OKLAHOMA CITY -- A member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir visited Oklahoma Wednesday to promote the choir's upcoming performance at Lloyd Noble Center.

Alex Boyé, a featured soloist in two songs on the most recent MTC album, spoke at a fireside chat Wednesday evening at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 12915 S. Santa Fe Ave. in Oklahoma City.

"We're really excited," Boyé said. "I mean, you're talking 11 buses" coming to Norman, he said.

The tour to seven Midwest locations, including Norman, is a massive endeavor. Boyé will join the 315 members of the choir traveling to Norman later this month for the 7:30 p.m. June 27 performance. The choir will be accompanied by a 60-piece Orchestra at Temple Square.

The performance in Norman is a long time coming; it's the first in Oklahoma since the choir performed in Tulsa in 1967, said Robert Keyes, Norman stake president who was appointed to the job of producer and promoter of the Norman performance.

"Let me tell you, this thing has been in the making for three years," he said.

Initially, the plan was to bring the choir to the Ford Center during the state's centennial year, Keyes said. But Lloyd Noble turned out to be a great venue after the Thunder moved into the arena, he said.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Norman area are looking forward to the choir's visit, Keyes said, partly because the choir is a well-respected symbol of the church.

"The choir bridges a gap," he said. "It really becomes a neutral zone."

The choir is an American icon that people can appreciate and accept, even if they would otherwise have been skeptical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he said.

The main buyers of tickets to the show have been other Christian denominations, Keyes said.

The non-denominational program in Norman will include choral masterworks, hymns, spirituals and folk songs, along with a few selections from their newest CD "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing."

Also included in the repertoire are a number of African-American spirituals, some featuring Boyé as soloist, including "I Want Jesus to Walk with Me" and "Rock-a-My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham."

Wednesday, Boyé gave a solo performance of several hymns and gospel songs. He mostly, however, addressed the young people at the church with an inspirational message.

He spoke about his own life, sharing how he became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his home country of England at age 16. Later, Boyé became the lead singer of the boy band Awesome in the late 1990s, with hits in more than 15 countries and more than half a million CDs sold. But Boyé decided the glamorous life of a pop star didn't have the answers for which he was looking.

In 2000 he moved to Utah to pursue a career in gospel music. He also performs in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which is composed entirely of volunteers.

Wednesday evening, Boyé told the group of a couple hundred youth and their parents that he'd seen what was outside the church and it was not worth it.

"I am so grateful for membership in the church," he said. "... Don't ever leave the church."

The young people responded well to Boyé's message, laughing as he told funny stories about his life and took a light-hearted approach to his sermon.

Sarah Zitterkob said she enjoyed hearing Boyé and was excited about the concert in Norman. She is a Yukon native home for the summer after her first year at Brigham Young University. In Utah, she heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform for the first time.

"They're super powerful," she said of the performance. Zitterkob is not a new fan of the MTC, however. Growing up, when she was troubled she would put in a MTC CD and a peace and joy would fill her heart, she said.

"The Mormon Tabernacle Choir invites you to feel something different, and they bring a spirit of peace and joy," Zitterkob said.

For more information about the Norman performance, visit www.motabok.com or www.mormontabernaclechoir.org. Tickets are available through those Web sites or the OU Athletic Ticket Office at 325-2424.

Julianna Parker Jones 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com