“I think you should write a musical work on Christ and the Americas.”
The suggestion came in 2009, seemingly out of the blue, from Brandon Stewart to his older brother, Brett Stewart. Two years earlier, the sibling duo had started Millennial Choirs and Orchestras in Orange County, California.
“I’m like, yeah, no,” then-31-year-old Brett Stewart responded, feeling wary of taking on such a weighty project about cherished Latter-day Saint scripture. “I’m not interested.”
In 1977, the same year Brett Stewart was born, President Spencer W. Kimball, senior leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, published “The Gospel Vision of the Arts.” After mentioning great musical masters of the past, this prophetic leader proposed “the best has not yet been composed nor produced”—suggesting that “artists of tomorrow” could “use the coming of Christ to the Nephites as the material for a greater masterpiece.” He envisioned a day when future musicians “write and sing of Christ’s spectacular return to the American earth in power and great glory, and his establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth in our own dispensation.”
Throughout its 18-year history of creating music for a broad audience, this multi-state choir has at times touched on themes specific to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including their Palmyra performance of “The Vision” in 2024.
But at this early period, taking on musically the coming of Christ to the America’s depicted in the Book of Mormon’s 3rd Nephi felt more daunting than inspiring to this young composer. Even President Kimball had acknowledged, “No Handel nor other composer of the past or present or future could ever do justice to this great event.”
But the younger brother wouldn’t give up, asking, “Do you agree that this has to happen at some point?”
“Oh yeah ... it needs to happen,” Brett Stewart responded.
“Then if not you, who?” Brandon Stewart pressed. “I’m asking you to tackle it.”
That was the moment Brett Stewart remembered imagining a Book of Mormon musical really happening. “Okay, I’ll consider it.”
Read the rest of the article at the Deseret News.
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