The Tabernacle Choir

The Tabernacle Choir has been featured at 13 world’s fairs and expositions, performed at the inaugurations of five U.S. presidents, sung for numerous international heads of state, and participated in dozens of worldwide telecasts and special events, including the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. One U.S. president called it “America’s Choir.”

Five of the Choir’s recordings have achieved “gold record” status and two have achieved “platinum record” status. Their most popular recording is the Grammy-Award-winning classic of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Eugene Ormandy, renowned conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, called it “the world’s greatest choir.”

For more than 150 years, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has delighted and inspired people of all walks of life with its music. The broad appeal of its music and its storied history have made it one of the most respected and best-loved musical organizations in the world.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was originally housed in an adobe building, accompanied by an organ shipped from Australia to California and pulled by 12 mules across rugged terrain from Southern California to Salt Lake City. The Choir’s first network radio program (with the organ, choir, and announcer sharing a single microphone) was transmitted on July 15, 1929. Today, after more than 75 years and over 4000 broadcasts, Music and the Spoken Word is the oldest continuous nationwide network broadcast in North America.

America’s Choir has indeed come a long way from those early beginnings. Today you’re likely to see them on television’s 60 Minutes, in an Australian opera house, or in a number of other famous concert halls throughout the world. Even though the scope and reputation of the Choir has grown through the years, some things never change, like its weekly broadcast Music and the Spoken Word, which has been on the air continuously since 1929. ICED participants can be part of this live concert and broadcast on June 15, 2008.

The members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are men and women from various backgrounds and professions and range in age from 25 to 60. They are brought together by their love for singing and their desire to bring joy to others. Although these artists sing like professionals, they aren’t paid for their labors. They are 360 singers accompanied by a volunteer orchestra of 110 musicians and accomplished organist. Most of these performers have day jobs, and when the Choir goes on tour, they use their vacation time. These are everyday Americans with extraordinary talent who love to share their talents with the world.