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The
Artists
 The
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Established soon after the Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, the 360-voice all-volunteer Mormon Tabernacle Choir is one of the world's most renowned choirs. From its inception in 1847, it has risen to international prominence through its national and international tours, broadcasts, and its many recordings for CBS Records, Telarc and now on its own Mormon Tabernacle Choir® label. With more than 150 recordings, five having achieved gold record status and two receiving platinum status, the Choir is the largest-selling recorded choir in the world. Its weekly broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word, is heard on more than 2,000 radio, TV and cable networks. It is the longest continuous network broadcast in the world--now in its 77 th year. Among the Choir's many awards are the Grammy, an Emmy and a Public Service Peabody Award. The Choir has performed for 10 presidents, including six inaugurals. After its performance at President Reagan's inauguration in 1981, the President dubbed it "America's Choir." More than 3.5 billion TV viewers saw the Choir perform at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. President George W. Bush awarded the Choir the National Medal of Arts--the nation's highest award for artistic excellence--in 2003.
 Craig
Jessop
Music Director, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Craig Jessop was appointed Music Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in December 1999, after having served as the Choir's associate director since 1995. In addition to his duties as leader of the Choir, Jessop also oversees the Orchestra at Temple Square and the Temple Square Chorale, companion organizations to the Choir formed in 1999. Jessop sang with the Choir for four years while attending Utah State University and Brigham Young University. He received his doctorate of musical arts degree from Stanford University. In addition to his work as a conductor, Dr. Jessop has been active as a baritone vocalist, first as a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and later with the choirs of Helmut Rilling and John Rutter and with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers. Before his appointment with the Choir, Dr. Jessop was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force music programs.
 Audra McDonald
By the time she was 28, Audra McDonald had made Broadway history by winning Tony Awards for Carousel, Master Class, and Ragtime. Ms. McDonald recently won her fourth Tony for Best Supporting Actress for a revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. This remarkable achievement puts her in company with such four-time winners as Angela Lansbury and Gwen Vernon. In 2000, s he earned a Best Actress Tony nomination for Marie Christine, a musical retelling of the Medea myth, created for her by Michael John LaChiusa. Since then, she has distinguished herself as a concert performer, recording artist, and dramatic actress, adding an Emmy nomination to her expanding list of critical and popular acclaim. Other career highlights have included performances at the Proms Festival in London, the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Born into a musical family, Audra McDonald grew up in Fresno, California. She received her classical vocal training at the Juilliard School, graduating in 1993.
 Peter Graves
Peter Graves has had an enormously successful acting career in film, spanning from the classic Stalag 17 to the comic Airplane, and an equally rewarding television career, encompassing more than a half-dozen series, several miniseries, and numerous movies for television. He starred in the original television series of Mission Impossible for six of the seven years it aired on CBS-TV (1966-1973). This role firmly established him as a star of international importance, a status that continues undiminished. Since 1987, Mr. Graves has hosted A&E Television's flagship series Biography, which has earned some of the network's highest ratings. Mr. Graves is also an accomplished musician, a talent he developed early in his youth. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he served for two years. He met his wife, Joan Endress, at the University of Minnesota, where he was a drama major, and they have been married since 1950.
 Mack Wilberg
Associate Director, Mormon Tabernacle
Choir
Dr. Mack Wilberg was appointed Conductor of the Temple Square Chorale and Associate Music Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in May 1999. Wilberg is the former director of choral activities at Brigham Young University, where he conducted the Concert Choir and the 240-voice Men's Chorus. In addition to his conducting responsibilities, he taught graduate and undergraduate music courses at BYU. Wilberg is an active concert pianist, chamber musician, clinician, composer, arranger and guest conductor throughout the United States and abroad. His compositions and arrangements are consistently performed and recorded throughout the world and published by Oxford University Press and Hinshaw Music. Wilberg received his master's and doctorate of musical arts degrees from the University of Southern California.
 The
Orchestra at Temple Square
The Orchestra at Temple Square frequently accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The 110-member all-volunteer companion organization was created in 1999 as the standing orchestra of the Choir. Previously, the Choir had been accompanied by such acclaimed instrumental groups as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Utah Symphony. The Orchestra at Temple Square has developed into a nationally recognized symphony orchestra in its own right. Under the direction of Igor Gruppman, Conductor, the Orchestra functions concurrently as a concert orchestra and as a companion volunteer organization to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Temple Square Chorale.
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