Just ask performers and they’ll tell you that every concert is special and unique to them.
Craig Jessop
And they’ll add that once in awhile, there is a certain performance that is so memorable it leaves them with an indelible impression. That happened to Craig Jessop nearly two decades ago with Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. It’s a work that Jessop knows very well. But there was one performance he took part in that will stay with him forever. “I did it with Robert Shaw in Carnegie Hall in 1994,” he told Reichel Recommends. “It was life changing, and at that time I promised myself I would do it.”
It’s not a promise to be taken lightly. Britten’s War Requiem is a huge undertaking. It requires large forces; in addition to a full orchestra and chorus, it also calls for a chamber orchestra, children’s choir and three soloists. And now Jessop has the musicians to fulfill his promise. “(At Utah State University, where he has been the dean of the Caine College of the Arts since 2010) we have the Fry Street Quartet and the Logan Canyon Winds, which will be our chamber orchestra,” he said. “We have the Cache Children’s Choir, and over the years we’ve been building a fabulous choir and orchestra.”
What Jessop is referring to is the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, which he has been leading for the past three years. “When I came to the school I told Cory Evans, who is the director of choral activities, that I wasn’t going to take over his job, but I was willing to do anything he wanted me to do to help.” At that time Evans was also the director of the Northern Utah Choral Society. “He told me, ‘I would be grateful if you would take this,’” Jessop said.
But instead of just taking charge of the group, Jessop realized it needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. “We needed to make a new start, so we came up with a new name and brought in a new board,” he said. That first year, the chorus had 320 singers. “Now we’re holding steady at around 260, and for the War Requiem we’ll be using 130 singers from the chorus and 40 from the Utah State Chamber Singers.”
Jessop, who was the music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1999-2008, is thrilled with his chorus. “They’re home grown and I’m really proud of them. They and the Utah State singers are really fabulous.”
He said the same about the orchestra. “Two thirds are from Cache Valley. Meredith Campbell, who is the concertmaster of the Orchestra at Temple Square, will be our concertmaster. Larry Lowe from BYU will be principal horn. And we have remarkable faculty members who will also be playing.”
Benjamin Britten
Joining the chorus and orchestra as soloists will be renowned artists Carol Vaness, soprano, Stanford Olsen, tenor, and up and coming singer Christopher Grundy, baritone. Both Vaness and Olsen have done the War Requiem a number of times over the years, and Grundy was recommended to Jessop by Vaness.
Jessop and Vaness have known each other for 35 years. “We met in 1976 when we were together at the (San Francisco Opera) Merola Opera Program,” he said. “She won it, and I came away realizing that I didn’t want to be an opera singer but a conductor instead.”
There will be two performances of the War Requiem. The first will be at 8 p.m. on Nov. 11 in Salt Lake City’s Cathedral of the Madeleine (this will feature the Madeleine Choir School Choristers instead of the Cache Children’s Choir). The second performance takes place the following evening at 7:30 p.m. in Logan’s Ellen Eccles Theatre.
It’s no coincidence that these performances fall on Veteran’s Day weekend. Jessop has always done a Veteran’s Day concert with the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra. “I’m a retired air force officer, and I’m very sensitive about Veteran’s Day and very aware of how the older – and also the younger – generations of veterans are forgotten. It’s a special day for me.”
And this year, Veteran’s Day falls on a significant date. “It’s on 11-11-11,” Jessop said. “It will be another hundred years before that happens again and we needed to do something extraordinary to mark it. I’m very sympathetic to the soldier, and to me there is no greater tribute to the people who have made the ultimate sacrifice than Britten’s War Requiem.”
Jessop understands that doing the War Requiem is a risk, but it’s a risk worth taking. “It’s a work of art that transcends music,” he said. “It’s a powerful work. It makes you think and it makes you a bit uncomfortable. It was a very personal work for Britten, and it’s very personal for me, too.”
CONCERT INFO:
What: Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, with the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, Fry Street Quartet, Logan Canyon Winds, Utah State University Chamber Singers, Cache Children’s Choir, Madeleine Choir School Choristers, and soloists Carol Vaness, Stanford Olsen and Christopher Grundy; Craig Jessop, conductor
Venue: Cathedral of the Madeleine
Time and Date: 8 p.m. Nov. 11
Tickets: Free, seating on a first come first served basis
Web: www.americanfestivalchorus.org
ALSO:
Venue: Ellen Eccles Theatre, 43 S. Main, Logan
Time and Date: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12
Tickets: $12-$18, $5 students
Phone: 435-797-8022
Web: www.arts.usu.edu