What’s New with The Tabernacle Choir
On February 17, 2022, Michael O. Leavitt, president of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, addressed a virtual audience of members of the Choir organization and announced four new high-level objectives that will set a bold and historic direction for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
The Tabernacle Choir announced that the 2022 Heritage Tour by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, originally scheduled for 2020, and postponed in 2021, has been cancelled.
The Tabernacle Choir has sung its signature anthem, “Battle Hymn of the Republic” at presidential inaugurals, on television specials, at concerts around the world, and on its own Music & the Spoken Word broadcasts. In 2002 the Choir added performing at the Winter Olympic Games to its resume. In addition to singing during the evening Olympic Opening Ceremony on February 8, the Choir sang that afternoon from the steps of the marble staircase inside the Utah State Capitol preceding the address of U.S. President George W. Bush. It was a gold medal performance.
In February 2002 during the Salt Lake Winter Olympics and Paralympic games that followed, the members of The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square—all volunteers—had rehearsals or performances on 25 of the 28 days! And many of those days included multiple events on the same day. The preparation and rehearsals for the Choir and Orchestra’s performances during Olympics had begun months in advance.
The Winter Olympics—no matter where they are held in the world in a given year—bring back memories to those who participated in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. The Tabernacle Choir was prominently featured in person with the Utah Symphony at the two-and-a-half-hour Opening Ceremony in the Rice-Eccles Stadium overlooking the Salt Lake Valley. The Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square also participated in other major musical presentations during the weeks of the Olympics.