Anthony C. Lund

Anthony Canute Lund (February 25, 1871 – June 11, 1935)[1] was the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah from 1916 until 1935.[2]: 359  Lund was also a professor of music at Brigham Young University.

Anthony C. Lund
Music Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
1916 – 1935
PredecessorEvan Stephens
SuccessorJ. Spencer Cornwall
Personal details
BornAnthony Canute Lund
(1871-02-25)February 25, 1871
Ephraim, Utah Territory, United States
DiedJune 11, 1935(1935-06-11) (aged 64)
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Resting placeSalt Lake City Cemetery
40.7772°N 111.8580°W / 40.7772; -111.8580 (Salt Lake City Cemetery)
Spouse(s)Cornelia Sorenson
ParentsAnthon H. Lund
Sarah Ann Peterson

Early life and education

Lund was born of Danish immigrant Anthon H. Lund in Ephraim, Utah Territory. He began taking organ lessons at the age of eight.[3] At 18, he was made choir director in Ephraim. In 1891, Lund graduated from Brigham Young Academy as valedictorian of his class. He then studied at the Royal Conservatory in Leipzig. He also did studies in London and Paris.[2]: 359 

Leadership

In 1895, at the age of 25, Lund served as the youngest member of the Utah Constitutional Convention, which allowed the Utah territory to become a state in America.[4] In 1897, Lund became head of what was then the Brigham Young Academy Music Department. Under his direction it was changed from being a department to being a school of music in 1901.[5] He continued as head of the music department after the school became Brigham Young University. Lund served as the president of the BYU Alumni Association from 1904 to 1905.[3] He also was on the faculty of the Utah Conservatory and the McCune School of Music.[2]: 359  Lund served on the LDS Church's first General Music Committee, established in 1920.[6]

Lund's left BYU to direct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 1916, and BYU had difficult replacing him.[7] Lund replaced Evan Stephens as choir director.[3] He implemented a European choral sound,[8] and directed the choir in its first electrical recordings on the Victor Label.[9] Lund held the position of choir director until his death in 1935. He was succeeded as director of the choir by J. Spencer Cornwall.[10]

Lund also composed music. Some of Lund's most popular compositions include "Day Follows Night", "Build Thee More Stately Mansions, O My Soul", and "Bring, O Heavy Heart, Your Grief to Me".[11] He worked in collaboration with Herbert S. Auerbach on these songs.[11]

Family and death

Lund married Cornelia Sorenson on December 21, 1902.[12] The two met at Brigham Young Academy. They had six children together.[12] Lund died at home on June 11, 1935, of a heart attack and kidney trouble.[12] A public funeral service was held in Lund's honor on June 16, 1935. Over 6,000 people were in attendance of the services held at the Salt Lake Tabernacle.[11] An additional memorial service was held in Lund's hometown of Ephraim the same day.[11]

Notes
  1. "Certificate of Death". State of Utah. June 12, 1935. Archived from the original (JPEG) on August 18, 2011. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  2. Cornwall, J. Spencer (1958). A Century of Singing: The Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
  3. Nimer, Cory (31 March 2017). "Contributions of the Class of 1891: Anthony C. Lund". sites.lib.byu.edu.
  4. "Anthony C. Lund". The Salt Lake Tribune. 13 Jun 1935. p. 2.
  5. "History of the School of Music". BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  6. Lloyd, R. Scott (8 September 1990). "General music committee inherited a rich legacy, observes 70th anniversary". DeseretNews.com.
  7. Alexander, Thomas G. Mormonism in Transition: A History of the Latter-Day Saints, 1890-1930 p. 174
  8. "Mormon Tabernacle Choir". Light Planet.
  9. "Complete List of Products". Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
  10. "Mormon Tabernacle Choir Music Directors—Past to Present". Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 3 June 2014.
  11. "Throng Pays Respect to Anthony C. Lund at Tabernacle Services". The Salt Lake Tribune. 17 Jun 1935. p. 25.
  12. "Famed Utah Musician And Tabernacle Choir Leader Taken by Death: Professor Anthony C. Lund Succumbs to Heart Attack". The Salt Lake Telegram. 11 Jun 1935. p. 13.

References
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