The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on August 30, 2016, the appointment of Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop, as Chairman of the O. C. Tanner Gift of Music Committee.  He succeeds President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, who has served as committee chairman for 23 years since his appointment in 1993. 

The O. C. Tanner Gift of Music Committee was formed in 1983 to implement the direction of a trust established by Obert C. and Grace Tanner in cooperation with former LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley.  The trust’s purpose is to provide periodic concerts by the Utah Symphony and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a free gift to the community.  To date, there have been 17 concerts in the Tanner Gift of Music series, the latest being Mahler’s 8^th Symphony presented in February of this year. 

President Eyring, who made the announcement at a meeting for the Tanner Gift of Music committee, said, “The Tanner Gift of Music is treasure given to our community by the foresight of Obert and Grace Tanner with help of their friend and neighbor, President Hinckley.  We are delighted to have the chairmanship of this committee pass to Bishop Caussé who will guide this important work into the future.” 

Of his appointment, Bishop Caussé said, “I am honored and humbled to follow President Eyring in this significant community endeavor.  I look forward to working with the committee and to many wonderful concerts in the Tanner Gift of Music series.”

Bishop Caussé became the fifteenth presiding bishop of the Church in October 2015. He received a master’s degree in business from ESSEC in 1987. He was called to be General Authority of the Church in April 2008 and was called as first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric in March 2012.  His career has been in the food industry, where he has worked with several supermarket chains and food distribution companies. At the time of his call to full time Church service, he was the general manager of Pomona, a food distribution company in France.

The Tanner Gift of Music concert committee consists of six members: a chairman appointed by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, two members appointed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, two members appointed by the Utah Symphony, and one member appointed by the Governor of Utah.  Other current members of the committee are from the Utah Symphony, Paul Meecham, President and CEO, and Thierry Fischer, Music Director; from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Ron Jarrett, President, and Mack Wilberg, Music Director; and the Governor’s appointee is Ed Thompson, professor emeritus, former chairman of the University of Utah Department of Music.