'It's all about love': Tabernacle Choir to sing with Morehouse, Spelman glee clubs, again

Tabernacle Choir members sing at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 7. The choir will travel to Florida and Georgia for two public concerts and one private performance.

Tabernacle Choir members sing at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 7. The choir will travel to Florida and Georgia for two public concerts and one private performance. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will join voices with Morehouse and Spelman colleges as well as Adassa and Alex Melecio come autumn.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a press release on Wednesday that the choir will travel to Florida and Georgia for two public concerts and one private performance. It's part of the choir's "Hope" tour to inspire unity and harmony across different cultures.

Here's a closer look at when the performances are and how to get tickets.

Tabernacle Choir 'Hope' tour tickets

Tickets to the public performances are free but need to be reserved on the choir's tour website.

The arena performances will be livestreamed so people living in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, southern Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina can gather in homes, church meetinghouses and community centers to watch the performances together.

Information about the livestreaming options is also available on the choir's website.

Tabernacle Choir performances in September

Starting on Sept. 7, the choir will perform with Grammy-winning artist Adassa and Alex Melecio at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. She's sung with the Tabernacle Choir before.

Adassa is known for voicing the character Dolores in "Encanto" — and in particular, for her work on the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno."

Melecio, who has also sung with the choir previously, signed a record label with Rumor Records a couple years after being a finalist on "Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento" — billed on IMDb as "a reality competition show searching for the best Latino talent in the United States."

"The bilingual concert will feature music and dialogue in Spanish and English that reflects the rich Latin traditions in Florida and the southeastern United States," the release said.

After the Sept. 7 conference, the choir will perform with the Morehouse College Glee Club and Spelman College Glee Club on Sept. 9 at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, which is located on the Morehouse campus in Georgia. This will be a private performance.

But the Morehouse and Spelman College glee clubs will join the choir again on Sept. 11 for a concert at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

"I am thrilled to be a part of this collaboration," said Kevin Johnson, director of the Spelman College Glee Club, in the release. "The world needs music, and we will deliver it in a powerful way together. I have good friends in Utah because of this ongoing collaboration. It's all about love."

"The music we sing and the experiences we share continue to be beautiful highlights we will remember through the years," said David Morrow, director of the Morehouse College Glee Club. "We look forward to sharing the majesty of our music and message with our friends in Atlanta."

Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt said, "The choir will join their voices once again with those from Morehouse College and Spelman College glee clubs. When these famed groups perform together, the music is magnificent, and the message is of peace, harmony and shared values."

The performances are expected to include a range of genres and styles.

Under the direction of Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, the musical repertoire will include classical masterpieces as well as contemporary music, the release said.

"The diverse selection of music serves as a testament to the choir's commitment to inclusivity and the universal language of music," said the release.

Morehouse and Spelman have a prior relationship with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. The college's glee clubs joined the choir for a Sunday broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word" on Oct. 22, 2023.

Morehouse, a historically Black college, bestowed the honor of the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize upon President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 2023.

"President Nelson began building bridges with the NAACP in 2018 with a joint call for greater civility and racial harmony in society," said a press release from Church Newsroom. "The participation of the glee clubs from Morehouse College and Spelman College in the Tabernacle Choir's weekly broadcast is the next step in this valued relationship."

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsUtahReligion
Hanna Seariac

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