Sharing musical testimonies: 13 global members join Tabernacle Choir for October 2026 general conference

When Heber Ferraz-Leite of Vienna, Austria, was invited to audition as a global member of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, he figured, “Why not?”

He had studied piano as a child and took lessons into adulthood, he but doesn’t practice now as much as he used to. In his career, Ferraz-Leite studied computer science and currently works in information technology as a business analyst.

“I was surprised to get in,” Ferraz-Leite said of the audition, adding that he’s a “hobby musician” and has since learned from many other choir members that “they had a very similar experience.”

Ferraz-Leite is one of 13 global members from 13 different countries and territories who sang during the Saturday morning session and the Sunday morning and afternoon sessions of October 2026 general conference.

The global singers are:

• Snezhana Valcheva, alto, of England;
• Mauricio Poujol Brickner, tenor, of Honduras;
• Aaron Anderson, baritone, of Australia;
• Aura Laineenkare, soprano, of Finland;
• Christian Wolfert, bass, of Germany;
• Hanna Saffer, soprano, of Sweden;
• Joan Cumming, soprano, of Scotland;
• Miguel Angel Rodriguez, bass, of Puerto Rico;
• Travis Alexander, tenor, of South Africa;
• Andrea Betancur Silva, alto, of Chile;
• Camila Cardus, soprano, of Argentina;
• Heber Ferraz-Leite, baritone, of Austria;
• JinHyoung Park, tenor, of South Korea.

Rodriguez, Alexander, Betancur, Cardus, Ferraz-Leite and Park have previously sung in general conference — Rodriguez and Park in October 2023; Ferraz-Leite in April 2024; Cardus in October 2024; and Betancur and Alexander in April 2025.

About the global member program

Global choir members go through a multistep audition process similar to the process for choir members who live within 100 miles of Salt Lake City. Global choir members receive endorsements from area leaders, submit recordings and complete a theory test. They also sing live for choir officials, which sometimes happens in the middle of the night, depending on time differences. Additionally, global members must have English proficiency and the ability to travel to the United States.

Several global members said the audition process was nerve-racking and that they were nervous during the live video interview with choir directors — likening it to meeting a celebrity.

Rodriguez said the audition was “kind of scary, but fun and marvelous.”

Ferraz-Leite said: “To anybody that wants to try it, I would say try it; if you get the chance, you might unexpectedly get in and be in for a treat.”

Plus, for this conference, they learned and memorized 17 songs in English.

See thetabernaclechoir.org/global-participant-program for more information.

The global choir members spend about two weeks in Salt Lake City before general conference for musical training, which includes choir school and rehearsals, meeting with the Church’s music department, seeing Temple Square and the Salt Lake Tabernacle and learning more about the choir’s history and music.

The first pilot group sang during April 2023 general conference. In April 2024, choir leaders announced the program would become permanent. It’s anticipated that about a dozen singers will come to Salt Lake City to perform in each general conference. Each singer serves for up to five years or until they have visited general conference twice. There are currently 72 global members, according to information from the choir.

For several of this year’s global members, it’s their first time visiting Salt Lake City. The international singers range from professional musicians or music teachers to those who have pursued other careers. Many began playing an instrument or singing when they were children or teenagers.

In this group, Betancur is an opera singer, and Saffer has traveled to a variety of countries with singing groups. Rodriguez studied audio engineering in school, and Saffer is the author of the a hymn in the new hymnbook. Others have careers in nursing, engineering, accounting, translation or business.

Betancur, Cardus and Ferraz-Leite, whose family is originally from Uruguay and moved to Europe when he was a teenager, were among the global members who participated in the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s “Songs of Hope” tour concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in August 2025 to celebrate 100 years of the Church in South America.

Brickner and his wife were living in Utah when he auditioned for the choir last year and began as a full-time member of the choir in May. However, he and his wife moved to Honduras in August due to a family issue. He was released from the Tabernacle Choir and then, several hours later, invited to be global member.

“It’s a blessing to be back,” said Brickner, who was the associate director of last year’s “Luz de Las Naciones” program, a celebration of Latin music and dance.

Being a global member of the Tabernacle Choir

Alexander, who is singing in his second conference, said it’s great to see the reactions of people in the global singers’ home countries, especially because “those who would normally not watch conference actually watch conference.”

When he sang in April 2025 general conference, family and friends sent him photos of themselves watching conference while Alexander was visible on screen.

“We are set apart as missionaries in the choir, and it’s been nice to see that missionary work in action,” said Alexander, who recently moved to England but is representing his native South Africa.

Park was part of the second group of singers in the October 2023 general conference. He said what he’s learned musically has helped him both personally and in his country.

“I feel strengthened in my testimony and in my faith more than ever,” Park said.

Valcheva has dreamed of singing with the Tabernacle Choir since being baptized 16 years ago while living in Bulgaria. During the first conference, she watched as a new member, she heard the choir and thought, “One day, I want to sing with these guys.”

When she found out about the global member program while living in London, England, she reached out to apply. “I’m living my dreams.”

Wolfert has seen how music helps connect people to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how it helps shape his perspective of other people as children of God.

“One of the greatest blessings is that we know that we are children of God and that those who listen to us come to an understanding that they are also children of God,” Wolfert said. “The music we sing facilitates that.”

For Cardus, being part of the choir has shown her how each choir member keeps working and learning.

“The most important thing that we are here [for] is to share the message that Jesus Christ lives and He’s our Savior, and He loves us,” she said. “And when we [have] our testimony, we [do] our best to [learn] and keep learning and keep giving our best.”