When the pandemic reshaped the 61st General Conference Session into a limited, invitation-only gathering for delegates, one a cappella choir from the Pacific Northwest shared their music virtually by performing over Zoom.
Now, with the full session resumed and attendees once again gathering in person, Les Chanticleers took to the stage in St. Louis, lifting their voices in praise to Jesus at the 62nd GC Session.
The GC music committee remembered this choir with their signature 12-part a cappella harmony and reached out to see if they would apply for this year’s session. Like other interested musicians, Les Chanticleers representatives submitted recordings of five potential songs.
“I’ll Never Turn Back No More,” a meaningful spiritual song, became the chosen song for the choir to sing inside America’s Convention Center, with an additional selection for Ferrera Theater. The acoustics were so wonderful for the choir that they sang with even more enthusiasm as the delegates arrived for another business meeting.
“After the performance, we heard about multiple people who were moved to tears,” said Pattric Parris, Les Chanticleers director. “We want to touch people's hearts first. Our hearts are always in our music. Sometimes when we're practicing the song, we just have to stop because of how the lyrics have touched our hearts and our minds.”
Les Chanticleers, meaning rooster in French and intended to wake people up, started in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, under the founding direction of Mildred Tuggle, who saw a need to involve young people in musical expression on Sabbath afternoons.
Singing brought everyone together into lifelong bonds of friendship that continue to this day. What started with a group of teenagers now features a group of grandparents. On occasion, the a cappella choir has taken performance hiatus, yet they always keep coming back together. Twice, they recorded CDs together.
Tuggle died seven years ago at age 91. At that point, Parris became the choir’s second director.
“Most church choirs sing gospel or a different kind of religious genre,” Parris said about what makes Les Chanticleers special. “We sing spirituals. Even our Christmas songs [in our repertoire] are spirituals.”
Prayer has been an essential component of Les Chanticleer’s history and in their journey to St. Louis. Between the time of accepting the invitation to sing and performing in St. Louis, the choir members struggled with their health and well-being.
“All of us struggled,” Parris said. “Music held us together. We’ve had people who have had serious brain injuries. Two people fell and broke their hips. One lady was determined to get better and came to perform with us even though she needed a chair for the performance. All of us have different stories.”
In all, 18 choir members, their director and a violinist made the trip to St. Louis, whether by plane or by car from either Portland, Oregon, or Seattle, Washington. For most of the choir, it was their first time being in person at a GC Session.
“We saw how the church is made up of mostly people of color,” Parris related from the choir’s debrief. “We experienced the worldwide church and saw its diversity. The church is made up of people from all around the world with a lot of different viewpoints.”
The choir plans to continue singing together and even to record a new CD in the near future. Along the way, they will continue with the bonds of music, friendship and prayer.
“We try to convey the message of the song,” Parris said. “We pray before we sing, asking the Holy Spirit to sing through us or send the angels to sing with us.”
