School of Music

BYU Singers Perform at Prestigious Conference

by Daniel Ng

When a conference is able to gather people from all over the world to one location, it’s a sure-fire sign that something of significant worth is drawing in the crowds.

Such was the case for the American Choral Directors Association’s National Conference held on March 9-12, 2011, in Chicago.

The ACDA National Conference, held once every two years in various venues across the country, gives music and choral conductors of all levels from professionals down to elementary school teachers the opportunity to socialize, to bounce ideas off one another and to learn new skills.

The international event is mostly filled with lectures and demonstrations for attendees to visit during their stay.

But in addition to the learning aspect, performances from highly regarded musical groups also highlight the week.

Names such as the “world reigning male chorus” group, Chanticleer, and the Grammy Award winning, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, made appearances at this year’s conference.

But none of these professional groups held the honorable performance position of closing the conference itself. That position was awarded to the BYU Singers choir this year.

“We’ve been given the prestigious position to close the convention,” said BYU Singers conductor and music professor, Dr. Ronald Staheli. “It’s the first time we’ve closed. They usually put the headliners at the beginning and the end to get people to come and then stay.”

The Singers opened the conference six years ago in Los Angeles. But the current group has put in long hours and preparation that has finally paid off in the form of another invitation to perform among the world’s best.

“We’ve been working so hard for this,” said Karen Moyes Milne, a vocal performance major who is in her second year with the Singers. “It will be fun to see it come together in front of very professional ears as well as ears that are hopefully going to be touched.”

Started in 1984, the Singers have long been wowing crowds through their folk, classical and spiritual music as its current and former members have toured through the likes of Russia, Israel and Australia among other countries.

Many may wonder where the success for Staheli and the Singers comes from. After all, it’s not often that a group of 18 to 25 year olds can come together to create a unified and musically talented voice like the Singers. According to Staheli and his performers, the answer can be distilled down to one word ─ the Spirit.

“As I tell BYU Singers all the time, I wish that we could sing in a way that people could see the light of the Gospel and feel it in the sincerity in which we sing,” Staheli said. “I want to say through our music that life is beautiful and that this is the fruit of Gospel living. And hopefully we impress our audience enough that they of themselves will realize what’s really going on here.”

For Milne’s fellow Singers member, Evan Moss, who is majoring in secondary music education, its obvious to him why the Spirit is so entwined with the group and its success to this point.

“Music has the ability to invite the Spirit in new and different ways,” Moss said. “It’s an environment that a lot of other people are comfortable with whether or not they are church goers themselves.”

The ability to use the Spirit, or for the Spirit to use the Singers as conduits, can also be seen as a different key to its success. This success does not translate in terms of the performing group’s popularity and prestige, but rather in its ability to do missionary work.

While its recognition as a prestigious group may be nice, the recognition is just a vital means to this important end of spreading the gospel for Staheli and company.

“I feel very strongly that I’m back on my mission,” said Scott Moore, another member of Singers who is studying general music with an emphasis in piano. “I know that the touring is seen as a missionary effort for BYU and the Church to create good relationships with others.”

Moss also reiterated Moore’s point of feeling like a full-time missionary, adding that Singers is a way to bridge gaps between people and the LDS Church.

“Just having that chance to get our name out really helps to bring the Church out from obscurity,” Moss said.

Even though each member of the Singers wields the Spirit and uses it for good to promote its music and draw others closer to the Gospel, the ultimate engine that drives the group is none other than Staheli himself. “He has a vision of what we are capable of and sees more in us than we see in ourselves,” Moore said. “Throughout the year, I feel that we begin to see that same thing that he’s seen in us all along and that makes us a successful choir as we progress.”

Milne agreed with Moore and also added another special attribute her teacher possesses.

“He takes very seriously the idea that this is a part of us utilizing our talents to build up the Kingdom," Milne said. “He doesn’t take that lightly. He sees himself as a servant to the Lord in preparing us in our lives and as musicians.”