News Release

David Archuleta to Perform with Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Annual Christmas Concert

Singer-songwriter David Archuleta will join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for their annual Christmas concerts, titled Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy will conduct the concerts.

The concerts will be presented in the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City on Thursday, 16 December, at 8 p.m. and Friday, 17 December, and Saturday, 18 December, both at 7:30 p.m. The weekly half-hour CBS radio broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday, 19 December, at 9:30 a.m. in the Conference Center will also feature Archuleta. This will be followed by additional music from the previous performances in a mini-concert.

David Archuleta rose to instant stardom when, at the age of 16, he became one of the youngest contestants on the seventh season of American Idol. In May 2008 he finished in second place, receiving over 44 million votes. He has since gone on to release a successful Gold-selling pop album, a Christmas album and a New York Times bestselling memoir, and on 5 October released a brand new pop album.

“I am so excited to have this opportunity of performing with the choir,” said David, “I have enjoyed listening to their music all of my life and feel honored to be part of this unforgettable experience.”

“We are very pleased that David will be able to join us for our concerts this year,” said Mack Wilberg, music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.” We’ve watched his growth as a performer from our own community to his now international acclaim.  We are delighted to join his talents with those of the choir and orchestra for our Christmas performances.”

Random Ticket-Selection Process

Free tickets for these concerts and the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast are required. Because of very high demand for tickets to this event in past years, tickets are distributed through a random selection process.

Those interested may register on the Internet at www.lds.org/events for the opportunity to receive tickets from Saturday, 9 October 2010, at 12:01 a.m. through Monday, 18 October 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Those without Internet access may register over the phone at (801)- 570-0080 (local) or at 1-866-537-8457 (toll free). All registrations received during those two weeks will have equal chances at receiving tickets in the random selection process.

Not all registrations will be selected to receive tickets, and only one registration per household can be accepted. The maximum number of tickets that a household may request is four.  Tickets will be mailed to those selected shortly after the registration process closes. Persons not selected to receive tickets will be notified by e-mail.

Standby tickets for those without tickets will not be issued.  However, patrons are invited to stand by for last-minute seating each evening and on Sunday morning for the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast.  The standby line will form at the North Gate on Temple Square at 6 p.m. for the evening performances and at 7:30 a.m. for the Sunday broadcast.

The doors of the Conference Center will open at 7 p.m. for the 16 December performance, at 6 p.m. for the 17–18 December performances and at 8 a.m. for the 19 December broadcast.  The length of the evening performance will be approximately 90 minutes.  The broadcast and mini-concert on Sunday should last roughly an hour.  Seating is limited to those 8 years of age and older. Given the increase in traffic due to other scheduled downtown holiday events, guests are asked to allow extra time for travel and parking in order to be seated 30 minutes before the performance begins.

For more information on the choir and these concerts, become a fan of the Choir’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/mormontabernaclechoir and sign up for the weekly choir newsletter on mormontabernaclechoir.org

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