‘A global family’: 12 singers from 10 countries and territories sang with Tabernacle Choir during April 2026 general conference

Nelson Andres Lopez Sosa has been the principal oboist for Paraguay’s national symphony and has been a guest artist for a variety of performances. He and his family members performed during The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square’s “Songs of Hope” tour stop in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in August 2025.

He has performed with the 360-voice Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square again — this time as one of the 12 global members who came from around the world to sing with the choir during the April 2026 general conference.

“Nothing compares to playing with the Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square,” said Lopez, who is working as a counselor for the Church’s Family Services department.

“You can really feel the Spirit. And you now have a different goal, and your goal is to inspire people and bring the Spirit of the Savior to the piece you are playing,” he added during the group interview prior to April general conference.

The 12 global members are from 10 countries and territories. They sang during the Saturday morning and the Sunday morning and afternoon sessions.

They are:

• Anja Rossau, alto, Denmark;
• Charlotte Banks, alto, England;
• Pianika Duncan, soprano, New Zealand;
• Robert Dil, bass, New Zealand;
• Tonje Loewen, soprano, Norway;
• Nelson Andres Lopez Sosa, tenor, Paraguay;
• Ryan Neal Salapa, Philippines;
• Esteban Ojeda, tenor, Puerto Rico;
• Laura Echarri, alto, Spain;
• Tony Knutsson, baritone, Sweden;
• Caroline Hoglund, soprano, Sweden;
• Rhiannon Deamer, alto, Wales.

Rossau, Dil, Lopez, Ojeda and Echarri have previously sung in general conferences — Ojeda in October 2023, Rossau in April 2024; Lopez and Echarri in October 2024; Dil 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.

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 at the April 2023 general conference. 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.

For several of the global members, it’s their first time to visit Salt Lake City. The international singers range from those who are professional musicians or teach music to those who have pursued other careers.

‘Part of something bigger’

Loewen, who is an executive assistant, said she “grew up in a home with lots of music.” Her mother is a singer, her father played the trumpet, and Loewen and all of her siblings learned to play the piano. She also sang in several choirs growing up.

The global members received their music before coming to Salt Lake City. As she was rehearsing at home, Loewen said, “I had some really spiritual experiences with some of the hymns and just the words of the hymns and knowing that I was going to be singing with the Tabernacle Choir, which is the dream come true for me.”

The first time they rehearsed with the choir in their seats in the loft left a big impression. “Just having all those voices and everything just surrounding me was very powerful,” Loewen said.

Duncan, who has a degree in commercial music and majored in songwriting, said she’s felt a sense of pride that she’s representing her country in the choir. She heard family and friends — including Church members and those who aren’t — that they were planning to watch her sing.

“It’s such a great missionary tool,” she said.

Dil teaches music at a high school in Auckland, New Zealand, and was on the committee for the Auckland New Zealand Temple dedication and is the co-chair of a recently formed committee for the Church’s Pacific Area.

Before being a global choir member, he didn’t talk a lot about Church at his work, as religion can be a controversial topic. Now, he’s been able to talk more about singing with the Tabernacle Choir and share videos with work colleagues. “They have been so supportive, and there’s been so much love.”

Also, being a global member “helps me feel a stronger connection to the Church and that we’re a part of something bigger in the Lord’s kingdom and that we’re not just isolated at the bottom of the world; that we’re a part of a global family,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version had Laura Echarri’s name as Laura Echarri Jessops.