If an individual has a good voice, likes to sing and is an active member of the Church, then earning a spot in the Tabernacle Choir ought to be an easy process, right?
Not quite. There's more to singing in the Tabernacle Choir than meets the audience's ear. While many would-be singers wish they were going with the choir on tour, such as the one to Israel from Dec. 26-Jan. 6, getting accepted into one of the world's most renowned choral groups is no easy task. Before an applicant can expect to have his or her voice among those of the 325 singers who comprise the Tabernacle Choir, he or she must meet stringent requirements that go far beyond a mere love of singing.Applicants seeking a place in the choir receive this printed statement:
"Membership in the Tabernacle Choir is an earned privilege, requiring the enthusiasm of a volunteer and the discipline and responsibility of a professional. The choir is like a professional organization in that it performs on a regular basis in the professional arenas of broadcasting, recording and concertizing. It is also heard by a world-wide audience that has come to expect a consistently excellent performance. This requires intense effort from choir members whose occupations and other commitments seldom allow a professional rehearsal schedule. Consequently, it is expected that each member will assume personal responsibility for the end product by maintaining the highest possible participation."
Tabernacle Choir Pres. Wendell M. Smoot said: "Choir members have to be totally committed to dedicating 15 to 20 hours a week to rehearsals and performances. They are required to be present Sunday mornings from 7:30-10:15 for rehearsals and the weekly CBS radio and television broadcasts, and occasionally until noon for additional rehearsal time; Thursday evenings, 7:30-9:30 for rehearsals; and Tuesday evenings for rehearsals 20 to 35 times a year. Also, they perform for special events and concerts. We figure choir members meet together at least 150 times a year, including concert tours.
"Singing in the choir is a Church calling, one that must be auditioned for. Members are set apart to serve in the choir just as they would be for any other calling in the Church."
Pres. Smoot emphasized that the decision to apply for membership in the choir is made with thoughtful and prayerful effort, not only by the applicant but also by his or her family members. "It is essential that members of the choir receive support from their loved ones. Family members must be understanding of the necessity for choir members to miss a lot of activities at home. This is true especially when the choir goes on tour. Many choir members sacrifice vacations with their families to meet our tour requirements. And from time to time, choir members miss birthdays, anniversaries, reunions and other family events."
Pres. Smoot, who has presided over the choir for nine years, said he is touched by the commitment and dedication of choir members. "On many occasions, they have voluntarily given up other things for the sake of the choir," he said. "Some miss work opportunities when they go on tour, being self-employed or having used all their paid vacation hours. Our tour to Israel extends beyond the school holidays, so those who are teachers in the choir will have to pay for their substitute teachers. I think a lot of people would be quite surprised to find out just what it takes to be in the Tabernacle Choir."
Following are highlights of interviews with six representative choir members:
Debbie Martin already had a busy schedule before she joined the choir. She and her husband, Gary, have five children, ages 5-17. She teaches music in their home and is a former school teacher who works at keeping her certificate current. She is ward music chairman and visiting teaching supervisor in the Jordan 3rd Ward, Salt Lake Jordan Stake, and is membership commissioner of a Parent Teacher Association.
"There is no way to anticipate how much time being in the choir will take," Sister Martin said. "It looks good on paper, but the reality is that it's very difficult to arrange your schedule so you can be in the choir; sometimes, it seems almost impossible."
Sister Martin said some people romanticize what it's like to be in the choir: "They see the recognition we get through broadcasts and recordings, traveling and being known worldwide. Those things are very much visible. They don't think of the amount of time required, the stringent recording sessions and concert tours, or the fact that at 6 o'clock on a winter morning we look out our windows and see there's a blizzard, but we go to the Tabernacle anyway.
"We keep going back week after week because we love it. I expected being in the choir to be a wonderful musical experience, which it has been, but I didn't consider the spiritual or social benefits, which have been especially rewarding. There is something really compelling about singing beautiful music that has been prayerfully chosen, and becoming friends with other choir members. You can't help but be inspired."
Jim Adams said the person in his family who makes the biggest sacrifice for him to be in the choir is his wife, Christiane, who has studied voice privately and has performed in the Utah Symphony Chorus and other groups. "She is very qualified in music herself but she supports me in my calling in the choir and would love to participate in it with me, but we feel it's too much total involvement for both of us as parents to be in the choir at the same time, although some couples manage quite well to do so," he said.
They are parents of two children, an 11-year-old daughter, and a son, 20, who is on a mission. A communications analyst for the Church, Brother Adams has been a member of the choir 12 years.
A member of the Granite 2nd Ward, Sandy Utah Granite Stake, he said a calling to sing in the choir is unique. "Our names aren't read in ward meetings or in stake conferences for sustaining votes, and we don't get the kind of feedback we would as elders quorum presidents, high councilors or in other Church positions in which we meet with line leaders in our wards and stakes," he said. "We miss out on our ward meetings early on Sunday mornings; if our wards have sacrament meetings early, then we attend another ward. If our wards have functions on Tuesday or Thursday evenings, we miss out on those. The fulfillment in this calling comes in doing it, in the enjoyment we get from singing."
Because he often is not in the mainstream of his own ward activities, Brother Adams said he must find ways to nurture spiritual needs. "From time to time I take stock and realize I need to redouble my personal study efforts to help keep my spiritual growth going," he said. "Going to the temple helps a lot, and it works out well for me to stay downtown and go to the temple between work and choir rehearsals on Tuesdays or Thursdays."
Susan Thompson teaches music at a junior high school, gives private lessons, and is a member of the Utah Music Education Association. She has been in the choir nearly 12 years, and is a member of the Springtree Ward, Murray Utah South Stake.
She is single, so she doesn't have the demands of family most choir members have. She attends all rehearsals, including those regularly scheduled and the extra ones. "The choir's schedule takes away a lot of personal time that's necessary to keep things going, like grocery shopping or visiting with family and friends who don't have the same schedule I have. I kind of live a nomad's life when the choir has special concerts or tours coming up, so it's hard to maintain family and social contacts.
"A lot of people think being in the Tabernacle Choir is play, but it's really hard work. We put in a lot of personal time getting ready for tours, doing things like learning music, and memorizing lyrics in other languages, sometimes several on one tour."
John McKea, a member of the Mount Jordan 4th Ward, Sandy Utah Stake, is one of the newest singers in the choir, having joined last May.
"The choir has brought a whole new dimension to my life," he said. "I couldn't ask for anything more. It has been everything I expected. I graduated from BYU in music, and for five years taught school band before joining the U.S. Postal Service, where I now work. It's not like I just stepped into the choir. I've been trained all my life to be in music.
"Right after I joined the choir, I spent probably an hour and a half every day practicing, in addition to what was expected at rehearsals. I've had to memorize a lot of songs I've never sung before."
Perhaps one thing he did not expect was how exhausting a Tabernacle Choir tour can be. "I was on the tour this past summer [U.S.-Canada tour July 20-31T, and discovered the pace was rigorous," he said. "The schedule we were expected to keep was something I had not anticipated. By the end of the first week, I was pretty well worn out, but it was a very rewarding experience."
A doctor of chiropractic, Christopher Kesler closes his office when he goes on tour with the choir, but his expenses keep mounting: he must pay the usual overhead expenses necessary to keeping his office open, including the salary of his receptionist. While on tour, he runs the possibility of having a patient transfer to another doctor in an hour of need, and he realizes he might miss new patients who call for appointments.
A member of the Union Fort 5th Ward, Salt Lake Union Fort Stake, he has been in the choir six years, and said it is worth the financial sacrifices. "To be in the choir is a tremendous blessing and opportunity," he observed. "It's a chance to be in association with a great group of people and serve in a special way. There are about 40 people in each section who sing the same part, so you know you're not essential to the choir. There are thousands out there who are willing to take your position if they get the opportunity.
"There's a spirituality that permeates the choir I've never seen anywhere else. The things we see on tour are interesting, but we don't have enough time to see much, at least not enough to make it worth giving up two weeks of work. But the response of the people - that makes everything worthwhile."
One of the greatest challenges that Janice Curtis, a mother of four children ages 9-20, faces in being in the choir is finding the right balance in her life. "I had wanted to be in the choir ever since I was 6," she said. "When I joined the choir six years ago, I came in as an eager member, and gave 100 percent. But I missed a lot of activities with my children.
"As the years have gone by, I've realized it is important to let my children know they're more important to me than the choir, so I ask to be excused from time to time. (Minimum attendance requirement is 80 percent.) I'll skip choir to hear one of my children sing in sacrament meeting. But sometimes I simply cannot miss, and I just ache sitting there in the choir loft wanting to be with my family at some special event.
"I'm a homemaker and am at home with my children a lot. The time I spend with the choir is relatively little compared to the time I spend with my family, so it's not like the choir is dragging me away. But it still takes a certain commitment to serve in the choir."
Sister Curtis said the hardest part of being in the choir is going on tours and leaving her family. "I don't look at a tour as a chance to get away from my family because I miss them," she said. "But I know they're cared for. My husband [SteveT will fill in for me while I'm away. We have a special calling as members of the choir, and sometimes it's necessary for us to travel to fulfill that calling. Knowing that, I am willing to go."
