Mack Wilberg, music director of the Choir, has often said that The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is like “a speeding train never stopping to let its passengers off.”  Indeed, the work of the Choir and the Orchestra rarely takes a breather.  On January 1, 2017, when many people will be sleeping in from New Year’s festivities, The Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square will be in the Tabernacle bright and early to prepare their first Music & the Spoken Word broadcast of the new year.

Music & the Spoken Word has been continuously broadcast since 1929, and the January 1 program will be the Choir’s 4,555^th broadcast – a record of continuous network broadcasting unsurpassed by any other program. The program can be viewed on radio, television, or streamed over the Internet and from the Choir website anywhere in the world.

The “speeding train” will continue to roll through 2017. Here are just a few items already on the Choir’s calendar:

• On January 4th at the Utah State Capitol Rotunda, the Choir and Orchestra will perform at the Utah State Inaugural Ceremony, where Governor Gary R. Herbert and other state officials will publicly take their oaths of office. The program will include Herbert’s inaugural address as well as performances by the Choir, BYU Vocal Point, and the Utah National Guard Army Band, and concludes with a 19-gun salute and flyover by the Utah National Guard. The public is invited to attend the ceremony but limited seating will be available. All attendees should be in place by 10:30 a.m. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m.
• On Friday, January 20 on the steps of the United States Capitol, the Choir will perform as part of the swearing-in ceremonies for President-elect Donald Trump.  This is the seventh presidential inaugural at which the Choir has been invited to perform.  “The Tabernacle Choir has a great tradition of performing at the inaugurals of U. S. presidents," said Ron Jarrett, president of The Tabernacle Choir. "Singing the music of America is one of the things we do best. We are honored to be able to serve our country by providing music for the inauguration of our next president."
• On Thursday, February 9 a special Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square concert, “Music – It Runs in the Family,” will open the Roots Tech 2017 Conference in Salt Lake City. The program will feature Rodgers and Hammerstein music and stories narrated by Oscar Hammerstein III (“Andy”), grandson of Oscar Hammerstein II. Tickets but will be required but are free to the public. Patrons without tickets are invited to stand by for last-minute seating that evening. The standby line will form at the north gate on Temple Square at 6:00 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. performance.
• The months of March and April will also be busy. In March the Orchestra at Temple Square and the Temple Square Chorale—the training choir for new Tabernacle Choir members—will hold a spring concert in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.  In April, The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will perform a concert on Good Friday and Saturday prior to Easter with repertoire appropriate for Easter.
• Early in the year, watch an announcement of an exciting new recording by the Choir and Orchestra schedule for release in late spring.
• The year will also include a Pioneer Day concert, Orchestra fall concert, summer and holiday Bells on Temple Square concerts, and will finish with the Choir organization’s annual Christmas concerts.

Read each weekly installment of Choir Notes to stay up-to-date on all the activities of The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square and Bells on Temple Square. Happy New Year to Choir Notes subscribers!!