'The Mormon Choir Tabernacle'

At 9:30 a.m. on the dot, the magic begins. Everything comes together — just as it should.

· · · · ·

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been broadcasting from the Tabernacle since 1929. Over the years, it has been a kind of make-do proposition — making the best use of existing facilities and adding upgrades where possible. As new technology came along, recording and lighting devices were added in a mix-and-match fashion.

In 2005, when the Tabernacle was shut down for a remodel and seismic retrofitting, the decision was made to completely redo the choir's facilities and make them state-of-the-art, both in equipment and use of space.

"When President Hinckley saw those plans, it was cute," says Barrick. "He said, 'I get it. This is going to be the Mormon Choir Tabernacle.'

"But we are very fortunate to have a sponsoring organization that is willing to invest in us. This building has become immensely useful."

This was actually the third excavation under the Tabernacle, Barrick explains. The basement was added in 1967. Then in the 1980s, with the remodeling of the Assembly Hall, more work was done on the south side.

This latest renovation has added tunnels that connect to the Temple and Conference Center, as well as new working facilities.

New administrative offices have been put where the old baptistry used to be. For the first time, the administrators as well as the conductors and organists all have their offices in the Tabernacle, he says.

One of the great new additions, says Barrick, is the music library, which houses more than a million pieces of music. Checking that music in and out is a tremendous undertaking, says Tom Thomas, who, with his wife, Shirlene, manages the library. "For each broadcast we average about 2,000 pieces of music. With putting it out and checking it back in, that means we are handling 4,000 pieces each time."

Each choir member is assigned a locker by section number, S-65 for a soprano, for example, or T-15 for a tenor. Those lockers are loaded from the back, so the librarians place the day's music in the locker for the singer, and then can retrieve it after the performance. Each piece of music has a bar code, so it can be scanned and tracked, should something go missing.

The library also houses the orchestral music, all of Wilberg's arrangements and other musical references.

The same numbering convention carries over to the dressing rooms, where each singer is assigned a locker to hold outfits. For the women, that means eight different dresses; for the men, five different suits and a tuxedo.