The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has become one of the most renowned choirs in the world.
Humble Beginnings
As the Mormon pioneers trudged their way across the continent towards the Salt Lake Valley, they sang hymns to keep up their courage. One of the first things they did once they arrived 1847 was to establish a choir that would sing in the General Conference to be held one month after their arrival in the Basin. Two years later, a group of eighty-five converts from Wales added their voices to the group, directed by John Parry. They were named the Tabernacle Choir after the completion of the “Old” Tabernacle in 1851.
Conducted by George Careless (1869-1880) the choir took on a more permanent character. His successor, Ebeneezer Beesley (1880-89) began the tradition of touring to other communities. When Welsh director Evan Stephens took over in 1890, choir membership grew to a robust 600. The first tour outside of the Utah communities took place under his leadership, and he conducted the choir’s first recording on September 10, 1910.
Anthony Lund (1916-1934) began conducting the national radio program “Music and the Spoken Word” on July 15, 1929 on the NBC station. The program moved to CBS in 1932 and is still broadcast today, making it the longest uninterrupted radio program in the country. It has since been voted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
A World-Wide Choir
The choir’s repertoire was greatly increased under the leadership of J. Spencer Cornwall between 1935 and 1957, who also conducted the choir’s first international tour to Europe in 1955. This tour was highly successful and was a fore-runner of others to come. In fact, since that time, the choir has performed in tours all over North, Central and South America, Asia, Australia, Western Europe, the Far East, Scandinavia, the former Soviet Union, and Israel. The program “Music and the Spoken Word” has been televised since October 14, 1962 and is now broadcast on more than 500 television stations worldwide.
Because of the Choir’s professionalism and variety, it has served in the capacity of official Cultural Ambassador representing the United States on several occasions, in particular in 1988 when it performed in Australia and New Zealand in celebration of the Australian Bicentenary. They also performed the Berlioz Requiem accompanied by the Jerusalem Symphony in 1993 when touring the Holy Land. They have sung for ten presidents of the United States, including several inaugurations and performed at thirteen World’s Fairs and Expositions.
The Choir has released more than 130 musical compilations, several films and a number of videotapes. Many of these recordings have received awards, including a Grammy Award in 1959 from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for their rendition of Wilhousky’s arrangement of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” accompanied by the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Eugene Ormandy. This recording earned the Choir a “gold record” status in 1963; they have received another “gold record” and also a “platinum record” for their recordings.
Auditions for the Choir
Members of the Choir serve on a volunteer basis although, because there so many high quality singers desiring to enter the group, there are a number of points that must be taken into consideration before an application can be submitted; hopefuls must be active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, be between the age of 25 and 55, and live within a hundred mile radius of Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Applications are accepted during the first week of January and July of each year.
The audition itself consists of three phases that take place over a six month period: (1) an unaccompanied recording of a song that has been chosen by the Music Director, (2) a musical skills test that measures musical ability and aptitude. If the test score is high enough, phase three takes place, where the individual performs a hymn of choice, sight-reads a piece of music and his/ her vocal range is tested.
Those chosen will then undergo a three-month trial period where they sing with the Choir and attend musical training classes. After the successful completion of the training program, the applicant becomes an active member of the Choir.
The Choir’s Performance Schedule for 2011
The members of the Choir and the Temple Square Orchestra put in about five hours a week between rehearsals and performances. They must attend a minimum of 75% of rehearsals and performances. Other than the regular weekly broadcasts of “Music and the Spoken Word”, the Choir also has a yearly Christmas concert that is broadcast on PBS and includes the participation of internationally known figures that have included Angela Lansbury, Walter Cronkite and Natalie Cole in recent years.
This year’s performances also include a tour of the northeast coast, including concerts in Norfolk, VA, June 20; Washington DC, June 22; Philadelphia, PA, June 23; Chautauqua, NY (2 concerts), June 25; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2 concerts) June 27. Tickets for these concerts are already available; for times places and ticket sales, please see the link below.
Other performances of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which will be held in Salt Lake City include the National Governor’s Conference, July 17; the Pioneer Commemoration Concert, July 22; Tanner Gift of Music Concerts (3 performances), September 15-17; Christmas Concert (3 performances); Christmas mini-concert, December 18.
For those interested in the PBS broadcast of the Christmas concert, it will be available, in New York at least, on Friday, December 23, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. For other areas, please check out your local schedule.
- History of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- Mormon Tabernacle Choir Official Site
- Battle Hymn of the Republic
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