The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, one of the oldest and largest choirs in the world, has performed before U.S. presidents, sold millions of records, won scores of awards, and enthralled audiences in dozens of countries. You may have also noticed an increasing number of Black choir members, the result of the choir seeking greater diversity among its ranks. Several of those singers are also members of Genesis.The choir is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is composed of 360 volunteer singers ages 25 to 60 who are members of the Church. They practice and perform weekly and are accompanied frequently by the Orchestra at Temple Square.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir originated in the mid-19th century. A small choir first sang for a conference of the Church on August 22, 1847, just twenty-nine days after the first pioneers arrived to settle the Salt Lake Valley.
West of the Salt Lake Temple stands the historic Mormon Tabernacle, home to the choir and the edifice from which the choir got its name. Accompanying the choir in the great auditorium is the 11,623-pipe Tabernacle organ, featuring prominent golden pipes made of round wood staves, hand-carved from Utah timber. Ten pipes from the original organ, built in 1867, are still functioning today.
The choir is best known for its weekly Sunday broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word, which originates from Temple Square in Salt Lake City. This program is the oldest continuous nationwide network broadcast in America.
Ronald Reagan, former president of the United States, dubbed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir “America’s Choir” in 1981 when the choir sang at his inauguration. And the choir isn't limited to the United States: Concert tours over the years have taken the choir to the great concert halls of North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. During the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, February 8–24, 2002, the choir performed at the official closing ceremonies.
The choir’s recordings have earned two platinum and five gold albums, including a Grammy Award-winning rendition of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The choir has also recorded with some of the world’s great orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.