Mormon Tabernacle Choir

If you happen to be in SLC on a thursday night between 1930 – 2100, be sure to go in at the Tabernacle. Better yet come in on Sunday morning 0930 to watch the actual performance. What a nice surprise it was for us to have watched and enjoyed the choir practice when we really intended to just walk the LDS square. The practice was an amazing experience. I can’t even picture the complete event. Going back, the practice consisted of a full orchestra and talented singers gracefully united by the conductor. The performance does not require the audience to be religious or spritual in anyway just be respectful and enjoy. If you have ample time, be sure to sit for the cressendo of the performance as it is magnificent. All of it for free!

We’re not very religious but my cousins are LDS & come here quite a bit. They were showing us around the area & when we came here they told us all about the history & the building. It’s a very beautiful building, big marble pillars & the organ is amazing. There was a Choir practice when we came and the acoustics were great too.

I never knew about the tabernacle choir until my mom brought it up on our vacation. You have to see the choir. Come to find out they’ve done 8 presidential inaugurations and have been said to be America’s choir.
Incredible application process as well, you have to have college experience in music. You have to know how to play 2 instruments, you have to be Mormon, and you give them a 20 minute video of you singing. Then you come in for an audition if they like you that’s a few hours long. If you’re accepted you have to wait for a position to open up.
Very interesting history for the choir and the process to get in. The building is amazing with polite staff nicely dressed everywhere. They all asked us where were from and how we know about the choir and such.
We saw a rehearsal of the choir and they had a guest from Cinderella. Just spectacular singing and music. A must see if you’re in Salt Lake City for a day or two.

Ok so growing up a member of this great church, I’ve heard The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra hundreds of times, and had many dreams of playing violin for them. I’ve only had the opportunity to see them live a handful of times, and it’s always been during conference with thousands of people. Getting intimate with them at Music and the Spoken Word today was amazing and made my love for the amazing artistry that each performer has just flourish! Anyone who had not gone to a thirty minute Sunday morning concert of theirs, whether you are Mormon or not, please take the opportunity to do so! You really can’t regret such an opportunity. I’ve heard of people paying tons of money to see this group live before, but
Being in Salt Lake, we get a chance every Sunday to watch them live. As great as they are recorded, they are 10 times better live. Please do yourself a favor and go watch them!

Wow! What an evening!
Imagine being on a magic carpet flying from one continent to the next, experiencing all sorts of people and their culture, their emotion, their pain, their joy, their dignity, their courage and bravery, their sense of adventure, their romance, their fortitude, their patience and their majesty. Imagine the carpet touches down on our own United States and you suddenly experience the glory that our country was and the glory that her people can bring her back to, and your heart beats faster in your chest with a patriotic fervor. Imagine all of that within the space of 2 hours.
That was my evening tonight experiencing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the first time, up front and center.
Starting off the coast of Europe with Welsh and Gaelic hymns, sweeping through the echoing majestic cathedrals of Europe with pieces by Gounod and Rossini, one even sung in the proper Latin, then suddenly flying across the American Plains with the early pioneers, in my minds eye, cresting the mountain tops with the setting sun while sitting mesmerized by their «Pilgrim Song.»
Then after that almost anesthetizing moment in time, being suddenly and brutally wrenched from joy as the tortured shackled sound of African American Slave Spirituals wrench your heart and moisten your eye, watching and hearing and feeling the anguish of the soloist singing these songs of hopeless hope and desperation.
And then, out of nowhere, to save you and raise you from that pit of sorrow, comes Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s mighty «Glory!» to fill you with impetuous bravado, and you are brought even further up as you are treated to the majestic courts of King David and Solomon, or so it seems by the sounds of a Sephardic Wedding Song straight out of The Ten Commandments or Ben-​Hur!
And then, almost as an antidote so that one does not explode from all the excitement, comes to your ears absolutely beautiful and harmonic sounds from Nigeria, and you close your eyes and sway with the choir as you are swept away to… to the Plateau State in central Nigeria, to the vast plains and mighty waterfalls and exotic animals, and it comes to mind, what a beautiful people to have made such a beautiful sound.
Suddenly, you are torn from this, almost too soon the carpet brings you back to the States, where you are treated to romance and adventure and fun and the American Way of Life by the likes of Berlin, Rodgers, Gershwin and Willson. But temperance being a good thing, an emotional rendition of «Sunrise, Sunset» returns you to reality while it recalls the sufferings of a people through the sufferings of a father. I sat there and thought deeply of my own father who loved the film more than any other film, and I whispered, «Dad, wherever you are, pay attention to this!»
There was a huge American Flag stage left and it seemed proper that the wind should begin to gust so mightily that the flag snapped and whipped about whilst the Choir and Orchestra mightily roared the «Battle Hymn of the Republic» and left the piece echoing in our ears as they took their final bows. This was the end of the program, but they encored in the Mighty Mountains and Green Rolling Hills of Austria with an astoundingly beautiful rendition of «Climb Every Mountain.»
The Choir ended the performance very appropriately, seeing the various cultures and races represented by the members, with «This Land Is Your Land,» and of course everyone was singing along!
In spite of the weather, this turned out to be a wonderful evening with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Bethel Woods, NY. Mind you, it rained at Woodstock too!!!

Yes, five stars! And, glad that I read Unilocal before we went. If you are in Salt Lake City on a Sunday morning, do yourself a favor and attend the Sunday morning concert by the choir. [Check their website for more information]. It WAS the highlight of my trip to SLC. No matter your affilitation, or lack thereof, what you believe or what you don’t believe. .. just go. .. YOU WILL BE MOVED BY THESE INCREDILE VOICES! Music is universal — go get yourself some soul food.
It starts at 9:30. You must be seated by 9:15AM. It’s over at 10AM. There are very friendly people welcoming everyone into the tabernacle. [As an aside, I am convinced that the nicest people in the world live and work in UTAH]. If you’re there early you will get the added benefit of listening to the rehearsal before the actual televised performance. Five incredible songs by the choir. And, the five minute lecture was truly inspiring as well [and, I was raise in a completely different denomination]. GO!!!

One of the world’s most majestic and glorious choirs, easily accessible and all for free!
Whether you’re in the city for a vacation, a business trip, or just passing through, if you are in the city for two or three days, you’ll have a chance to see the famed choir if you time it right. Great for singles, couples or families.
If you want to catch them at their formal best, you can see them Sunday mornings from 9:30 — 10:00 a.m. when they tape them for their weekly TV and Radio broadcast «Music and the Spoken Word.» It’s a very smooth production… 4 or 5 songs, a general message about life/​community/​faith all in 30 minutes that passes by in a flash. Whether you’re believer in the Mormon faith or not (I am not), the five minute message or thought on life is general enough to where it’s just enough for you to relax yourself and reflect on your life in this world. There are plenty of ushers and greeters throughout the building, but no one cornering you or trying to convert you. If you really want to know more or can’t wait to be approached, hang out in the middle of Temple Square or in one of it’s buildings.
The choir is all that. It’s about 360 singers with full orchestra at an average performance. They have 400 singers that they rotate and the singers must live within 100 miles of the city. They do around 75 performances a year… so the Sunday ones, plus various holiday shows and productions. All the dresses are made and tailored in house.
I saw them perform at the LDS Conference Center instead of at the Tabernacle. During the Summer months they move the choir to the larger Conference Center just in case it packs out. When I went, only the middle bottom sections of the conference center filled up. No problem at all getting a seat.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays. You can show up at 9 a.m. or 9:10 a.m. and you’d find great seats. The choir does some practice before the show from around 8:45 — 9:15 a.m. This is your best and only opportunity to take photos, as no photography is allowed during the 9:30 — 10:00 a.m. taping session. You don’t need to be in a tie, but do dress respectable, as it is a service. Nice jeans or khakis and a short sleeve shirt is perfectly fine. Know that some Mormons have traveled across the country just to see this choir perform once in their lives.
Once you’re there, relax and just take it all in. The organ from the skies, the delicate strings, the powerful boom of the tympani, the unison choir of men and women singing their hearts out… it really is gloriful.
Practice (open to the public) is Thursday evenings. Formal performance is Sunday mornings.
If my friends ask me, «What is there to do in SLC?» I would tell you what I tell them, «Go see the choir!»
***Tip #1: If they are performing at the conference center, there is free parking at the conference center.***
***Tip #2: Go at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings to take pictures while listening to them warm up.***

My 14-​year-​old son is an agnostic but how can you come to Salt Lake City without visiting Temple Square and hearing the Choir? I planned our 2 week road trip of The West so that we were in SLC on a Sunday and could attend the live taping of Music and the Spoken Word. My son wasn’t thrilled either before or after, but he left fascinated by the city and its culture so it was something. I found the experience amazing and am even more convinced that you can’t miss a performance when visiting SLC (though I have to admit that after catching the full dress rehearsal they do just before the live airing, we snuck out early to get back on the road).

I love listening to them because they bring the spirit!

While in SLC this is a «must see» for all visitors.
I was able to attend the choir’s Sunday performance that is broadcast over television. Due to the upcoming holiday it was a special performance so they had the full orchestra, the handbell choir and the Tabernacle choir.
They start on time, so it’s best to arrive at least 15 minutes early to secure a seat and get settled. There really isn’t a bad seat in the house. Instructions are provided on what to do and not to do during the TV broadcast. Late arrivals are not seated. The entire TV product is approximately 30 minutes long.
The music and singing were wonderful and everyone puts their all into these performances. The acoustics are absolutely amazing. I would recommend this all visitors to SLC, whether it be on the first visit or the 5^th visit, as the performances are never the same. Who cannot take 45 minutes or so to sit back, relax, and listen to some good singing and music?
Although not required, I would suggest that women to wear a long skirt (not mini) and dress in a conservative manner, per the church guidelines. A few of us wore pants and/​or jeans and obvious that we stood out a bit.
Tours are available during operating hours.

What d’you get when you cross one of the largest pipe organs in the world, stellar acoustics*, and a room full of Latter Day Saints?
A brilliant taste of music and historical architecture masquerading as a free concert and a great set up for a punchline.
The Tabernacle is a huge and brilliant rotunda, the domed top reflecting the lustrous silver Salt Lake sunlight. The interior, huge and airy but comparably dark, with an expected solemn religious air, is dominated by the gigantic pipes overtaking the back (front?) wall. The benches in the audience and those holding the choir itself are angled to acknowledge this feat of musical architecture; empty, their lines only serve to underline the magnitude of the instrument. It’s a grand sight.
Weekday concerts are free and run about half an hour, though it’s worth popping in to the building during non-musi’centric hours to gaze upon that splendorous organ.
Four stars!
*the pin drop cliché is true, but nothing compared to a nail drop.

I sing in the choir. I love this place… woot woot!!!

The building itself is interesting with a silver dome on the outside and a massive Choir and Organ on the inside… It’s open for visitors when the choir is not in there practicing or performing…
I missed the show but still enjoyed seeing the place.

This place is MASSIVE!
We walked in. We met what I assume to be the nicest living person on the planet. And he gave us a tour of the entire building the choir performs in. I loved this guy! He was so sweet! He even gave us a view of the roof top deck and into the Mormon church gardens at night. It was abasolutely one of the ost spectacular sights I’ve ever seen. It was gorgeous! It was at night and before Christmas, so the entire city was lit up so beautifully. Our tour guide wasn’t at all pushy and told us about the LDS beliefs and was interested about learning our beliefs as well, me not being LDS and all. He was very open minded. Which I didn’t expect. AT ALL!
I walked into the concert area, and its the size of maybe 2 football fields! I couldnt believe my eyes. It’s almost humbing to walk into a huge building like this where people sing about their beliefs.
I can’t say enough abou this place! But The roof top deck’s pre-​Christmas view is divine.