Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Making sweet music

Five men sit in "performance central" as the recording begins. Bruce Leek, a Grammy-winning sound engineer from Los Angeles has come in to be the lead sound engineer on the project. He is aided by Trent Walker, the choir's sound engineer, and Sean Adams, the choir's assistant sound engineer.

Chad Steffey, conductor of the Band of the Air Force Reserve, stationed at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, is the producer for the album; Ed Thompson, interim assistant director for the choir, is there to be a second pair of ears.

Leek and Steffey are "not of our faith," Barrick says, but they bring a great deal of expertise and sensitivity to the project. "Except when they want the choir to sing with more angst," Barrick says jokingly. "Mormons don't do angst well."

Leek has been coming to Salt Lake City for about 25 years now. "I worked with the Mormon Youth Symphony back into the '70s. I've been with the Tabernacle Choir since the beginning of their label."

He's recorded with a lot of professional groups all over the world, he says, but this all-volunteer choir and orchestra beats them all. "You don't see this professionalism anywhere else. It doesn't exist. It is a marvelous experience to come up and work with them."

Steffey's job is to be "Mack's ears. I listen in real time, and he relies on me to tell him whether it's good or not." He and Wilberg communicate privately by phone after each take. He can also speak to the choir by microphone.

They are recording "My God, My Portion, and My Love." "We need to work on the 'ah' sounds," Steffey tells Wilberg. And, "we're not quite together on the breathing."

"Use more of the second flute."

"We need a cleaner break after measure 20."

"Pick up on 14; we need one more chance for the woodwinds."

"The word 'the' needs to be higher."

"Is the 'and' in tune?"

"Is there any way to warm it up? Try playing on the A string."

"Make sure the 'N' goes in your molars."

It is a different language these musicians speak, but they all work toward the best they can get.

The way it works, Barrick explains, is that the choir and orchestra perform the number once all the way through to give them a "bed." Then they will perform the number a bit at a time, "until Chad says they've 'got it.' After the session, he and Mack will go through all the takes. They will maybe pull 1-6 measures from this take and 11-14 from another. And then Bruce will take all that and smooth it out into one flawless take."

The choir "gets it right within three times, on average," Steffey says. "We do about one tune an hour."

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Recording is the "most intense period for the choir," Barrick says. "They have to be here every night for a week and then all day on Saturday. This, and Christmas, are the busiest times."