Singing with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is very different from being in the audience and listening to them, said Miriam Svensson of Sweden.
“To be able to sit in the choir and be surrounded by the sound, it was very intense,” she said of the recent rehearsal. “I got so emotional.”
Svensson is one of 12 global participants from nine countries and territories who will be singing in the April 2025 general conference with the 360-voice Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
It was different from choirs she’s previously been part of. “It was one voice. That was very special and very powerful,” said Svensson, who sings first soprano.
This group of 12 global participants includes six who have previously sung in general conference. The singers range from professional musicians and instructors, having various degrees in music, to those who sing more as a hobby while having a profession in a completely different field or paused a career in music for a time.
Joel Villagra of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Ninni Bautista of Stockholm, Sweden, sang in the April 2024 general conference. Ronald Baa of the Cagayan de Oro, Philippines; Rodrigo Domaredzky of Curitiba, Brazil; Pei-Shan Chung of Taipei, Taiwan; and Jonathan How of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were part of the pilot group in April 2023.
First-time global participants include Robert Dil of Auckland, New Zealand; Svensson of Bjärred, Sweden; Camila Kärn of Stockholm; Travis Alexander of Johannesburg, South Africa; Andrea Betancur of Santiago, Chile; and Florencia Battista of Buenos Aires.
Singing with the Tabernacle Choir
While Battista’s husband, Villagra, had shared his experiences with her, Battista said rehearsing with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square for the first time felt like she was living her dream and comfortable that “I’ve been here forever.”
“Everyone has been receiving us with a lot of love and gifts, and they have taken care of us. We can really feel the love of the Savior through them,” said Battista, who sings second soprano.
Dil, who sings bass, said the rehearsal and experiences so far have been “overwhelming, but in the very best way.”
He added that it’s because they are singing “with one of the best choirs in the world but also know that we’re all part of Jesus Christ’s Church … and we’ve all been brought together at this time.”
Dil said that he’s enjoyed becoming friends with other Church members who are also musicians. There have been times prior to this calling that he’s wondered how he fits in the Church. “I just felt Heavenly Father’s arms wrap around me when I got this calling that there is a place for me in this Church,” Dil said.
Alexander, who sings baritone, said he’s been noticing the little “miracles” throughout this experience — from everyone getting here safely to what he’s been able to learn.
“This experience has been life-changing,” he said. “God really is in the details of our lives.”
For Kärn, seeing the work behind the scenes with people who handle music, clothing and all of the details reminds her of how people serve because of their love of God and Jesus Christ.
“It’s also really beautiful that this choir, it’s not about solo people; we’re singing together. It just strengthened me so much,” said Kärn, who sings second soprano.
Betancur, who sings first alto, had some medical symptoms after arriving in Salt Lake City but was still able to continue studying the music and participate as much as possible virtually while following the choir’s medical protocol during the first week. Her choir ministry sister helped deliver meals, checked in on her and recorded the music so she could practice the pronunciations.
While she got discouraged, “I decided to replace it with better thoughts,” she said. “And then miracles have happened.”
She decided to take a walk on Temple Square, and it happened to be when her husband and teenage son, who are also in Salt Lake City, were there. Another one was when she was walking with one of the choir’s senior missionaries, and she saw a tree branch with sparrows — and they sang part of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”
“This simple moment marked my life in this great moment,” she said. “Because He hears me and helps me remember why I’m here.”
About the Tabernacle Choir’s global participants
The international musicians first sang with the Tabernacle Choir at general conference as a pilot program in April 2023. In April 2024, choir leaders announced that it had become a permanent program. It’s anticipated that 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 participants from 35 countries and territories, and there are virtual meetings every six months, according to the choir’s senior missionaries working with the global participants.
Each global participant applies and is recommended through area leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then each goes through the multistep audition process with a recording, musical theory tests and live singing session with choir officials — a similar process for those who live within 100 miles of Salt Lake City. Also, they must be able to travel to the United States and demonstrate English proficiency. See thetabernaclechoir.org/global-participant-program for more information.
They spend about two weeks in Salt Lake City before conference in musical training, including choir school and rehearsals; meeting with the Church’s music department; and also seeing Temple Square, the Salt Lake Tabernacle and learning more about the history of the choir and the music.
During their stay, they have nightly devotionals with the senior couples who work with the global participant program and choir members also minister to the singers.
The global participants are set apart as missionaries, like other members of the choir.
It was the choir’s music that helped Svensson’s grandparents find the Church. Her grandparents had questions with their church that the pastor wasn’t able to answer. Her grandfather found a copy of a Tabernacle Choir cassette tape and recognized the Spirit when the missionaries came, she said.
“They were very prepared,” she said. Her grandfather was a singer. “He served as a district president for the rest of his life.”
How, who sings second tenor, noted that while they all come from different places and have different backgrounds. “We all sing together as one voice.”
‘Songs of Hope’ tour
The global participants have also performed with the choir and orchestra during the “Songs of Hope” tour stops in their home or neighboring countries.
Baa performed with the choir and orchestra when they were in the Philippines in February 2024. “It was a blessing to all the Filipinos,” said Baa, who sings first tenor.
Villagra and Battista are working with the Church’s area office in Argentina to prepare for the choir and orchestra’s tour stop there in August. They’ve seen how people are excited for the choir and orchestra to come, Villagra said, especially when they’ve shared the choir singing in Spanish. “It sounds like heaven,” he said of people’s reactions.
Villagra, who sings bass, reflected on how at the choir’s first “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast, there was only one microphone. “It was such a humble way to begin.”
The Tabernacle Choir will mark the 5,000th week of continuous broadcasting in July.
“In our countries, we are doing the same. We have humble beginnings,” he said. “It’s small steps, little steps every day.”
The choir and orchestra will go to Brazil in February 2026.
Domaredzky, who sings second tenor, said of hearing the news, “I was so overwhelmed with happiness. It’s been a dream.”
He added, “These are days to be remembered.”
Experiences and lessons
When the global participants have returned home, they’ve found ways to continue to share music with others.
Bautista, who sings second alto, said that when she was back in Sweden, “I felt so strongly that we need to get this out to everybody.”
Bautista, Kärn and two other global participants — Maria Hagman, Bautista’s sister who was also here a year ago; and Daniel Österlund, who sang in the October 2024 general conference — live close to each other in Sweden and have been doing firesides to sing the new hymns and speak about their experiences. They “talk about the importance of music in the Church,” she said. One of the new hymns, “God’s Gracious Love,” is a song with Swedish origins.
Bautista said she still keeps in regular contact with the other global participants from when she was here before through texting and a monthly video chat as well as with many of the choir members. “It’s like 100 to 200 new friends,” she said.
Domaredzky said when he got home to Brazil, he was “super excited to do things in his ward” with music, including choirs and firesides.
“Serving through music is my favorite way of serving the Lord,” he said. Being a global participant “is a great part of my life that I will cherish forever,” he added.
How said that in his branch in Malaysia, he’s been working to help teach the new hymns — the local members mostly sing them in English.
“It’s been a testimony builder for me,” said How, who is branch chorister. He said he has seen how those who may not have the experience but are committed can “experience the songs and the music.” Also, “we encourage them to think about what the music means to them,” How added.
Baa said he noticed more people joining the ward choir back in the Philippines. He’s also been working with the choir that sang at the Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple groundbreaking.
Baa, who is a music teacher at Liceo de Cagayan University, said the university social media shared the Tabernacle Choir’s announcement about him being a global participant.
“They’re all excited,” he said, adding, “My nonmember friends keep asking about the choir and about the Church.”
When Chung, who sings first alto, sang with the choir two years ago, it was the first time she had heard the song “This Is the Christ.” The music and lyrics — and the testimony of the Savior — have stayed with her and have come to mind many times as she goes throughout her days, she said.
While Chung is helping more with music in her home stake, what she took home with her went beyond music.
Chung noticed how many people bore their testimonies — fellow global participants, the senior missionaries who helped them and choir members and leaders — and she said she felt she needed to bear her testimony more, including with her children. After working through some initial awkwardness, it’s been a blessing.
“I feel like when I bear testimony, the atmosphere, the feeling is different,” she said. “It was truly a blessing.”
