Hannah Evans conducts the orchestra of "One By One." Evans wrote the music over a period of several months. (Courtesy of Cami Christian)
BYU Commercial Music student Hannah Evans has carefully dedicated the last several months of her life to composing, conducting and performing her oratorio titled “One By One.”The oratorio is based on events recorded in the Book of Mormon, specifically the coming of Jesus Christ to the Americas in 3 Nephi.“One By One”, inspired by works such as Rob Gardner’s “Lamb of God,” also adds characters and dialogue that are not explicitly included within 3 Nephi.“I love ‘Lamb of God.’ That was an inspiration for the oratorio for sure,” Evans said. “A lot of it is Rob Gardner’s own words, which I really wanted to do as well. I feel like people can relate to it better."Evans hopes that these added words and characters help deepen the story and create a stronger, more intimate connection between the audience and the events of 3 Nephi.To understand Evans’ story further, the format must be properly understood. The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes an oratorio as follows: “Oratorio: a lengthy choral work usually of a religious nature.”The oratorio has a rich tradition as a musical format, having been around for hundreds of years. The modern definition of the term ‘oratorio’ has loosened over the decades, becoming less strict than earlier German variations. Evans oratorio takes creative liberty and blends it with scriptural depth, fusing history with personal perspective.“One By One” includes plenty of singing, with vocal solos and choir performances throughout. It also utilizes an orchestra of about 80 musicians.To compose, direct and conduct an oratorio that includes roughly an hour of music and narration, Evans spent years of her life in direct and indirect preparation; preparation guided by a passion for music and a love for composition.
The BYU commercial music major poses by the piano. Evans has played the instrument since she was 4 years old. (Courtesy of Hannah Evans)
Evans’ musical path started when she was young. As a 4-year-old, she started playing the piano — but initially hated it. She said that her mother was the reason she didn’t give up then and there.“My angel mom kept me in piano because she knew that I had to do it. Even before I was born, she was like, ‘This girl needs to do music,’” Evans said.Ever an improviser, Evans was always immersed in creating music. Her father is a musician, and he encouraged his young daughter to make her own melodies.“I wrote ever since I was little,” she said. “He kind of taught me how to play by ear.”A few years later, 11-year-old Evans moved to a new place and got a new teacher. This would prove to be a crucial time for Evans’ musical development.“We moved to Valencia … and I got a piano teacher that really changed my life and encouraged me to write and fix my technique,” she said.Throughout her years playing around on the piano, Evans continued writing. She wrote in elementary school, junior high and high school.In junior high, Evans took a weekly class from the Songwriting School of Los Angeles, sacrificing time out of her schedule to hone her craft. Again, her mom encouraged her to pursue music, and again, Evans loved it.“It was a three-hour class on Saturdays after my soccer games,” she said. “There was something telling me, ‘I enjoy this. I could be in this class for hours.'”This class was a turning point for Evans.“That’s when I was like, ‘OK, I think I should study music … I can think about this for hours on end and don’t get bored of it,” she said.Evans then took the chance to participate in her high school’s commercial music program, auditioning with the help of her piano teacher.After a successful stint in her high school music program, Evans was accepted into BYU and began her studies as a commercial music major.As part of her studies, Evans learned about theory and composition. In the program, Evans took a composition class that was especially useful once she got around to penning “One By One.”Once she was firmly in the program, the idea for an oratorio began to more fully form in Evans’ brain. In order to write, Evans sacrificed her own money and time, working part-time instead of full-time and devoting countless spare moments to her project.While Evans was an experienced writer by this point, the composition process for “One By One” still took growth and humility. One of the most difficult parts of the composition process was balancing dozens of parts for dozens of various instruments.Instruments each had their own strong suits and weak points. Evans learned that what worked on one instrument might be disastrous for another. She spent time talking with each musician, learning what was easy for them and what wasn’t.Harpist Caroline Demars performed alongside Evans in “One By One,” and praised the humility Evans displayed in the writing process.“She was so connected with each of the soloists. She would not just write something and then throw it on the person and be like, ‘Figure it out.’ There was a lot of communication back and forth between the soloists and Hannah,” Demars said.All of this strenuous preparation led to a compositional challenge that was different than anything Evans had ever experienced.“This one was really unique in that I feel like it came in a lot of different ways. I pulled from a lot … depending on what I was thinking,” she said. “Sometimes I would write at my piano, but a lot of times it was just voice memos, like walking to school, or walking to work. I would get melodies in the shower … and in the temple, too.”It also took revelation, an essential part of Evans' process.“Some of it came immediately, and some of it I really had to work for, but that's how revelation works, right? Some of it comes immediately, and some of it doesn't, but both are equally valuable,” she said.Miracles are at the center of the story of “One By One.” Just as much a theme in Evans' life as her oratorio, miracles seemed to follow her efforts from the very beginning.“I've never written something this big before, and I just got the crazy idea to do it. I knew that I could, but I couldn't have written it without God's help,” she said. “I think schooling really prepared me to have the skills and the knowledge to be able to even attempt something like this, and then God took my little offering and made it enough.”One of the biggest miracles, Evans added, was finding a practice space. Originally, her not-so-little band of musicians was set to rehearse in a local church. The problem with this was a lack of percussion, something nearly inaccessible outside of BYU’s Music Building.Trusting in God, Evans felt inspired to reach out to the Music Building’s instrument office. Miraculously, they granted her access to the North Ensemble room, the largest in the entire building.Recruiting dozens of musicians had its challenges. Evans dutifully worked to gather instrumentalists from every end of the spectrum to perform her oratorio.
Vocalist Calder McDonald sings in "One By One." McDonald sang the part of the blind man, a key character in the oratorio. (Courtesy of Cami Christian)
“Recruiting musicians was a miracle. I recruited all of them individually or already knew them,” she said.Again, prompted by the Spirit, she went to BYU’s Christmas concert. Evans hoped there would be willing male vocalists attending. She was still lacking a few.“I had the prompting (to) go around with the QR code and go up to every guy in choir attire that you see and invite them to be in the choir. And I had prayed for 10 people to join, because that's how many (we) were short, and exactly 10 signed up,” she said.Other miracles of every shape and size pervaded Evans’ efforts to gather musicians.“I was short a percussionist, and on the last day of class, there was a percussionist in my class. Every single person that was recruited was a little miracle in some way. I could go on and on, but those are some [of the] miracles,” she said.Vocalist Calder McDonald also participated in “One By One,” calling it a testimony-building experience.“We should use our talents to praise God and to worship him. And I think that's something I loved about ‘One By One.’ It just felt like I was bearing my testimony the whole time,” McDonald said.“One By One” is, in the end, a story about the Savior. When asked about what she wanted people to feel when they hear it, Evans touched on two themes.“Number one, the Atonement [of Jesus Christ] works,” she said. “You can be spiritually whole in Christ as you turn to Him.”Adding onto the first theme, Evans expressed how important divine relationships are.“Number two, you can have a very personal relationship with the Savior, and He’s so much closer than you think,” she said. “I need people to know that He still comes. You didn’t have to see Him to know Him.”Evans's oratorio is out now and available for streaming — with finishing touches such as sound mixing and professional narration added to the recordings. For more information about Evans and “One By One,” see her website.
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Hannah Evans
Caroline Demars
Calder McDonald
byu music school
jesus christ
miracles
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