Ski like hell, then hear some heavenly voices

SALT LAKE CITY — When you think of Utah, you might think of two things: (1) skiing, and (2) the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

It's easy to sample both on a quick visit.

From the same suburban Park-and-Ride where you can catch the Ski Bus, you can also catch Salt Lake's modern TRAX light-rail system directly to Temple Square, the world headquarters of the Mormon religion.

Rehearsals

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearses most Thursdays from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at the Latter-Day Saints Conference Center, 60 W. North Temple, on Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. Free and open to the public (visitors may come and go as they wish).

Sunday broadcasts

Attend the choir's weekly radio broadcast, "Music and the Spoken Word," Sundays from 9:30 to 10 a.m. in the Conference Center. Guests must be seated by 9:15. Free; limited to visitors 6 and older.

Organ recitals

Free organ recitals daily by the Tabernacle organists and by specially invited guest organists. The recitals begin at 12:05 p.m. Monday through Saturday (2:05 p.m. Sundays). From Memorial Day through Labor Day, recitals begin at 12:05 p.m. and at 2:05 p.m. (Sundays at 2:05 p.m. only). During the Tabernacle renovation, these recitals are performed on the Conference Center organ, and occasionally on the Assembly Hall organ.

More information

For more details, including a schedule of Christmas concerts, see www.mormontabernaclechoir.org. Or call 801-240-4150.

If you fly in on a Thursday morning, you can spend an afternoon skiing and still catch a free choir rehearsal that night. The world-famous, 360-member Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearses most Thursdays from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

For the past year, Temple Square's unique egg-shaped Tabernacle building, for which the choir is named, has been undergoing renovations, which will continue into early 2006. So the choir's rehearsals and broadcast Sunday performances (9:30 a.m.) are in the church's nearby LDS Conference Center.

While it's not historical, the 5-year-old Conference Center draws gasps from first-time visitors. I slowly swung my head to take in the ocean of 21,000 seats in an unpillared theater, dominated by a mammoth pipe organ with 7,667 gold-hued pipes glowing like molten ore under bright lights.

If you have the opportunity, attend the choir's Sunday performance. But for skiing visitors, the nighttime rehearsal is convenient and uncrowded. And there's a fascination to witnessing behind-the-scenes coaching from the choir director, who yaks a lot and makes the volunteer singers stop frequently.

"This guy sounds just like any choir director I ever had!" one visitor whispered to his companion.

When they do get things worked out — just the right cadence, or an elusive key achieved — the choir belts it out, the harmonies swell, the organ goes full tilt. And you'll feel a shiver down your back.

Brian J. Cantwell: 206-748-5724 or bcantwell@seattletimes.com