Five Europeans have been selected to sing with the Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The occasion is the Church’s General Conference held 5-6 October 2024.

The participants are Christian Wolfert and Florence C. Meissner-Adamer from Germany, Elise Gauthier from Austria and France, Laura Echarri Hermoso from Spain, and Nicolas Watbled from France.

Due to the Tabernacle Choir’s rigorous practice schedule, Choir members are required to live near Salt Lake City, but in 2023, a new Global Participants Programme began to include singers living outside the United States. Since then, the programme has continued as the Choir has welcomed more global participants during each subsequent General Conference event. This opens the door for others with exceptional musical abilities to also engage on a temporary basis, allowing the Choir to be represented by individuals from all over the world.

When Christian Wolfert, originally from Stadthagen, now of Frankfurt, Germany, was seven years old, he was humming in a class at church and his teacher said, “who is humming wrongly in the back?”  This was because he was already singing an octave lower than the other kids.  That did not deter Wolfert, who continued to sing in school and church choirs. He said, “I am grateful for the many people that fostered my development as a singer; apparently I had a loud voice but needed some fine tuning for hitting the right notes.” As a young adult Wolfert helped create a choir of his peers that toured Europe comprised of singers from Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark singing a religious repertoire.  He shared that “feeling the Spirit means connecting with the divine and feeling God’s love and singing helps me do that. I hope everyone feels that God loves them when listening.”

Those who were invited to audition for the choir were required to send in a recording, have an on-line interview and a technical audition. The last requirement was a 15-minute live online audition with the Assistant conductor of the Tabernacle Choir, Ryan Murphy, and Cherilyn Worthen, Director of the Choir School for the Tabernacle Choir. “These were quite possibly some of the most excruciating 15 minutes of my life!” explained Wolfert.

The Global Participants traveled to Salt Lake City two weeks ago to begin practicing with the Choir. In addition to their participation, each participant receives a calling to be an ambassador for the Church and share their goodwill and faith through music. The global participants speak different languages and have different life circumstances, but they share a passion for music and a desire to share it with others.