When Ryan Murphy walked out on stage in 2009 to conduct his first concert of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square as its new associate director, it was the beginning of a brilliant new musical career. He remembers being apprehensive and wide-eyed. The orchestra was in place, the choir loft filled with singers, and the audience waiting in anticipation for a rich, musical evening.

That scene will be replayed on Friday and Saturday, March 17–18, 2023, in the Tabernacle as Murphy conducts the annual Chorale and Orchestra at Temple Square Spring Concert. The Chorale at Temple Square will showcase 49 singers who have been working through The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square audition process. They join 100 current Tabernacle Choir members, including the new one-year members and other Choir members who love the opportunity to fine-tune their skills. Successful completion of the Chorale concert, with Tuesday rehearsals and Thursday Choir School classes since the first of the year, is the final step to being admitted as a soprano, alto, tenor, or bass member of The Tabernacle Choir.

Tickets have all been distributed for the Chorale concert. Admission is open to all those eight years of age and older. Each patron was able to request up to four tickets.

Easy access to the Tabernacle is available through the Temple Square west gates on West Temple. Review access on the map here.

The concert program will feature a performance by the Chorale and Orchestra of Requiem by French composer, Maurice Duruflé. Traditionally for the Chorale’s spring concert, the Chorale and Orchestra at Temple Square present major works like Requiem. In addition, the Chorale and Orchestra will perform several anthems as a prelude to Easter.

Preparing music like Duruflé’s Requiem gives the new singers three months of rehearsal and focus on one major piece. Typically, when The Tabernacle Choir rehearses for Music & the Spoken Word, concerts, general conference, tours, recordings, and other Church and community events, there is limited time allotted to review each music selection because of the sheer volume being prepared. At that time, The Tabernacle Choir members are expected to come to rehearsal knowing their music.

In the Chorale at Temple Square and its sister organization, the Choir School, the focus is on instruction in vocal technique, sight-reading skills, and music theory. Emphasis is also placed on the choir’s rigorous schedule, pace, and expectations, and Chorale members receive an introduction to the whole culture of the Choir including wardrobe, the library, and even seating charts.

“For many, joining the Choir is a lifetime goal,” Murphy says. “What is special about the Chorale experience is that the setting is more intimate, and we can work on fine-tuning what’s needed to fit into the sound of the Choir.” He describes that sound as “getting 360 voices to sound like a 30-voice chamber choir.”