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Mormon Tabernacle Choir

 Organization

Administrative History

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir (1852-) is a religious choral group based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

At the dedication of the adobe tabernacle in 1852, the Mormon choral group which frequently sang at General Conferences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, adopted the name of their new home and became the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The nucleus of this choir came from a group of eighty-five Welsh converts under the direction of John Parry, who came to the Salt Lake Valley in 1849. The choir continued to perform at ecclesiastical and civic functions throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including several national and international tours. In 1929, the choir began airing a weekly radio broadcast, which continues today as Music and the Spoken Word. The choir is currently led by music director Mack Wilberg (2008-). Previous directors included John Parry (1852-1854), Stephen Goddard (1854-1856), James Smithies (1856-1862), Chalres John Thomas (1862-1865), Robert Sands (1865-1869), George Careless (1869-1880), Ebenezer Beesley (1880-1889), Evan Stephens (1890-1916), Anthony C. Lund (1916-1935), J. Spencer Cornwall (1835-1957), Richard P. Condie (1957-1974), Jay E. Welch (1974), Jerold Ottley (1974-1999), and Craig Jessop (1999-2008).

Citation:
America's Choir, 2004: p.19 (named after the old tabernacle in 1852)

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, 1979: p.84 (first radio broadcast in 1929)

Utah History Encyclopedia, February 1, 2012: Mormon Tabernacle Choir (originated from John Parry's 1849 Welsh converts; notable performances at ecclesiastical and civic events)

Wikipedia, February 1, 2012: List of Mormon Tabernacle Choir music directors (names and dates of the choir's music directors)

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Collection of Cecil B. DeMille recordings

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 3203
Scope and Contents

Contains two CD copies of a radio transcription disk made by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. The first CD contains two broadcasts: track one is a broadcast of the Salt Lake City Tabernacle Choir from November 9, 1958 (RED 586), and track two is an excerpt from a speech by Cecil B. DeMille on the Ten Commandments given at the University of Southern California and distributed by the Trojan Digest program (IED 626). The second CD contains only the address by DeMille.

Dates: Broadcast: approximately 1958

Lowell M. Durham articles and drafts, 1925-1992

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 8150 Series 5
Scope and Contents Contains materials written by and collected by Durham related to Utah and Latter-day Saint music and musicians. Most of the material consists of drafts of chapters from Durham's book on Maurice Abravanel, complete with notes and edits. Also contains some research material, including a few clippings and a list of recordings of the Utah Symphony. There are articles written by Durham and others as well, such as his earlier draft of "The Abravanel Years," the article "Pioneer Symphony" by...
Dates: 1925-1992