Oct 10 2008
About
The Millennium Choir
Organized in the summer of 1998, the Millennium Choir is a 45-voice recording and performing choir. Members of Millennium were chosen after auditioning hundreds of Utah’s finest singers. Each voice was selected to produce a specific sound that together creates the fresh, contemporary sound that Millennium is known for.
Millennium traveled to Israel in September 2000 to perform Hosanna: The Life of Christ, the third volume in Lex de Azevedo’s Life of Christ series, with the Jerusalem Symphony and satellite choirs from around the United States. The choir has also performed Hosanna at the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, CA; Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, CA; and the Dee Events Center in Ogden, UT.
In September of 1999, Millennium performed the world-premiere concert of Gloria: The Life of Christ, the first volume of the Life of Christ series, with the Jerusalem Symphony at the Tower Of David Museum in Jerusalem. This videotaped concert has been broadcast on KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, as well as nationally on PBS and the Odyssey cable network. The choir has performed Gloria at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Millennium also performed at the Freedom Festival’s Stadium of Fire in Provo, Utah, on July 4, 1999; singing the music from Hymn to America, a 12-minute multi-media patriotic presentation.
Under the musical supervision of composer Lex de Azevedo and directed by Peggy de Azevedo, the Millennium Choir has recorded three albums for the Shadow Mountain label: Selections from Hosanna, from the third volume in the Life of Christ series, Gloria, a complete recording of the first volume in the series, and Caroling, Caroling, the only complete digitally-recorded collection of the Alfred Burt Christmas carols. A live double-CD recording of Hosanna, performed in Jerusalem, is also available from Millennium Choral Society. The choir is also featured on several selections of Lex de Azevedo’s album, Variations On A Sacred Theme, Vol II.
The Millennium Choir’s lastest recording is entitled "Millennium," a CD with contemporary hymn arrangements by Lex de Azevedo. This marks Millennium Choir’s first album as the primary artist. The hymns chosen for this album showcase the gathering of Israel in the latter days. The Millennium Choir is currently performing this music in firesides to encourage youth to listen to uplifting music.
Lex de Azevedo
Lex de Azevedo has had one of the most diverse careers in the music industry as a composer, pianist, producer, arranger and conductor. Beginning as a producer for Capitol Records, Lex produced several #1 hit singles among numerous other successful recordings. Following Capitol Records, he served as the musical director on a number of television shows, including The Sonny and Cher Show, Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five, and The Osmonds. Turning to feature-length motion pictures, Lex’s career spans from the classic "Where The Red Fern Grows" to the animated musical feature "Swan Princess." He has written five stage musicals, including "Saturday’s Warrior" and "My Turn on Earth," and produced his own record albums across a wide musical spectrum, from the jazz of "Mountains" and "Moab" to the new contemporary classical works of "Variations on a Sacred Theme" and "The Life of Christ " oratorio series.
Lex was nominated for two Golden Globe awards for his music in the feature-length animated movie "Swan Princess." Both soundtracks from "Saturday’s Warrior" and "My Turn on Earth" have achieved Gold Record status. He has scored over 36 episodes of the animated Bible Stories and American Hero Classics series for Warner-Nest Entertainment, some of which are currently running on HBO. During his career, Lex has composed over 40 choral works and produced over 160 jingle packages for radio stations all over the United States. He has served as guest conductor of some of the world’s most prominent symphony orchestras, including conducting the London National Philharmonic in 14 recordings.
Lex is currently composing a series of musical oratorios based on the King James Bible accounts of the life of Christ in a new contemporary classical style, which he feels is the pinnacle of his musical career. The third volume, entitled Hosanna, received its world premiere in September 2000 in Israel, featuring the Jerusalem Symphony and a choir of over 400 singers from around the United States. The first volume, Gloria, as well as Variations on a Sacred Theme I, Variations on a Sacred Theme II, and Caroling, Caroling, are currently available on the Shadow Mountain label.
Lex arranged and wrote the music for the DVD Hymn to America, a 12-minute multi-media presentation on patriotism. He set the words of the Pledge of Allegiance to music and issued it in July 2003 via the Internet to radio stations nationwide in response to the 9th Circuit Courts ruling against the words "one nation under God."
He has also arranged a collection of hymns for Millennium Choir’s debut album "Millennium." The hymns reflect the worldwide role of the gathering of Israel in the latter days.