Randy Lee’s Upcoming Album, ‘Legends of Deseret,’ Captures the Musical Melodies Crafted and Performed by Latter-day Saints in the 1800s
Randy Lee, a professor in BYU’s School of Music, has been working with student ensembles, faculty colleagues and brass colleagues from the area to record an album featuring Latter-day Saint pioneer musical compositions. His upcoming album features original pioneer music for the cornet, orchestra, and other ensembles.
It all started back in 2022, when Lee worked as a professor at the University of Florida. He received a grant to record an album titled “Echoes of Zion,” a tribute to Latter-day Saint pioneer musicians. Lee was hooked, and began researching more about pioneer music.
“I discovered that there was a thriving music scene among the Utah pioneers,” Lee said, “but as I did not have any original music, I recorded the same or similar melodies arranged by different composers of the same era.”
Wanting to progress his work further, Lee explored the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum and the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City in the summer of 2022. What he discovered amazed him: an album's worth of original music by pioneer composers C.J. Thomas and George Careless.
Thomas and Careless were among the Latter-day Saints who were musically trained in England, joined the faith and traveled to Utah in the mid-late 1800s. Both directed the Salt Lake Theatre Orchestra and what is now known as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
Lee arrived at BYU in 2023 with a dream to record this original pioneer music he discovered.
“I applied for the Eliza R. Snow Grant, which they graciously awarded me, to record this album and a series of music videos to go along with it,” Lee said.
Various BYU ensembles combined their talents to bring the album to life, including BYU Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Brassworks, Friends Brass Ensemble and more.
One notable composition is “Capstone March.” The musical feat was originally composed for the Salt Lake Temple Capstone Ceremony and was recorded with the BYU Wind Symphony.
“What is unique and exciting to me about the music is that it is original music by pioneer composers from before the railroad came in. It was from their own creation, either their own compositions or their own arrangements,” Lee said. “I think it is so fascinating and cool, because they did not have recording technology back then, but they had music.”
The album did not come together without challenges. Since the musical arrangements were written decades ago, they were difficult to read and understand.
“I had to take all of the original music and put it into music notation software. Otherwise, musicians would not be able to read it,” Lee said. “Some of them were just scores or handwritten parts. I wanted to make it look really legible and homogenized.”
To create the best music possible, Lee sought out modern instruments and ensembles rather than the exact ones from the pioneer period.
“The goal was to recreate it in our way because we do not have some of these old instruments,” Lee said.
While it sounds more robust, it is the same and original melody played by the pioneers. With the music rewritten and practiced on modern instruments, it was time to record.
“It was ready to go, practiced and we got the right people in the room. I think it turned out beautiful,” Lee said.
Lee dove further into research and discovered that his own ancestors had played in pioneer brass bands.
“I did some family history research, and it turns out that some of my Lee ancestors played in brass bands in Tooele, Utah,” Lee said.
Discovering that his ancestors played in the town's band strengthened his connection to the project. Lee felt pride for his ancestors, and hopes the students who helped create the album feel the same way.
“My hope for this project in general is to help the students understand and connect with their musical heritage,” Lee said.
The album features 16 tracks and is available on various platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. Visit this link to start listening to ‘Legends of Deseret’ on various streaming platforms. Accompanying music video will be released sometime in May.