An email from Michael McLean...

Joey, Danica and Sean,
I just got a terrific report from a friend of mine who attended your production of THE GARDEN. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to cheer you all on. I didn't know it was happening, but want to thank you for the effort you made to share this with your community. I remember when I first played the recording of THE GARDEN for my wife years ago she said, "Well, Michael, you can die now." I understood what she was saying. I don't know if I'll ever be able to bear my testimony of Jesus any better than I was able to writing those lyrics to Bryce's melodies and Merrill's orchestrations.


Again, my gratitude and thanks to all involved.

Michael McLean

The Garden

The Garden
by Bryce Neubert and Michael McLean

The Garden is an allegorical oratorio.  As you may know an oratorio is a musical work on a sacred theme.  In an allegory the telling of the moral or religious tale is figurative or symbolic.  The "allegorical oratorio" has a "Barren Tree," "a ram," "a millstone," and a seedling as characters.  We are introduced to these characters through their own arias (songs).

Later we are introduced to The Gardener.  One who comes to help the garden grow and heal.  The Landlord enters, tells the Gardener to "leave this garden."  The Garden asks of the Gardener, how can we be healed?  The Gardener tells the garden of "one with many names" who will come "like a most unusual rain." 

The Man comes, suffering under a heavy burden.  The Garden laments his suffering.  They wish they could help Him somehow.  The Gardener expresses his thoughts.  "I cannot east his burden.  I cannot stop his hurting.  Could we be truly worth such grief and pain?"  The Landlord taunts the Man.  "You're not the only one who is your father's son.  Give up and call it done.  There is no need to suffer longer."  The Man declares, "I never understand such anguish, but I'm not here to do as I wish.  No my will but Thine be done!"

The Garden is healed.  The audience is left with a feeling of contemplative peace as the soloists and the choir join together to "debrief," as it were, the audience.  "We have come to tell a story, we have come to sing the words, and we hope within these melodies the meaning has been heard.  And perhaps someway together, it will help us be prepared, to receive the greatest gift of love that ever will be shared."  "There's a chance this story told this hour will echo through our bones in the moment we most need it when we're searching for what's true and we try to comprehend the love He offers me and you....He becomes our hope through the gift of the ultimate sacrifice.  He is Jesus Christ.  He is come to save us all..."

We invite you share this Easter Sunday with us as we celebrate the life of Him who came "to save us all."

The performance will be held on Easter Sunday, April 4th @ 7pm at:
Alpine Tabernacle
110 East Main Street

If you are interested in joining the choir for this magnificent, please contact Joey at unipac150@gmail.com.  Rehearsals will be held on Sunday evenings at the Alpine Tabernacle from 7pm to 8:30pm beginning February 28th until the performance.  There will be tech/dress rehearsal on Friday, April 2nd as well.

From the Director's Desk:

With our concert this Saturday (Feb. 6th @ 7:30 pm at the Community Presbyterian Church in American Fork) underway we are now getting ready for our Easter concert.  We are doing Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert's The Garden. 

The chorus will be open and will begin rehearsals on Sunday, February 28th at 7 pm at the Alpine Tabernacle.  We will meet every Sunday until the performance on Easter Sunday, April 4th.  (That's FIVE rehearsals.)  There will be a Tech/Dress Rehearsal on Friday April 2nd.

Those interested in being a soloist should contact Joey at unipac.auditions@gmail.com.  We have 6 solos spots for men available.  (A mix of tenors and baritones.)

For more information on the choir please contact Joey at unipac150@gmail.com or 801.842.6292

From the Director's Desk:

With Easter fast approaching we are busily working our collective tails off to get our Easter concert underway. This past week we were able to secure the rights to perform The Garden by Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert. We are very excited. This is a great work and perfect for Easter.

The chorus will be open. Rehearsals for the chorus begin on Sunday, February 28th in American Fork (We are still negotiating with the owner of the rehearsal building, so I'll hold off on announcing the location until it is confirmed.)

Solo auditions will be announced at a later date. However, keep in mind, soloists will be chosen before chorus rehearsals begin on February 28th. More details will be coming early in February. In the mean time, don't forget our upcoming concert of opera, art song, lied, and broadway favorites on February 6th at the Community Presbyterian Church in American Fork (75 North 100 East).

From the Director's Desk:

Oh my! It has been WAY too long since I have posted anything. The Other Wise Man, overall, went well. (Pictures are forthcoming.) We hit a few snags the couple days before the performances. I'll mention two of them. (The others are typical "live theatre" things that go wrong.)

The first: One of the sopranos, singing the roles of Rhodaspes and Shibyah, had to leave for an out-of-town emergency on Friday afternoon. (That's Friday December 4th. The performances were the following Monday and Tuesday.) Thankfully, after several phone calls and emails, we ended up having the soprano who played those roles in the original cast (from 2006) fill them for this production. She cheated a little and put her music into a little book which she fixed up to look like it belonged there. (I've done the same thing. When I was singing the role of Bill in A Hand of Bridge, I put my music on the cards. Of course, so did the other singers.)

The other mishap...Well, I had the piano tuned on Wednesday and everything was fine with it during our music rehearsal on Friday night. Saturday afternoon during the first dress rehearsal, the pedals fell off. Well, we stuck a piece of wood under them (that was after trying to duct tape them back up, screw the pedal thing onto the piano...neither of them worked) and finished the run. For the second run we pulled out the other piano. An upright. Slightly out of tune. And, as was discovered a little later, had mouse droppings all over it. Thank you Purell.

We tried again with the grand (the one that was just tuned) by stucking another piece of wood and some other stuff under the wood and it worked fine. The pianist threatened the lives of everyone if they even touched the piano. I mean, why mess with something if it's working? We're not the government!

Ticket sales from this production were much less then we had hoped for. We had a lot of things we were competing with. Messiah concerts...EVERY performing arts organization in the area does a Christmas (er, Holiday) show and it snowed BOTH NIGHTS!!! I think next year we'll do a single concert. We'll try for Christmas (day) afternoon. A free concert. We'll see how it goes.

Currently we are getting ready for our next production. A concert titled, A little bit of this, a little bit of that. This concert will be accompanied by Larry Gee. And will feature many singers from all over the valley. My assistant and UNIPAC's General Production Director, Danica Yates, is producing this concert so that I can spend some time working on other things. (Like next season. I've got finish an English adaption of Bastien und Bastienne and get the orchestrations for it. And work on The Impresarrio. And my own personal pursuits as a playwright.)

I'll make sure Danica writes a little something about the concert.

Also keep in mind, we'll be holding auditions for soloists for our Easter Concert (The Garden by Michael McLean and Bryce Neubart) towards the latter end of February. The chorus will be open to anyone...keeping in mind we'll have just five rehearsals to learn the music. Chorus will be able to use music during the concert. Soloists will need to be memorized and will NOT be using microphones.

Thank you and God bless.