Fans of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will have a chance to sing with the choir in the coming months as the choir gets ready to go on its summer tour. It’s actually a virtual experience in front of a green screen that was tested on attendees at the American Choral Directors Association conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 24–28, 2015.
Ed Payne, executive director of the choir’s weekly broadcast, “Music and the Spoken Word,” said it was a big draw at the three-day convention, attracting more than 300 groups of people.
“We felt we needed something more than listening to the choir by giving them this actual experience,” said Payne, who came up with the idea because the choir is trying to increase its exposure to a “young and international audience.”
Participants said the opportunity to stand in front of the screen to sing a clip of “Amazing Grace” in front of a video camera was “creative” and “a dream come true.” Payne said, “We emailed the link of the video to their email address. They could share it.”
The choir’s digital media team demonstrates the experience in a YouTube video.
Payne said the choir is planning to scale down the size of the booth to make it more portable for the choir’s 2015 Atlantic Coast tour. The choir will be in Maryland, New York and Massachusetts from June 25 to July 6. “People will remember the experience that they had with the choir much more than just seeing them at a distance,” he added.
“Who doesn’t want to sing with the choir or have that opportunity?” questioned Payne. “We’ll record a whole new song. We’ll pick something that is another popular song that people will be more familiar with the tune so that they’ll have fun doing it.” The performance will be recorded and given at no cost to the fans who are brave enough to share their talent in front of the camera.