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Stories
Sing With Us
Mormons a generation or two ago knew the music of Evan Stephens like the back of their hand. It was everywhere. Nearly two-thirds of the hymns in the early 20th century hymnal were composed by him. Conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, prolific composer of hymns, anthems, oratorios, and operettas, and a master choral teacher: Stephens was easily one of the most influential men of his era in the Church. How did this son of a Welsh coal miner, with almost no musical training become such a force?
On Carnegie Hall
I went by Carnegie Hall today, and I was surprised to see the poster for the Scott Holden recital in the beautiful outside display cases at Carnegie Hall. It was a proud moment, an arrival. When I first arrived in New York as a college student, I would scrape together $9 to buy a ticket on the back row of the balcony.
Our Secret Weapon
I'm not sure I should be revealing this, but we have a trade secret. Far away, in the land of snow-capped mountains and Jell-O, exists the most fantastic company. They do brilliant work. They are fast. They're nice. Their equipment is top-notch, state-of-the-art …
Collaboratives
I don't want to spoil too many of the surprises of the festival, but there are some really fun projects that will bring dozens of artists together to make linked visual images. These are thematically connected, and when you see them, I think you'll immediately understand the concept behind them …
Off to the printer
The last time I pulled an all-nighter was...let me think...never. This week though, with the help of a bottle of Dr. Pepper and quite a lot of chocolate, I stayed up all day, all night, and all the next day to put on the finishing touches for two publications due at the printer. The largest of these is the 660-page tome by film historian Randy Astle, Mormon Cinema: Origins to 1952. More about it another time, but I have to say that you will be in for a surprise. It is a major achievement in Mormon history.
Crunch time
With a little more than a month before the festival, this is crunch time. Publications must be at the printer...like right now. In order to have all five publications ready (five!), authors, artists, designers, and editors have been logging in some very long hours lately.