_{By McKinsleigh Smith}

On Lovely and Luminous House, the latest six-track EP from the award-winning BYU Singers, stillness becomes the focal point. Meditative, reflective, and quietly radiant, the release gathers original works from Spencer Baldwin, Dr. Kevin Anthony, and Dr. Brent Wells into a project that feels like an invitation to remember, to listen, and to return.

Conducted by Andrew Crane, BYU Singers has built a reputation for vocal precision paired with emotional clarity, and Lovely and Luminous House leans fully into that strength. These songs sit at the intersection of the human and the divine.

Dr. Kevin Anthony’s “Hymn of the Pearl” draws from an apocryphal text in The Acts of Thomas, telling the story of a young royal sent on a journey to retrieve a pearl, only to forget who he is along the way. The heart of the piece arrives when a letter from home breaks through the fog of forgetting.

“Remember, remember,” the choir sings. That moment was everything to me. 4:50 hits like an Eric Whitacre-styled climax, with soaring sopranos and just the right amount of dissonance to raise goosebumps.

The EP’s title track, “Oh Lovely and Luminous House” by Utah local Dr. Brent Wells, takes inspiration from a quote attributed to St. Augustine, imagining heaven as a house filled with light.

The piece follows a soul who leaves that brightness, journeys through life, and encounters a shepherd who is revealed to be both guide and creator. It’s a tender theological turn, suggesting that the one who made the destination is also deeply present in the road leading back to it.

Spencer Baldwin’s arrangement of the Mormon Primary classic “Baptism” rounds out the project with quiet conviction. It’s interesting to hear a mature take on such a simple song. Sung this way, you really get a feel for the lush chord progressions that undergird the entire thing. I came away with a much better appreciation for the original composition.

BYU Singers itself is made up of around 40 students studying everything from computer science and engineering to law, accounting, and music. Based in the School of Music within BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications, they’ve proven themselves on the international stage and at home, earning overall first-place honors at major European competitions including the Cork International Choral Festival (Ireland), World Choir Festival on Musicals (Greece), and competitions in Lithuania and Slovenia.

With Lovely and Luminous House, BYU Singers continue to show why they stand out: using choral music as a tool of reflection – like light carried carefully from voice to voice.

Make sure to follow BYU Singers on Instagram. You can watch their performance of this album’s “Light of My Soul,” shot in Mel, Italy, below.