Choir president sings praises of Jessop
An emotional but enthusiastic Mac Christensen spoke Wednesday with reporters about his admiration for Jessop, though he declined to take questions about the choir director's reasons for stepping down, which Jessop himself has not publicly detailed.
"The man has so much ability," Christensen said. "When he picks up a mic, the words just flow, and they mean something. When he talks to the audience when we might be doing a concert, they just absolutely love it."
Speaking of the choir's signature radio and television program, "Music and the Spoken Word," Christensen said, "Craig had the ability to lay out a program like no one that I've ever been around." He said Jessop has the ability to get what he wants from performers and program staff, yet do it in such a way "that people just love him."
In 2003, the choir launched its own recording label, having recorded for many years with companies such as Sony, TelArc and CBS. The venture was Jessop's idea, Christensen said, supported by associate director Mack Wilberg. Though considerations of time, money and distribution seemed daunting, Jessop made it happen, he said.
While the choir over the years achieved success with the other labels, they lacked autonomy regarding their recordings, Christensen said. "Now, we own and control them, and Craig and Mack make sure it sounds like a million dollars. They've just taken off. That's under the direction of Craig. He gets everyone else involved, and everyone works together, and all of a sudden, we've got 12 great CDs."
Choir tours improved under Jessop's leadership, the choir president said, with as many as 12,000 to 14,000 audience members in venues such as the NBA arena in Portland, Ore., or Ravinia in Chicago, where a choir appearance broke attendance records.
Jessop's leadership has added younger people to the ranks of Tabernacle Choir admirers, said Christensen, adding, "They call us the 'MoTabs.' It's wholesome; it's wonderful."
He extolled Jessop's ability to connect with an audience, sometimes in novel and spontaneous ways. "On tour in Boston," he said, "we were with the Boston Pops. We sang to over a million people; they fell in love with us, and we fell in love with them. We were on the 'Today' show in New York City. It was raining cats and dogs. We were outside. All of a sudden, he had them 'Singing in the Rain'."
The annual Christmas concerts of the choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square have become a much-anticipated spectacle under Jessop's baton. Christensen expressed amazement at Jessop's ability to get the choir, orchestra, bell ringers, guest artists and dancers working together. "He's not belligerent; he listens. He's fantastic. He knows what he wants, and he is so easy to work with.
"You see the artists that come in — whether it's Angela Lansbury, or Bryn Terfel from Wales — they'll come in and they're wondering about it. He starts to work with them. All of a sudden they'll do anything for Craig. The relationships that he's built for the choir, for the church, for the state, for the United States, the relationships are unreal."
Though he said the resignation was shocking for him personally, Christensen reflected on Jessop's accomplishments with affection, saying he cares about individuals. "You can never tell him anything sad, because he'll cry," he said.
Regarding the choir's future without Jessop, Christensen said, "It's going to be hard. But the beautiful thing is he set it up. He showed us how to do it."
As interim director, Wilberg will build on Jessop's accomplishments, Christensen said, noting that the two worked so closely together they could finish each other's sentences.
E-mail: rscott@desnews.com
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