Music Is Key in the Life of Zion

Our Pipe Organ

Along with its central role in worship, our organ also serves as a community resource.
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Zion’s pipe organ was built in 1980 by W. Zimmer & Sons of Charlotte, North Carolina.  It contains 19 “speaking” stops – distinct sounds – distributed over two manuals and pedal, for a total of 1,403 pipes.  It is a “tracker organ,” meaning that the mechanism linking keys to pipe valves is purely mechanical.  In that respect, as well as in its sound concept, it is designed to resemble organs of the baroque period – the time of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The organ is currently undergoing a major upgrade - click here for photos and upgrade details.

David Chamberlin, Organist

David is all about pipe organs: he builds them, plays them, and writes music for them.

Since 1985, he has been employed full time at M. L. Bigelow & Company, Inc., Organ Builders, of American Fork, where he serves as vice-president and tonal director. His responsibilities include mechanical design, as well as tonal design and finishing.
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He also freelances as a pipe organ tuner/technician. He has been Zion's organist since 1987. In addition to playing the organ, he regularly composes psalm settings for congregational use. In 1995 Zion's congregation commissioned him to compose a new liturgical setting – "Lord, We Come to Your Table" – which is now in regular use.

David has appeared in recital in the United States and Germany, including the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and Freiberg Cathedral (historic G. Silbermann organs). He has occasionally performed his own compositions on organs that he has helped design and build.
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In 2003, he founded Chamberlin Music Enterprises and began publishing LDS Hymn Voluntaries, bearing the slogan: "An organ piece for every hymn in the book." About 100 of the 326 planned pieces have been published to date.

Chancel Choir - Dave Zabriskie, Director

The Chancel Choir provides worship music during the school year at the 10:00 am service, special music at Easter and Christmas, and occasional music at funerals and other events. The group's practice each Sunday at 8:45 am includes discussion of how each Sunday's hymns and anthems support the liturgical themes for that day. All singers are welcome to join this very fun and supportive small group.

Rehearsal time: Sunday mornings, 8:45 am-9:45 am

Youth & Children's Choirs - Susan Swidnicki, Director

Susan believes that music should be an active and joyful experience!
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Susan Swidnicki is principal oboist of the Ballet West Orchestra and is an active freelance player and teacher in the Salt Lake City area.  She holds a master’s degree in oboe from St. Louis Conservatory of Music where she studied with Peter Bowman and a bachelor’s degree in oboe performance from the University of Utah where she was a student of Robert Stephenson.  
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Ms. Susan loves teaching the children music and is fully trained in the Orff-Schulwerk approach, which believes that "music and movement – to speak, sing and play; to listen and understand; to move and create – should be an active and joyful experience. " 
 
While the tireless children's director at Zion, Ms. Susan is currently the music specialist for Rowland Hall School, Utah and Music teacher for Canyon Rim Academy.