Skip to main content

CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR

OVER 170 YEARS OF MUSICAL EXCELLENCE

Founded in August 1847 by a small group of frontier settlers just 29 days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has evolved into a world-recognized, Grammy and Emmy® Award-winning musical organization that is unparalleled in its size, history, reach and versatility.

The Christmas concert is the largest undertaking of the Choir’s 75 performances each year. This includes their weekly, 30-minute live Music & the Spoken Word broadcast, which dates back to 1929 and is the longest continuously running weekly network broadcast in history. It is celebrating its 90th anniversary as a free nondenominational program of music and inspiration.

Though the Choir remains an all-volunteer force, its 360 members must each pass a rigorous, nine-month, four-phase audition process which includes 16 weeks of training that test not only their musical aptitude and range, but also their dedication to the Choir’s demanding rehearsal and performance schedule.

SALT LAKE CITY’S TEMPLE SQUARE

 

“This is one of the most beautiful venues to sing in because there’s no interruption from columns – it’s just open. It’s massive but has this feeling of intimacy. The moment I walked into the auditorium, I passed out. Not really, but I did do a big faint for everyone.” – Kristin Chenoweth

 

Salt Lake City’s Conference Center at Temple Square is a remarkable cultural and event space. Despite its size, there are no columns in the Center’s auditorium, leading to unobstructed views between the performers and audience, as well as an unexpected feeling of intimacy.

The Conference Center pays homage to the neighboring Tabernacle, a building of great historical significance built by early pioneers, which is the principal home of the Choir. (Summers and December are spent in the Conference Center.)

PAST PBS SPECIALS

The Choir Christmas concerts on PBS have been an annual tradition since 2004 and have been a Choir tradition for decades.


2022 (recorded 2021)" Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir featuring Megan Hilty and Neal McDonough

2021 (recorded 2019): 20 Years of Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir hosted by Brian Stokes Mitchell

2020 (recorded 2019): Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir featuring Kelli O'Hara & Richard Thomas 

2019 (recorded 2018): Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir featuring Kristin Chenoweth

2018 (recorded 2017): Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring Sutton Foster and Hugh Bonneville

2017 (recorded 2016): Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir featuring Rolando Villazón

2016 (recorded 2015): Broadway singer Laura Osnes, actor Martin Jarvis, and four Metropolitan Opera soloists

2015 (recorded 2014): Actor Santino Fontana and The Muppets from Sesame Street

2014 (recorded 2013): Soprano Deborah Voigt and actor John Rhys-Davies

2013 (recorded 2012): Tenor Alfie Boe and former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw

2012 (recorded 2011): Once Upon A Christmas with Nathan Gunn & Jane Seymour

2011 (recorded 2010): Pop singer David Archuleta and actor Michael York

2010 (recorded 2009): Jazz singer Natalie Cole and author and historian David McCullough

2009 (recorded 2008): Broadway singer Brian Stokes Mitchell and actor Edward Herrmann

2008 (recorded 2007): London-based a cappella group The King’s Singers

2007 (recorded 2006): Norwegian soprano Sissel

2006 (recorded 2005): Soprano Renée Fleming and actress Claire Bloom

2005 (recorded 2004): Actress Audra McDonald and actor Peter Graves

2004 (recorded 2003): Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and baritone Bryn Terfel

N/A (recorded 2002): Former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite

N/A (recorded 2001): Actress Angela Lansbury

N/A (recorded 2000): R&B singer Gladys Knight and actress Roma Downey

PRODUCING PARTNERS

BYUTV

BYUtv provides families more than 2,000 hours of entertaining and compelling programming they can enjoy together. The network's content is trusted, contemporary and clean, yet clever and sophisticated enough to inspire children and parents alike. BYUtv's diverse portfolio of original, co-produced and acquired content includes scripted and unscripted dramas and comedies, 700+ hours of live HD collegiate sports, game shows, and holiday special made-for-tv movies, docudramas and concerts. BYUtv is available in more than 50 million homes in every state of the country on DISH Network, DirecTV and 139 other major cable systems. A digital pioneer, BYUtv was the first U.S. television network to stream all of its content live and unencrypted over the internet. Today, BYUtv has more than two million YouTube subscribers and two billion views and is available live and on-demand on multiple digital platforms free of charge, including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Windows Media, digital apps for iOS and Android, and BYUtv.org. Based in Provo, Utah, BYUtv is part of BYU Broadcasting, which is owned by Brigham Young University.

GBH

GBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Arthur, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, and more than a dozen other primetime, lifestyle and children’s series. GBH’s television channels include WGBH 2, WGBX 44, and the digital channels World and Create. GBH Radio serves listeners across New England with 89.7 GBH, Boston’s Local NPR®; 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio Boston; and WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® Station. GBH also is a major source of programs for public radio (among them, PRI’s The World®), a leader in educational multimedia (including PBS LearningMedia™, providing the nation’s educators with free, curriculum-based digital content), and a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired audiences. GBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. Find more information at gbh.org.

PBS

PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’ broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. Decades of research confirms that PBS’ premier children’s media service, PBS KIDS, helps children build critical literacy, math and social-emotional skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality educational content on TV – including a 24/7 channel, online at pbskids.org, via an array of mobile apps and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by followingPBS Pressroom on Twitter.