The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church). However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to support the organization. The choir's current music director is Mack Wilberg. [1]

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Description

Called "America's Choir" by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is made up of 360 men and women, all members of the LDS Church (nicknamed by some people as "Mormons," after The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ ) in good standing. Although many choir members live within close proximity of the famous Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, some members commute long distances for practice and the Choir's weekly television and radio broadcast. Choir members are not paid for their participation, travel expenses or performances. There are many husband-wife combinations and some families have participated in the choir for generations.

The choir was founded in August 1847, one month after the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. Since July 15, 1929, the choir has performed a weekly radio broadcast called Music and the Spoken Word , which is the longest-running continuous radio network broadcast in the world. ^[2] At the end of the choir's 4165th live broadcast on July 12, 2009, the show's host, Lloyd D. Newell, announced another milestone that the show had just hit: the completion of its 80th year in existence. The show has been televised since the early 1960s and is now broadcast worldwide through some 1,500 radio and television stations.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's sound is often said to be world-famous, and instantly recognizable. When recording, the choir is usually accompanied by the Orchestra at Temple Square or the Tabernacle's famous pipe organ. With the completion of the Conference Center, a larger auditorium directly adjacent to Temple Square, the choir now has two halls available for performance.

The minimum age for participation in the choir has recently been reduced from 30 to 25. Choir members are currently limited to twenty years of participation, or until the member reaches the age of 60, allowing new members to join the choir on a regular basis. New choir members participate in The Temple Square Chorale training choir, a combination music theory/performance school.

History

thumb performing on December 3, 2005, in the Conference Center under the direction of Craig Jessop

Tours

From its first national tour in 1893, under the direction of Evan Stephens, to the Chicago World's Fair, the choir has performed in locations around the world, including:

• Western Europe (1955, 1973, 1998)
• Scandinavia (1982)
• Central Europe and the former Soviet Union (1991)
• Israel (1993)
• Japan/Korea (1979, 1982)
• Australia/New Zealand (1988)
• Central America (1968, 1972)
• Brazil (1981) - This tour involved performing at a benefit concert for the Research Center for the Study of Abandoned Children headquartered in Sao Paulo. The Choir also performed for several large audiences in São Paulo. ^[3]

Special performances

The choir has sung for ten U.S. Presidents, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, including the inaugural ceremonies of:

• Lyndon B. Johnson (1965)
• Richard Nixon (1969)
• Ronald Reagan (1981)
• George H. W. Bush (1989)
• George W. Bush (2001)

It has also participated in several significant events, including:

• National broadcasts honoring the passing of U.S. Presidents:
• *Franklin D. Roosevelt (April 12 1945)
• *John F. Kennedy (November 24 1963)
• The American Bicentennial in Washington, D.C. (July 4 1976)
• The Constitution's bicentennial celebration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1987)
• Opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics

Music directors

Mack Wilberg is the current director, with assistant director Ryan Murphy (Musician).

Awards

The choir has a list of prestigious awards, including the National Medal of Arts (2003). ^[4] Its radio broadcast Music and the Spoken Word has been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters hall of fame. It has also received two Peabody Awards for service to American Broadcasting (1944, 1962) and it was awarded the Freedom Foundation's "George Washington Award" (1981, 1988).

In 1960 the Choir won the Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group or Chorus at that year's awards ceremony with a recording of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" that replaced the line "let us die to make men free" with "let us live to make men free."

In 2006 the choir was honored as a Laureate of the Mother Teresa Award. ^[5]

In late 2007 Spirit of the Season by the Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, and featuring Norwegian-born soprano Sissel, was nominated for two Grammy Awards: "Best Classical Crossover Album" and "Best Engineered Album, Classical."

Recordings

Since its first recording in 1910, the choir has earned five gold albums and two platinum albums. The choir has made over 300 recordings and continues to produce albums. For some live performances and albums, the choir has collaborated with large orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the newly formed Orchestra at Temple Square.

Since the foundation of the choirs own record label, it has produced many recordings including:

• Consider the Lilies
• * The music in this first album on the choir's new label represents a broad range of musical feeling—from the joyful "Rejoice, the Lord is King!" and "Morning Has Broken" to the contemplative "O Holy Jesus" and "Pilgrims' Hymn" to the fervent affirmations in "I Believe in Christ" and "This Is the Christ." ^[6]
• Peace Like a River (album)
• America's Choir: Favorite Songs, Hymns, & Anthems
• * The selections in this recording bring together favorite songs, hymns, and anthems from the Choir’s repertoire. Other songs and anthems in this collection speak of the many facets of life: “Cindy” is a rousing folk song; “O Home Beloved,” a plaintive remembrance; “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” a stirring tribute to the grace of God, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” the reach for dreams yet unrealized, “Battle Hymn of the Republic” the anthem that made the Choir famous. ^[7]
• Spirit of America (Mormon Tabernacle Choir album)
• Sing, Choirs of Angels!
• Choose Something Like a Star
• Love is Spoken Here
• Then Sings My Soul
• Now Let Us Rejoice: Organ Hymns for the Sabbath
• The Wonder of Christmas
• Showtime! Music of Broadway and Hollywood
• Spirit of the Season (Nominated for two Grammy awards)
• Mack Wilberg: Requiem and Other Choral Works
• Called To Serve (album)
• ''Rejoice and Be Merry! featuring the King's Singers
• Praise To The Man
• Born Free (also featured in the film "Madagascar")
• Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

The choir also performed O Come All Ye Faithful with classical/pop singer Josh Groban for his 2007 album, Noël.

See also

• List of Mormon Tabernacle Choir Music Directors
• "Come, Come, Ye Saints"
• Salt Lake Tabernacle organ

References

1. Mack Wilberg is officially named Mormon Tabernacle Choir music director from ''Deseret News''
2. Mormon Tabernacle Choir Marks 4,000 Broadcast
3. ''Ensign'', May 1981, p. 106-107
4. National Medal of Arts Recipients for 2003
5. Mormon Tabernacle Choir Honored with Mother Teresa Award, LDS Church press release, 20 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
6. ''Consider the Lilies'' description from MormonTabernalceChoir.org
7. ''America's Choir'' description from MormonTabernalceChoir.org