Douglas Brenchley This is Me

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1. 1. Community Press, May 2005 (Tioga County, NY)

   www.tiogaweb.com/communitypres - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/1/2005   Last Visited: 5/9/2005

   The director of Latter-Day Celebration for the past eighteen years is Douglas Brenchley. Before coming to the Orem Institute, he directed the "Grand Land Singers" in Southern California. He has also directed the Missionary Training Center Choir at the Provo Mission Training Center for the past seventeen years.

2. 2. newsnet.byu.edu

   newsnet.byu.edu/print/36206 - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/28/2002   Last Visited: 2/9/2002

   "Last year we were back in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Illinois," said Douglas Brenchley, who has directed Latter-Day Celebration for the last fourteen years. "Next year we're going up to Alberta, Canada."
   
   Touring provides excellent opportunities for choir members to share their testimonies of the gospel, said Brenchley. The result has been some amazing missionary experiences, he said.
   
   "We had a family in Missouri last summer who had kind of been on the edge with the missionaries," Brenchley said. "They came to the performance, and afterwards they said that if that was what the church was like then they wanted to be members."
   
   Brenchley, who also teaches religion courses at the Orem Institute, said the most profound experiences occur not in the lives of those who attend the performances, but in the lives of the students themselves.
   
   "The greatest experience is watching these young people grow in the gospel," he said. "Music has such incredible power to change lives."
   
   ...
   Recently the program and its purpose was re-evaluated, Brenchley said.
   
   "For the last couple of years we have focused on strictly spiritual music," he said.
   
   Last year, Latter-Day Celebration developed a musical program called "Seven Days to Glory," which portrayed the last week of the life of Christ. This year the choir is preparing another production entitled "God So Loved the World." It will be debuted the week before Easter and will incorporate visual technology along with the music.
   
   "The Church media department has put together a DVD that enhances visually what we're singing in the music," Brenchley said. "It is a powerful experience for the kids singing."

3. 3. Orem Daily Journal / Utah County Journal

   www.ucjournal.com/PageSpeed.ph - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/10/2001   Last Visited: 8/11/2001

   Renamed Latter-day Celebration by current director Douglas Brenchley in 1994 , the choir features 40 college-age student voices , mainly from UVSC
   
   The singers , all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Orem Institute of Religion , travel and perform nationally promoting the tenets of their religion.
   
   Building people , watching people grow and their testimonies grow is the most important thing , said Brenchley , who has now worked with the institute for 16-years and has directed choral music for 34-years.
   
   I try to make music fun and enjoyable , to get the choir to think about the message they are presenting. It's so much fun , and we're so fortunate to be able to sing sacred literature - music that uplifts , inspires , and motivates , he said.
   
   Brenchley came to the Orem Institute from Southern California , where he directed a choir called The Grandland Singers for eight-years before joining the Church Educational System in 1978. He also directs the choir at the LDS Missionary Training Center in Provo , with which he has been affiliated for 14-years.
   
   Choral music has become so popular at the Institute that two more choirs have since formed ; the Institute Chorale , a non-auditioned group with about 80 voices that meets twice a week , and an open concert choir of 100 members that rehearses every Tuesday night during the regular school semesters.
   
   Occasionally , the choirs perform together for firesides around the community.
   
   The quality of the people and talent that comes to the group is amazing , Brenchley said. They come to us good , all I do is rehearse them very hard and get them singing like a choir class , and they just grow all on their own. I can't even begin to describe the amount of impact these young people have in sharing the message of Jesus Christ..
   
   And sharing the message is exactly what this group is doing.
   
   Recently , Latter-day Celebration toured the Midwest featuring a program entitled Seven Days to Glory that depicts the last week of Christ's life.
   ...
   Brenchley said that seeing the audience be profoundly moved by the music is the best part of performing.
   
   We have never done anything this powerful and so Christ-oriented , Brenchley said. Even in rehearsals we would have people dabbing their eyes. It was such an incredible thing to witness – [ the choir ] could hardly wait to perform it. It's probably the most moving program we perform..
   
   LDC's repertoire includes three additional programs : Brotherhood of Man , Rhythm of Life , and Listen America..
   
   ...
   Brenchley , in addition to training singers , also gives much dedication and attention to individual growth both spiritually and socially.
   
   It's very much a family in Latter-day Celebration , and we try to make it that way by spending time with each other at parties and retreats , he said. We grow so close that members don't want to leave ; I have had to boot them out after three-years to make room for new auditioners..
   
   Latter-day Celebration is a family business for Brenchley who has his wife , Nanette , be chief mom , and his six children assist either musically or technically.
   
   Brenchley says directing the choir is , at times , emotionally exhausting.
   
   There is so much feeling , the kids know I love them. I would do anything for them. I leave no room for them to doubt I'm totally committed , he said. I want them to feel good , everything else is insignificant. If they are growing , then I have succeeded..
   
   Latter-day Celebration will conduct auditons Aug 28 and 29 , from 1-5 p.m.at the Orem Institute of Religion North Chapel.
   
   For more information about Latter-day Celebration , call the Orem Institute of Religion at 764-3000 or visit http : //www.uvsc.edu/ldssa.