Joining with Salt Lake City in celebrating the first anniversary of the hugely successful 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will add its 360 talented voices to the upcoming citywide 2003 Utah Winterfest celebration. As part of that event and under the direction of Dr. Craig Jessop, the choir will present two free miniconcerts on 2 and 9 February, following its regular live television and radio broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word from the Tabernacle on Temple Square.
These special concerts will begin at 10 a.m., following the conclusion of Music and the Spoken Word, which begins at 9:30. Those desiring to attend that broadcast and the miniconcerts are asked to be in their seats by 9:15, although additional patrons will be admitted to the Tabernacle at 10 a.m. on both days for the miniconcerts. No tickets are required, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is limited to those 6 years of age and older.
In keeping with the festive spirit of the Olympic Games anniversary and the Winterfest celebration, the choir’s miniconcerts will showcase some of its most-requested and all-time favorite musical selections, including “The Lord’s Prayer,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “America the Beautiful,” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Dr. Jessop also will lead the choir in a stirring arrangement of “The Battle of Jericho.”
In addition, the choir will extend its participation in the city’s Winterfest ceremonies by performing on Saturday, 8 February, near Rice-Eccles Stadium. Those festivities, which include the re-lighting of the Olympic flame, are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and conclude about 7:30 p.m. with the choir reprising the stirring John Williams Olympic theme “Call of the Champions” and a new arrangement of the beautiful song “Light the Fire Within,” which celebrates the theme of the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games.