Osmonds will sing with choir

Call it a little bit Tab Choir, a little bit rock 'n' roll.

Less than a week after Donny and Marie Osmond announced a 26-week headlining gig in the glitz and glam of Las Vegas, the entire Osmond family announced plans to join up with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for a Pioneer Day concert.

The free concert will run for two nights, at 7:30 p.m. July 25 and 26, in the downtown Salt Lake Conference Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"This has truly been an amazing year for our family," said Jimmy Osmond in a prepared statement distributed by the LDS Church on Monday. The youngest of the Osmond brothers called the choir's invitation "a great personal honor for us."

The concert will be a retrospective on the Osmonds' 50 years of performances, the LDS Church said. The program will showcase the choir, and at the same time feature "some of the wonderful music the Osmonds are famous for," said music director Mack Wilberg, who will conduct the concerts.

"The members of this wonderful musical family are true pioneers, not only as Latter-day Saints in the entertainment business, but also as landmark recording and performing artists, and so they are a great fit for this concert," Wilberg said.

Tickets for the show that will combine two of Utah's most famous musical acts — outside of American Idol star David Archuleta, perhaps — are free, but will be distributed through a random selection process because of the anticipated demand. Those interested in tickets can register by calling 801-570-0080 or 1-866-LDS-TIKS or going online to www.lds.org/events. Tickets will be distributed May 24 through June 2.

Earlier this month, Donny and Marie announced a deal with the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel to headline 26 weeks' worth of shows spread over eight months. Tickets to the variety show will run $85, $99 and $115.

The pop-culture icons already have sold out a weeklong engagement at the MGM Grand. The variety-show veterans — Donny and Marie hosted their own show on ABC in the 1970s and Marie had her own show in 1980 — also recently hosted the Miss USA pageant.

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