Hear the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
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Did you know that you have two opportunities each week to see the world-famous Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square? If you’re visiting Salt Lake City on a Sunday morning or a Thursday evening then you’re in luck! Every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM Mountain Standard Time (we’re on MST in Utah) the Tabernacle Choir will perform a concert show that has become the world’s longest continually running network broadcast (more on that below). And every Thursday evening the Choir will rehearse for Sunday’s broadcast. There are other opportunities to hear them as they perform holiday concerts (their Christmas concert series is crazy popular) and go on tour around the world. Combine a visit to hear the Tabernacle Choir with a fascinating guided tour of the sightseeing attractions of Salt Lake City by clicking here…
A little background about them, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (which for many years was known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir until a slight name change a few years ago) is made up of 360 volunteer singers, 2 choir directors, and around 5 organists—making it one of the largest choirs in the world, especially if you count the Orchestra. You will usually see that the Choir performs with an orchestra, known as the Orchestra at Temple Square—110 members who are also unpaid. These dedicated musicians volunteer an average of 150 days out of the year to practice and perform (usually it’s not an entire day, rather a Sunday morning and a Thursday evening, so many are able to continue their day jobs. But all of their vacation time is taken up when the Choir goes on tour every other year).
The Choir began in 1847 when the President of the Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Brigham Young—also the founder of Utah, organized a small choir just 29 days after arriving in an uninhabited desert (that today we call Salt Lake City) to perform at conferences. Thus they are one of the oldest choirs in the world. In 1929 the Choir began their broadcasting of Music and the Spoken Word. It has performed over 4,500 episodes that is now carried by over 2,000 radio and television stations around the world. They also have a channel on YouTube!
When performing at Temple Square, the Choir is in one of two venues: the Tabernacle or the Conference Center.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle was built in 1867 and seats several thousand (seating capacity seems to shrink as people keep getting bigger and taller. No joke! The average height in Salt Lake City in 1867 was just 5’2” so the benches or pews were spaced much closer together, so in a recent restoration of the building those original benches were taken out and given away to be replaced by larger benches that are spaced out farther apart, which reduces the seating capacity by more than half compared to pioneer times!
The Conference Center was built in 2000 and is claimed to be the largest theater-style auditorium in the world (theater-style means all the seats face the same direction). 21,000 seats allows a lot of tourists to see the Choir, compared with the Tabernacle that seats somewhere around one-fifth as many people. The peak tourist season in Salt Lake City is June through September so during those months you’ll find the Tabernacle Choir sings in the big new Conference Center—which has much better air conditioning than an old auditorium built in the 1860’s! And the rest of the year the Choir is usually in the ol’ Tabernacle. Both venues offer a great experience and won’t disappoint—though if you’re able to hear them in the Tabernacle…that’s just extra special.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a dress code to hear the Choir?
NO DRESS CODE for attending either a concert on Sunday or a rehearsal on Thursday. Sure, you’ll see a number of people in their Sunday clothes but they’re planning on attending their own local worship services afterward. So just dress for the weather and be casual. Summers in Utah get hot, sometimes over 100 degrees. Visitors are welcome to wear shorts and a t-shirt, but maybe leave the tank tops and flip flop sandals at the hotel.
Is the concert considered a worship service?
NO, it is not considered a Sunday worship service. It is a non-denominational musical performance that combines a variety of songs from various genres along with an inspirational story or message that appeals to anyone of all faiths. There could be African folk music or a Broadway show-tune. As a side note, worship services do not take place in either the Tabernacle nor the Conference Center; rather they’re held in small church meetinghouses located all around the city, state, country and world. Fun fact: 17 million members of the Church, as of 2023, and now more living outside of North America than inside.
Are children allowed to attend?
Yes and No. It’s not a strange question when you consider the old Tabernacle was build with acoustics so sensitive than a pin dropped from the podium can be heard from the last row in the auditorium. They didn’t have microphones in 1867, so the architects and builders worked to help the speaker’s voice carry. And also remember this is a live broadcast, so even a cough or a sneeze can sometimes detract from the music—just imagine what a crying baby (or 50) would do! So children under the age of 8 will not be allowed in the main auditorium. In the Tabernacle there is a small soundproof room in the back from which parents and small children can enjoy the Choir. It only seats around a dozen people though. In the Conference Center, there is a separate theater room where it is shown on a large theater screen and that seats several hundred.
How long is the broadcast? Rehearsal?
The Sunday morning broadcast is 30 minutes, beginning at 9:30 AM and concluding at 10:00 AM. However if you arrive extra early at 8:30 AM they often do a full rehearsal of the program and then take a half hour break and do actual broadcast at 9:30 AM on Sunday. As for the Thursday evening rehearsal, it is much more varied. The first part of their rehearsal is closed to the public, so they don’t have any distractions. The latter half is open for people to come and go as they please. You do not need to arrive by a certain time and you certainly don’t need to stay the full length of time. Generally they start allowing the public into the auditorium at 7:30 PM and conclude at 9:30 PM on Thursday. However it’s not uncommon for people to be let in a little earlier or a little later. It’s at the discretion of the choir directors and sometimes they just want a little extra time with the choir before the crowds descend into the room.
Less of a question and more of a disclaimer…
The Choir performances and rehearsals will not be open to the public every single week, 100% of the time. Some weeks the Choir has no public rehearsals. Some weeks they’re out of town on tour. Sometimes these dates are marked months ahead of time and occasionally they can come up at the relative last-minute just weeks beforehand. Most of you reading this are probably not in a position to alter your trip dates to Utah just to fit in a visit to hear the Tabernacle Choir, so there’s nothing you can do about this. Just be forewarned that it is possible. Should you be reserved for one of the aforementioned sightseeing tours that include the choir, and there happens to be a last-minute change to the Choir’s public availability, rest assured that the tour company will fully refund you with that tour cancellation. It’s not a common occurrence but perhaps once a year it happens.
