Why the Tabernacle Choir’s next ‘Music and the Spoken Word’ broadcast is so significant
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The Rev. Lawrence Carter, dean of Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta, is a longtime fan of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. So when he presented Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize earlier this year, he also teased that a special music collaboration was on the horizon.
“You have led your church to invest mightily in the future development of African American, servant-scholar leadership at Morehouse College and our sister institution, Spelman College,” the Rev. Carter said at one point during the ceremony that honored President Nelson for working “tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than create walls of segregation,” the Deseret News previously reported.
Related
The Rev. Carter later said the glee clubs for both of those colleges were actively exploring a future performance with the Tabernacle Choir.
Now, six months later, that idea is coming to fruition.
The glee clubs for the two historically Black liberal arts colleges will travel to Salt Lake City to join the Tabernacle Choir for a special broadcast of “Music and the Spoken Word” on Sunday, Oct. 22.
“These are both distinguished and well-respected choral groups, and we are honored to have them join us,” Michael O. Leavitt, president of the choir, said in a news release shared with the Deseret News.
‘The next step in this valued relationship’
In a way, this upcoming “Music and the Spoken Word” performance has been years in the making.
Five years ago, President Nelson stood with the NAACP and issued a call for an end to prejudice, and for greater racial and ethnic harmony, during a historic news conference held near Temple Square, the Deseret News reported. It marked the first time leaders of the church and the civil rights group had officially met.
Throughout his administration, President Nelson has linked arms with the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund and Black pastors. He’s issued — and acted on — joint calls for racial harmony, announcing church donations to go toward inner-city Black communities and for scholarships for Black college students in Atlanta, per the Deseret News.
“You have inspired your church to radical inclusivity and solidarity by taking a stand for the rights of women and children and to preserve the intellectual, personal, social and religious freedoms and protection of all humankind,” the Rev. Carter told President Nelson as he presented him with the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize in April.
Now, the Morehouse College and Spelman College glee clubs joining the choir for “Music and the Spoken Word” “is the next step in this valued relationship,” according to the news release.
A look at the Morehouse College, Spelman College glee clubs
The Morehouse College Glee Club has traveled all over the world, “demonstrating excellence not only in choral performance but also in discipline, dedication, and brotherhood,” according to the news release.
Performance highlights for the glee club, which has been around for more than 100 years, have included singing the national anthem with Natalie Cole at the Super Bowl in 1994, and participating with Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan and Trisha Yearwood in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, per the club’s website.
Since 1924, the Spelman College Glee Club has performed “selections from world cultures, commissioned works, sacred and secular choral literature, African American spirituals, and music by African American composers, all with a particular focus on harmonies that complement women’s voices,” according to the news release.
Performance highlights for the glee club include a concert at the White House for then-President Barack Obama in 2016, and a performance the following year at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, per the club’s website. The Spelman Glee Club has also shared the stage with Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder.
How to watch ‘Music and the Spoken Word’
“Music and the Spoken Word,” held at the Tabernacle on Temple Square, airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. MDT.
The 30-minute program is streamed live on the Tabernacle Choir’s YouTube channel and can be viewed on-demand after it airs. Viewers can also catch the program online via the choir’s website, Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, BYUtv.org, and through the KSL app.
For more information, visit thetabernaclechoir.org.
