreds of miles through wintry conditions to rescue the pioneers. While 200 of the immigrants died of illness and exposure, about 1,000 lived to start anew in the Salt Lake Valley and beyond.

The recollection of that tragedy and triumph embodies a newly commissioned orchestral and choral work, "Fresh Courage Take," by Utah Valley State College professor Marden Pond. (Pond also wrote "Pioneer Sampler" for the Utah statehood sesquicentennial.)

"When I heard there was a handcart sesquicentennial coming up, my thoughts turned to (the Utah sesquicentennial)," he said.

Pond's work commemorates the sesquicentennial events that beset the Martin and Willie handcart companies. Inspired by emotional stories he had heard on several trips to Martin's Cove, Wyo., Pond began to explore the idea of composing a piece about the handcart companies. The Sons of Utah Pioneers shared his interest and agreed to commission the work.

"While some historians look on the experiences of these handcart companies as a tragedy, the spiritual nature of their ordeal was a great blessing and a faith-strengthening opportunity," Pond said. "Their experience teaches us to strengthen our commitment in spite of adversity and sacrifice, to endure to the end even under extreme hardships and to seek opportunities to serve our fellow beings through focused and meaningful service."

The UVSC Symphony Orchestra and A Cappella Choir will perform the hourlong work in eight movements under the baton of Pond. Four local actors and biographers will perform the narration taken from journals, personal writings and biographies of those handcart pioneers and their rescuers.

The piece has the feeling of a film score with narrations, Pond said, rather than a film that is set to music.

Pond's credits include 18 albums of compositions created for many other groups in and around Utah, and he has received numerous awards and accolades. He has taught music, dance, humanities and distance education courses at UVSC for 19 years.

The Salt Lake premiere of "Fresh Courage Take" takes place Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Bountiful Regional Center, 835 N. 400 East, North Salt Lake.

If you go

What: "Fresh Courage Take" premiere concert

Where: Provo Tabernacle, 100 S. University Ave., Provo

When: 7 p.m., Oct. 27

Cost: free

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E-mail: rodger@desnews.com