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100 Place to See After You Die
Donald R. Marshall
Perpetual Garden
The Last Caravan
Bandoneona
Isla de Lechuga
Relative Space: An Atypical Musical
Music Resources on churchofjesuschrist.org
Re: Leroy Robertson
Let’s Write a Hymn
Janice Kapp Perry
Translated Praise
Beloved Daughter
Working on The Season has been quite the trip for me. It is enriching because through it I have learned about so many people working on just so many projects, more than I ever imagined. The listings alone are mind-numbing! I feel like a small part of a Quixotic, and thus worthwhile, attempt at capturing such a wide range of creative endeavours. Kudos to the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts for having the gall to attempt this.
Gabriel González
Brownsville, Texas
What a great opportunity it was for me to connect with other LDS composers; many of whom I had never talked with previously. Speaking with Ron Saltmarsh on the phone, and Josh Akers on Zoom as well as reconnecting with my BYU colleagues Lance Montgomery and Jeff Broadbent, was a total thrill. I'm so proud of all of these composers and the careers they have built. It was inspiring to hear their stories and see their dedication to their art. I'm so happy to be a part of The Season and been able to contribute in this way!
Benjamin Taylor
Bloomington, Minnesota
Stephen Anderson
Stephen Anderson is a North Carolina composer and pianist who was formally distinguished (May 2022) by the Minister of Culture, Señora Milagros Germán, of the Government of the Dominican Republic. As musical director of The Dominican Jazz Project, the group won Best Jazz Album and Best Jazz Song in the 2023 national Premios Indie Dominicano 3ra edición awards. Anderson has composed chamber music, sacred choral works, and music for symphony orchestra and various jazz ensembles.
Megan Eckersley
Megan Eckersley is a graphic designer based out of New York City and has worked with clients like Squarespace. She is currently at Square as a Brand Designer.
Gabriel González
Gabriel González is a native of Uruguay who has also lived in Belgium, Ecuador, and the United States. In addition, he has spent several months in Colombia, Germany, Mexico, and Spain.
Jacqui Larsen
Jacqui Larsen is a painter and mixed-media artist originally from Syracuse, NY. She has received several grants and awards, and her work frequently appears in literary journals, including Gettysburg Review, Rattle, and Tampa Review. She lives in Springville, Utah.
Glen Nelson
Glen Nelson’s most recent book, John Held, Jr.’s Fiction was recently named a finalist in book-length criticism by the Association for Mormon Letters.
Janice Kapp Perry
Janice Kapp Perry has been writing music since the mid 1970’s and is perhaps best known for Primary songs like “A Child’s Prayer,” “Love Is Spoken Here,” and “We’ll Bring the World His Truth.” Her husband Douglas passed away in 2018 just before their 60th wedding anniversary, and they have five children, thirteen grandchildren, and twenty great-grandchildren.
Benjamin Sabey
Based in the San Francisco Bay area, Ben heads the theory, composition and electronic music programs at San Francisco State University. He holds a PhD from the University of California, San Diego where he studied primarily with Roger Reynolds. He has also studied composition with Brian Ferneyhough at the Royaumont Abby north of Paris, Chaya Czernowin, Philippe Manoury and Michael Hicks as well as computer music with Miller Puckette and psycho-acoustics with Richard Moore.
What is your favorite hymn and why?
Ted Bushman
"Lead, Kindly Light" (97). It's the rare hymn that both recognizes and renders beautiful the more subtle aspects of discipleship–the uncertain walk through darkness, the faint glimmer of divine approval, the smiling angel faces of lost loved ones on the other side.
Kathie Debenham
“In The Garden” (I know, it’s not in the present hymn book). I first heard this hymn at my Grandmother Smythe’s funeral which was shortly after I had been baptized as a 21-year-old BYU student. I find the presence of particularly my Heavenly Mother in my own garden
Gabriel González
Choosing just one is impossible, but let me say that today, one hymn I love is "Placentero nos es trabajar" (88, Spanish hymn book). I love the story behind the hymn. The lyrics were written by Andrés C. González, the first Mexican missionary, when he spent a night in jail due to a conflict that arose over the missionaries singing a hymn in public.
Arisael Rivera
"Lead, Kindly Light" (97). I think that I first fell in love with this hymn in Spanish "Divina Luz" or "Divine Light." It connects with me the divine. The second verse talks about our pride, our fighting against being led, and that struggle really spoke to me. Love that it is a prayer and conversation with the divine.
Joël René Scoville
“I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go” (270). This song became incredibly special to me when my first son left for his mission. It was the day of his farewell and I had planned on singing something different, but when that fell through I chose this thinking it would be easy. It was not. At all. Once I actually began looking at the lyrics and registered that my son would be doing the very thing I was singing about, I was immensely overwhelmed and barely got any of the words out. It’s been special to me and him ever since.
Benjamin Taylor
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (72). The energy and vigor of this hymn has always inspired me. It is also one of the first hymns I played on trumpet to accompany the congregation during sacrament meeting after the handbook was updated. What a joy that was!
Kwani Povi Winder
“Be Still My Soul” (124). This hymn speaks of hope but for me it also speaks of pain and sorrow. I played it at my father's funeral and it helped me to grieve and pour my pain into the music.
Warren Winegar
One of my favorite hymns is “Lead, Kindly Light” (97). While I was a student at BYU my father very suddenly lost the hearing in his left ear. Feeling so disconcerted and bewildered by this change, my father, and our family, faced a challenging time as the doctors met with him and tried to determine what happened and how to reverse it. One Sunday afternoon, a friend in the BYU Men's Chorus came with a quartet and serenaded my father with this song, which he heard only through his good ear while sobbing. His hearing never returned but the lesson of the lyrics became more meaningful and the beautiful act of service by those men has never been forgotten.
Mykal Urbina, publisher
A difficult choice but…”Be Still My Soul” (124)-- a longtime favorite made all the more meaningful by a trip to the Sea of Galilee, where those “waves and winds” brought me even closer to He who "ruled them while He dwelt below."
Glen Nelson, editor
“God Speed the Right” (106). When I was 12 years old, I was called to be the Priesthood Meeting Pianist, and this hymn was the only one I could play. Is this the best hymn? Hardly, but you do always remember your first love.
Emily Larsen Doxford, communications
“Lord, I Would Follow Thee” (220). I love this hymn because “would” is an auxiliary verb, operating in past, present and future states. Simple phrases render an elegant sermon on our eternal existence; the pattern to become as He is; and being forever changed when we place our will on the Lord’s altar.