The photo and the video here this morning are from one of those "when-pigs-fly" moments, which occurred on June 25 in Mountain View, California --- a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during which Dr. Tim Seelig, artistic director of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, was invited to conduct a number --- Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."
The invitation included a welcome to several members of the Gay Men's Chorus, the granddaddy of similar organizations worldwide, to rehearse with the 300-voice Salt Lake City-based choir, most likely American's most widely known and admired choral group, on the afternoon of the concert. Those are chorus members Steve Gallagher (front) and Rocky Sharma, wearing "Love can build a bridge" t-shirts (above), interacting with members of the choir.
The video was taken during the evening performance at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View as the Tabernacle Choir continued its 2018 Classic Coast Tour.
The invitation does not reflect a thawing in the icy relationship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a whole and the LGBTQ community, but it was, as The Salt Lake Tribune pointed out, "a potent symbol." And does demonstrate the ability of love --- and music --- to build bridges.
The Tribune reported that "Seelig agreed to the guest conductor invitation 'with eyes wide open. We have no delusions about changing the course of the Mormon religion. Nor does this wipe away the pain inflicted on the LGBTQ community over the years.' " Seelig said.
"Still, the gay musician reasoned, there could be 'a young closeted Mormon in the audience who finds out about tonight’s concert and may see a glimmer of hope.' "
No comments:
Post a Comment