The Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City is undergoing a two-year renovation to bring the building into conformity with modern safety and seismic codes. For the duration of the renovation, all broadcasts, rehearsals and other performances of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will be moved to the Conference Center, located on the adjacent block just north of Temple Square. The daily organ recital series will also move to the Conference Center.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle has long been home to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which received its name after the choir’s first performance in the building on 4 July 1873. The choir began broadcasting a weekly radio program, Music and the Spoken Word, from the Tabernacle on 15 July 1929. Last year the choir celebrated the 75th anniversary of that broadcast, thought to be the longest-running network radio program in the world. To find a broadcast station and time in your area, visit www.mormontabernaclechoir.org.
The Tabernacle's 206-rank Aeolian-Skinner organ has long served as the symbol for both the Choir and the Tabernacle itself. The instrument’s unique design and history have become known by millions around the world who have visited Temple Square or heard the Choir’s broadcasts and recordings. Daily organ recitals have been presented in the Tabernacle for nearly 100 years. The organ will be carefully protected throughout the renovation and will resume its place as the focus of Temple Square music when the Tabernacle reopens.
The 21,000-seat Conference Center was completed in 2000 and features a five-manual, 130-rank organ built by Schoenstein & Co. of San Francisco. Thirty-minute organ recitals are presented daily at 12:05 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 2:05 p.m. on Sundays. During the summer months, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, recitals are given both at 12:05 p.m. and 2:05 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 2:05 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is free.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings. Rehearsals are open to the public without charge from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. No tickets are needed.
Broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word are presented Sunday mornings at 9:30. The public is invited to attend; no tickets are required. Seating is available for those 8 years of age and older. Conference Center doors open at 8:30 and the audience is asked to be seated by 9:15.
There are occasional
exceptions to the regular schedule. For current information please
refer to the Web site noted above.