Millennial Choirs and Orchestras on Tour
Though it may be cliché to say that a group have taken the country by storm — by growing to feature over 2,500 participants a year in ensembles rooted in five states across the country — the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras have done just that. Focused on classical and sacred music, this community group gives transcendent performances of both well-known works and new compositions, situating themselves as one of the country's most important collectives.
Millennial Choirs and Orchestras is a choir for youth and adults, and also includes a symphony orchestra. Founded by brothers Brandon Stewart and Dr. Brett Stewart in 2007, the MCO is a nonprofit group for people of all faiths and ages, operated by the organization Millennial Music. Its first ensemble was the Orange County Millennial Choirs and Orchestra, started in Orange County, California. A second group started in Arizona in 2009 as the East Valley Millennial Choirs and Orchestra. In 2013, groups sprang up in Texas and Utah. That same year, the MCO was invited to perform at the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Dallas. Another iteration of the group began in Boise, Idaho, in 2015. The following year, all five ensembles teamed up to head out on the God & Country tour. In 2017, musicians from the five groups got together to perform at the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The MCO collective have released at least five albums. The second, Messiah in America, was a recording of an oratorio composed by Dr. Brett Stewart. The libretto, from Stewart and Bruce Richardson, was compiled from the Book of Mormon and the Bible. The music chronicled Christ's visits to the Americas as depicted in the Book of Mormon. The work was written for choir, children's chorus, soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, full orchestra and organ. It debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Traditional Classical Albums chart.
