The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square arrived in Atlanta for a unique performance at Morehouse College on Monday, Sept. 9, coinciding with President Russell M. Nelson’s 100th birthday.
The choir is reuniting with the Morehouse and Spelman colleges glee clubs for a concert with a Southern flare. Two Daily Universe reporters are in Atlanta to report on the performance at one of the nation's most prestigious historically Black colleges.
The choir and glee clubs performed together in October 2023 in Salt Lake City for a broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word." Tabernacle Choir member Krista Paulson recalled fondly singing with the Morehouse and Spelman students.
“When we found out we were singing with them again, I just was like, 'This is going to be special,'" Paulson said Monday on the Morehouse campus. "This will be very special.”
Morehouse College holds much historical significance for the Black community. Its alumni include leaders in politics, science and academia. One such alum is 1991 graduate U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. Warnock is a senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church once led by Rev. Martin Luther King Sr.
Morehouse College is also the alma mater of the civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination in March 1968, a funeral procession traveled from Ebenezer Baptist Church to Morehouse. King Jr. famously had pre-recorded his own eulogy in case he was killed during the turbulence of the civil rights movement.
Morehouse College has also become significant for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church President Russell M. Nelson was awarded the Ghandi-King-Mandela Peace Prize from the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse in 2023. The award is presented to people who lead positive social change through nonviolent means. President Nelson's portrait hangs in the chapel next to that of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Both President Nelson and King Jr. are known for using the doctrine and teachings of Jesus Christ in their advocacy for peace, justice and equality. The Tabernacle Choir's performance includes hymns and gospel teachings with similar messages.
Another member of the choir, Cami Purtschert, said music brings people together.
“Regardless of what our difference of faith was or whatever our belief system, it didn't matter, because song — it breaks down all barriers," she said. "Everyone can understand and feel the Spirit through song, regardless of who you are or where you're from.”
Paulson also talked about the experience of connecting with people from different backgrounds.
“It’s spirit to spirit, human to human, heart to heart, and we get to do that through music, but also just having these experiences of being with people that have walked in different shoes,” Paulson said.
The Tabernacle Choir and glee clubs performance is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. ET. Streaming is available on the choir's YouTube channel. The choir will remain in Atlanta for several more days to perform at the Georgia State Capitol and State Farm Arena in remembrance of 9/11.
Watch parties for the Sept. 9 concert are being organized by Church congregations in Georgia and extending as far away as Ghana.
The choir performed in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 7, as part of the North America Southeast leg of their global tour. They were joined by Latina singer Adassa for a bilingual concert. The choir tour company consists of more than 300 vocalists and 80 orchestra members, as well as support staff. The choir travels with its own organ and risers.