PASAY, Philippines — When actress and singer Lea Salonga got the invitation to perform with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square during its “Himig ng Pag-asa” tour or “melody of hope” tour stop in the Philippines, she said yes pretty quickly.
“I don’t know if that there are that many artists that have had the opportunity to perform more than one time with the choir,” Salonga said Monday, Feb. 26, at a press conference in advance of the choir and orchestra’s concerts on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The concert will also be live on the choir’s YouTube channel Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. Philippine time, which is 5 a.m. Mountain Standard Time in the U.S.
The choir so far has performed in two concerts, one for invited guests on Feb. 23 and a sacred music concert at the University of Santos Tomas on Feb. 25.
Salonga will be one of guest artists along with singer-songwriter Ysabelle Cuevas and TV personalities Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Paolo Abrera.
Salonga, who is the singing voice for Princess Jasmine in “Aladdin”and Fa Mulan in “Mulan” and Mulan II,” sang with the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra during the 2022 Christmas concert “Season of Light.” It was broadcast on CNN Philippines during Dec. 24, 2023, at 8 p.m. and had a viewership of more than 1.3 million people. “Season of Light” was No. 4 among CNN Philippines programs aired on Dec. 24, according to information from Bonneville Distribution.
There are 323 members of the 360-voice volunteer choir on tour and 68 members of the orchestra, along with choir leaders and staff. These “musical missionaries” are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days and choir members have a monthslong audition process. The choir’s origins date back to 1847 when pioneer members of the Church formed a choir to sing at a conference of the Church weeks after arriving in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley.
“I think the warmth of the people will definitely be felt by everyone,” Salonga said. “I’m very excited.”
Suzi Entrata-Abrera and Paolo Abrera, a husband and wife duo who are TV personalities and news anchors, said during the press conference that they went to the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra’s 2023 Christmas concert in Salt Lake City.
Entrata-Abrera said that when you see the choir members onstage, they are very disciplined and orderly. She liked seeing them backstage as she could see each person’s excitement.
“It was such a great opportunity to see both sides of the choir and it’s a rare opportunity,” she said.
Paolo Abrera said that “it’s one thing to listen to the music, to hear it recorded, to watch a television special.” But to “be present in the Conference Center and just feel the energy the choir puts out — it’s a totally different experience. It’s hard to put into words.”
Cuevas said that growing up in the Philippines, she would hear the Tabernacle Choir at the twice-a-year general conference.
“Even before I understood English very well, I always connected with the music,” she said. “That’s the way my faith grew the most.”
In response to a question about how music can help foster a sense of community, Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt pointed to why music is meaningful.
“I believe that it’s because music is a very special and universal language. From music, we draw feelings, not simply thoughts,” he said, adding how that can help unite people. “I believe that it’s speaking to a part of us that is divine.”
Music will continue to be part of people’s lives because it speaks to them in a personal way, President Leavitt said.
Mack Wilberg, the Tabernacle Choir conductor, said that the hospitality and warmth of the Filipino people has been “unparalleled in our many world travels. So thank you.”
The more than 320 singers and 68 orchestra members have been rehearsing and preparing for the concerts with “joy and love in their hearts.”
“I think you will feel that as well as what will hopefully be a magnificent wall of sound,” Wilberg added.
He said that after the concert on Sunday, an audience member told him “that was more than a concert, that was an experience. We hope that’s what you’ll feel.”
Leo Marcelo, a choir member who is a Philippine native, said he knew that the Filipinos would be welcoming, but the response at the concerts was “beyond what I imagined.”
“The reaction of the Filipinos — the warmth and the welcoming — is out-of-this-world amazing,” Marcelo said. He’s been able to visit with family members who live in the Philippines.
The Philippines is the second stop on the multicity, multiyear “Hope” tour. In June 2023, the choir and orchestra’s first stop was in Mexico last year. Choir officials announced on Wednesday, Feb. 21, that the fall tour Sept. 5-12 will be to Florida and Georgia in the southeastern United States.
How to watch
Didn’t get tickets to watch in the arena?
The livestream of the concert will air on the choir’s YouTube channel Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. Philippine time, which is 5 a.m. Mountain Standard Time in the U.S.
Local Church leaders are encouraging people to gather to watch it.
It will be up for several months after the concert.
During the 2023 tour stop in Mexico City, 500,000 people who watched the streamed concert, choir officials said.