All-State Choir

The historic Mormon Tabernacle is an impressive structure that so efficiently carries sound that musicians love to perform in its immersive space. The tortoise-shell dome and the almost completely open hall allow any performer to hear the music as it reverberates from the back walls toward the main stage. This building allows a clarity of sound whether it comes from a full orchestra and choir, a chamber group, a single voice or even a pin drop on a wooden podium. The acoustics create one of the greatest places on earth to either perform or enjoy the melodious sounds by talented artists.

The Tabernacle has hosted many world-class performers but it also allows talented amateur artists the chance to put on display their own growing skills. Each year, Utah’s high schools select singers from their elite choirs to form a gigantic 400 or 500 voice All-State Choir. They then invite a respected director to come and work with these kids in a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Most will never sing in a group with so many voices while being mentored by such excellent teachers. And they don’t go easy on these kids. They may be young singers, but the programmers select sophisticated and challenging pieces to push them to discover how much they can really do, especially under the right tutelage.

For a spectator, these concerts carry an energy that is simultaneously expected and surprising. You might anticipate that with such a multitude of voices that the energy would naturally be intense. But there is a youthful joy that makes these performances simply delightful. These kids are so excited that they applaud each other, the audience and their director. They have so much fun with each other and their smiles are infectious to everyone there. What could have been a stuffy evening of elitist art becomes playful and fun because of the sincerity of youth.

Standing outside of the hall on the Temple Square you can see all the kids celebrating with their new-found friends as well as the students from their own schools. One quick snippet of an overheard conversation tells the typical fun of the evening.  “I hit that note,” the slender girl declares with a giant smile gracing her face. “That was you?” says the woman who was almost certainly her mother beaming almost as much as her daughter. “Yes! It was me! Well really it was all the Soprano 1s.”

That’s the kind of energy you love to see after a concert. Performers who clearly had fun before the performance, during the show and after. It’s one of those shows where almost everyone in the audience is rooting for both the entire group generally but especially for one very special someone. It might be a son or a daughter, a sibling or a friend. The support for these kids is palpable and their dynamic performance satisfies one of the the purest purposes of art: to speak the unspeakable from performer to spectator and to bring them all closer together.