By Laurie Williams Sowby
On July 4, a trek reenacting the Mormon Battalion’s march to San Diego will depart from Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, heading for San Diego, and there will be music to accompany them.
In fact, the original Mormon Battalion had 11 musicians numbered among the 500 soldiers when it undertook the longest march in U.S. military history in July 1846.
The call is going out for songwriters to produce new music in conjunction with the trek reenactment. Along with the $1000 first prize, Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts is offering arranging and producing services for the three top winners, plus two free hours of studio time at Pitchfork Studios.
The trek organizers, Kevin and Denny Henson, are also offering $250 for the song that best creates a theme for the trek.
The winner will also receive a publishing contract with Heritage Arts Publications and be featured on the “Battalion” CD to be released by UPHA, as well as perform the song at “The Ghosts of Gardner Village” shows on June 14. The program tells some of the many stories of those who lived in the homes now standing in Gardner Village Historic Park in Murray, Utah.
Amateurs and professional songwriters will compete in separate categories. Entry forms, contest rules, and helpful hints are available at Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts’ web site, www.upharts.org.
The organization, founded in December 2006, is composed of individuals and organizations dedicated to the preservation of heritage arts and to creating world-class events and works of art that will increase cultural heritage tourism in Utah. UPHA also seeks to encourage new works of art that honor the struggles and achievements of pioneer ancestors.
Clive Romney, a musician with the folk ensemble Enoch Train, feels the need to make the heritage arts more visible in order to preserve them. As a means of stimulating the teaching of folklore and folk arts, members of the organization are going into schools to present programs.
“Turning the hearts of the children to their fathers through the arts is one of the best things we can do,” Romney said. So the UPHA invites such people as “dancers, quilters, potters, and horseshoe makers to use the arts in a way that will turn the hearts and create appreciation for what [the pioneers] left.”
Founding members include the Utah Old Time Fiddlers, Clog America, Cowboy Poets of Utah, Institute of American Music, Wasatch Contras, Gardner Village, National Pony Express, Utah Storytelling Guild, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Old-Time Utah Dances, Association of Square Dance Clubs of Utah, Utah Talent Showdown, Folklore Society of Utah, Enoch Train, Caboose, Bluesage Band, Mountain Men Association and the Utah Quilt Guild.
For more information about the organization and its activities, see www.upharts.org. For information on how to join the march reenactment anywhere along the route for a day or longer, see www.battaliontrek.com.
