With the acquisition of a new CD, listeners can journey with the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir to China and Mongolia through the sounds of the choir's 2007 tour.
The disc is the first of its kind in that nearly every element of the recording was supervised and produced by university workers.
"The finished product is a wonderful memento of the Concert Choir's landmark Asia tour. It contains the best renditions of each song performed, gathered from live performances in the major cities of the tour," said Gary Smith, producer of the recording.
Smith emphasized that many people played key roles in the look and sound of the completed compact disc. He also called the project "a major accomplishment" because past such endeavors had been produced exclusively outside the Hawaii campus.
Tracks on the CD were digitally recorded at various locations in Asia by Ezra Frantz, of BYU-Hawaii's media production services, and Michael Belnap, director of the choir, approved each track. Along with associate producer Sister Rosemarie Howard, post-production coordination supervised by Lawrence Lau also made the polished recording a reality, Smith said. The look of the CD case cover and back were principally designed by BYU-Hawaii student Devin Northrup.
"This is a way to enjoy over and over the most uplifting, musically spiritual moments of the journey," Smith said.
The CD contains 23 tracks and can be purchased for $5 by contacting Eldon McIlwain in the University Advancement office. McIlwain can be reached via email at eldon.mcilwain@byuh.edu. Set also for release is an accompanying DVD so that viewers can enjoy the sites as well as the sounds of the tour, Smith said.