By Charly SHELTON

Easter has nearly arrived. With just over one week until the big day, April 16, churches are preparing for the end of the Lenten season and the return of the alleluias. One church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, La Crescenta Stake, is hosting an event to celebrate the resurrection with song. A choir and orchestra have been assembled alongside narrators to give a dramatic and musical retelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“The title of the oratorio is ‘Lamb of God.’ It’s based on the New Testament texts dealing with the life of the Savior Jesus Christ, from the time he raised Lazarus to his resurrection,” said conductor Jim Thatcher. “The piece is one hour and 20 minutes long, it uses orchestra, choir, soloists and narration. It’s a very beautifully written work of music.”

It is a massive undertaking to organize a performance as an Easter gift for the community. The oratorio, written by Rob Gardner, will feature professional singers and musicians, sourced and chosen by Thatcher, who himself is a professional French horn player.

“The performance features 13 soloists including three apostles – Peter, Thomas and John – and several of the women in his life: Martha, his mother and Mary Magdalene. The story is narrated by two professional narrators,” said Lisa Larsen, event coordinator with the LDS Church. “And we have a 60-person choir backing up a lot of the solos and 30-plus piece orchestra that is made up of a lot of professional musicians from Los Angeles and Hollywood.”

Thatcher is excited by the opportunity to work with so many of his colleagues in the orchestra as he serves as conductor. From soloists to choir to musicians, “we have some of the best musicians in the world in the orchestra playing this piece of music,” Thatcher said.

The event will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4550 Raymond Ave. in La Crescenta on Sunday, April 9 at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and Larsen advises that, although every seat is a good seat, it’s best to plan to arrive at 6:30 p.m. This will also provide plenty of time to see the accompanying art exhibition depicting some of the life and ministry of Christ. Admission to the event is free.

“The music is spectacular and it’s inspirational, it’s the story of Jesus Christ,” Larsen said. “It should be a really lovely evening and we hope as many people who want to hear the message of Christ will come and experience it.”

  Charly Shelton