Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Utah man's work with Tabernacle Choir gets national recognition
He's the man you never see or hear, but he's a crucial player in how the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sounds every week. Now, this Utah man is getting some major recognition.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been touted by many people, both inside and outside of Utah, as the best choir in the world. But the man who makes the choir sound truly great admits he can't carry a tune. "I'm not a singer. I've chosen to be on the other side of the program," Trent Walker said.
Walker is the senior audio engineer for "Music and the Spoken Word." He mixes and controls what you hear on the show every week. He has done it for every show in the last three years, and it's a daunting task.
"On just the standard show there are 64 microphones on the stage. Every microphone goes to its own track," Walker explained.
What does that mean? During a live broadcast he's juggling and controlling 64 different pieces of sound all at the same time.
Walker will miss this Sunday because he'll be in Los Angeles. He's up for a Grammy Award for his work on the choir's Christmas album "Spirit of the Season."
"We do a PBS special every year out of the shows, and last year the show was so good that we decided to put together an album, Walker said. "It's exciting, you know. We feel lucky just to be nominated."
Walker says the album sat on top of the Billboard Classical Album chart for 13 weeks.
This isn't the only kind of music Walker has worked on. In the past, he's gone live with some very popular bands. "I did some live shows with AC/DC," he said.
Keep in mind this was a very long time ago. "Being loud was what it was all about in the ‘80s, and they were definitely the loudest show on the road," Walker said.
He's also worked with The Beach Boys, America, Chuck Mangione, Cake and even the ‘90s ska band Reel Big Fish (and, yes, that's how the band spelled its ame).
But Walker's very happy working where he does now, and he does not pine for the old days at all. "This is the dream job. This is the job I think my ears could last another 15 to 20 years doing," he said.
Walker says he got the call telling him he was up for a Grammy while he was pouring concrete in his backyard.
