Temple Square’s Tabernacle Choir and Utah Symphony Orchestra will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elijah” at this year’s OC Tanner Gift of Music Concert.
Performances take place on Friday, February 17th and Saturday, February 18th at 7:30pm at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. This year marks his 40th anniversary of concerts that began in 1983, according to concert announcements on the choir’s website. Concerts are typically held every other year, but have been suspended for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets are free and required and restricted to ages 8 and up. They were available beginning Friday, January 20 at TabChoir.org/2023tannergift or by calling 801-570-0080 or 1-866-537-8457.
Thierry Fischer will conclude his tenure with the symphony at the end of the season, conducting his final Gift of Music performance with the Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony Orchestra.
The choir and symphony will be joined by soprano Susanna Phillips as soloist. Sasha Cook, alto; Matthew Polenzani (tenor); Kyle Ketersen on bass; All four have previously performed in choirs, symphonies, or both. A boy soprano from the Madeleine choir cathedral will also perform.
Ketersen performed Georg Friedrich Handel’s “Messiah” in 2014, and Cook was one of four soloists at the Metropolitan Opera to perform “Messiah” with the choir at Easter 2016.
“I am very honored to once again conduct the Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony before my tenure as music director ends. One of the pinnacles of my time spent in We are very grateful to his OC Tanner Gift of Music for allowing both performers and audiences to experience this monumental production,” Fisher said in a statement.
“Elijah” was performed in the 1987 Gift of Music concert series, directed by Jerrold Otley. Mendelssohn composed his oratorio in 1846 and revised it in 1847, making it the last work by a German composer to be premiered during his lifetime.
The concert was the idea of neighbors Obert C. Tanner (businessman and philanthropist) and President Gordon B. Hinckley (then an Apostle and later president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) to promote community unity. was helpful. Concerts are funded by donations from Obert C. and Grace Tanner.
Past concerts include:
1983: “Requiem” by Giuseppe Verdi
1985: Americana Music
1989: Opera and concert selection with Kirite Kanawa
1991: Selection of operas and concerts with Frederica von Stadt
1994: “Requiem” by Hector Berlioz
1996: “American Requiem” by Jaime Demers
1998: “Atlantic Bridge” with The King’s Singers
1999: “Requiem” by Johannes Brahms
2000: “Hody” by Vaughan Williams
2002: Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler. 8
2005: ‘A Celtic Celebration’ by Ronan Tynan and the Leahy Band
2008: “American Songbook” with Dennis Graves and Brian Stokes Mitchell
2009: Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. 2
2013: 30th Anniversary Gala featuring singer-songwriter James Taylor
2016: Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. 8 (Ask at thetabernaclechoir.org)
2019: Bryan Stokes Mitchell and Megan Hilti join Golden Spike 150th Birthday Celebration