Taking into consideration the enormous diversity of cultures that exist in the world, the director and organists often choose their Sunday-morning repertoire on an eclectic basis: People in most countries recognize classical works thus, pieces, either vocal or organ, come from such great composers as Bach, Mendelssohn, or Handel. вЂњThe Choir works under the direct supervision of the First Presidency, and our repertoire and daily operations keep pace with that direction.вЂќ вЂњI realize that there are members of the Church who do not understand that the Choir has a specific mission to the world, nor do they comprehend the enormous good the Choir does out there for the reputation of the Church,вЂќ says Jerold D. Those who voice these complaints, say Choir personnel, may not be looking beyond the вЂњCrossroads of the WestвЂќ to the wider mission of the Choir. The spoken portion of the weekly radio broadcasts also has its critics, mostly a few Church members who feel itвЂ™s too generic-that it isnвЂ™t specific enough to unique LDS doctrines and beliefs. Some feel the Choir should sing more hymns, others want more contemporary LDS music. The most common complaint is about the ChoirвЂ™s musical repertoire: some feel itвЂ™s too classical others say itвЂ™s too secular. Yet if there is criticism given, it generally comes from Church members. Tabernacle Choir concerts, featuring internationally famous guest artists, are taped and later broadcast as major television specials around the world. It has performed to packed audiences in some of the worldвЂ™s greatest concert halls in eighteen countries. In addition, the Choir annually gives concerts, not only in Salt Lake City and the United States, but throughout the world. (Only seventeen вЂњgoldвЂќ albums have ever been earned in classical music.) The Choir has produced more than one hundred albums, five of them вЂњgoldвЂќ-signifying that more than 500,000 copies have been sold. Within the U.S., call toll-free: 1-80.)ДЄs incongruous as it may seem, this nonprofit group of volunteer singers has truly become a superstar in the entertainment world. (For information about broadcast times and locations in your area, call Bonneville Media Communications, 80. The program is taped live by KSL Television in Salt Lake City and then aired on a one-week delayed basis on more than 280 television/cable systems (the number increases weekly) in the U. The Armed Services Radio Network also carries the Choir into twenty-two countries. and Canada and are broadcast on radio and television stations in some countries of Europe and the South Pacific. Tabernacle Choir programs are carried on approximately 450 radio stations in the U. вЂњMillions of people around the world experience the choir every week,вЂќ says Ailsa Williams, media representative for Music and the Spoken Word at Bonneville Media Corporation. ItвЂ™s very hard to quantify the value of the Spoken Word broadcast to us.вЂќ Worldwide Appeal

вЂњWe have an obligation to provide the kind of program that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir provides. Murphy, vice president of programming for the CBS Radio Network. вЂњPeople demand the Tabernacle Choir,вЂќ says Frank D. Why the enormous commitment to a church choir from Utah? Indeed, they donate the millions of dollars of air time as a public service. This feat is all the more astounding since neither CBS nor any of the other stations worldwide that carry the broadcast make money with it. In fact, youвЂ™re the only ones to have done it.вЂќ On the occasion of the ChoirвЂ™s 3,000th broadcast in 1987, John Burrows, vice president of the CBS Radio Network, wrote: вЂњThe chances of a program that started on a national network in 1929 still being broadcast вЂ¦ are very, very slim. On 16 July 1989, CBS Radio heralded the ChoirвЂ™s unprecedented sixtieth year of continuous weekly performances. Performed live from Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Music and the Spoken Word is the longest-running network radio program in the world. The audience responds comfortably to the sound that monograms the worldвЂ™s most recognizable choir. Low vibrations from the organ are felt almost before they are heard, and then 320 voices unite in singing, вЂњGently raise the sacred strain.вЂќ You could hear the famous pin drop now-but you donвЂ™t. There is a momentary burst of last-minute muffled coughing. begins, and a hush floats like a wave, row by row, through the Tabernacle.

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