The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra is composed of 360 voices and 110 musicians, all volunteer Latter-day Saints in good standing. President Ronald Reagan declared it to be America's Choir.
The Tabernacle Choir is available from Deseret Book.
The Choir began in the mid 1850s after the Latter-day Saints (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) entered the Salt Lake Valley and completed the historic tabernacle. In 1869, the first director was George Careless who helped to refine their talents. Increasing to over 300 voices, the choir performed at the 1873 Semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their first recording was made on September 1, 1910 as they sang "Let the Mountains Shout for Joy." And July 15, 1929, the choir performed for its first radio broadcast, "Music and the Spoken Word," which has continued every Sunday to the present. The orchestra was added in 1999.
Directed today by Mack Wilberg who has written many of their arrangements, their performances are among the finest.