The Tabernacle Choir Blog

Free as a Bird: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Fine-Feathered Friends

Believe it or not, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has had its share of fine-feathered guests throughout the years. As a matter of fact, giant birds make excellent conductors. A little bird told us. Here are some instances where the Choir and birds go hand in hand, or hand in wing, like birds of a feather. OK, we'll stop . . . for now.

Donald Duck Conducts the Choir

On March 3, 1988, Donald Duck was the guest con-duck-tor of the Choir, where he led them in singing “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” during a rehearsal in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Donald and his other Disney pals were in town to promote some upcoming Disney shows in the area including Snow White on IceHere are four Disney songs performed by the Choir.


Big Bird Conducts the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square

In December 2014, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir hosted the Muppets® from Sesame Street® for the annual Christmas concert. During the concert, Big Bird got the chance to conduct the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. The 2014 Christmas concert with Santino Fontana and the Muppets® from Sesame Street® will be released on DVD and will air on PBS in December 2015. 


A Sparrow Is Evicted from the Tabernacle

So this bird flies into the Tabernacle. . . . It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this was no joke. In 1985, the Tabernacle doors were left open in hopes of cooling of the organ so it could be tuned for a performance the following evening. A sparrow made its way into the Tabernacle and couldn't find a way out. The bird flew back and forth, chirping noisily and showing no sign of leaving, and time was running out. Animal control was called, and plans for evicting the bird were discussed, including pellet guns and poison. Prayer turned out to be the ultimate solution. Read the full story here to see how the power of prayer saved the day for this little sparrow.

Now that’s something to Tweet about.

Here are some videos that are the opposite of "for the birds."


"Habanera" by Katherine Jenkins and the Choir

The aria is also referred to as "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle," which means "Love is a rebellious bird."

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"The Cuckoo" (Organ Solo) by Richard Elliott

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