Living Faith

See photos of the Morehouse College and Spelman College glee clubs with the Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra during ‘Music & the Spoken Word’

‘I feel that we actually represent what the world ought to be about ... in which people would live together not in dissonance but in harmony,’ says Rev. Amos Brown

By Christine Rappleye Oct 23, 2023 4 p.m. EDT

The Morehouse College Glee Club and the Spelman College Glee Club perform with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square during the “Music & the Spoken Word.”

Living Faith

See photos of the Morehouse College and Spelman College glee clubs with the Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra during ‘Music & the Spoken Word’

‘I feel that we actually represent what the world ought to be about ... in which people would live together not in dissonance but in harmony,’ says Rev. Amos Brown

By Christine Rappleye Oct 23, 2023 4 p.m. EDT

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square and 30 singers from each of the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Spelman College Glee Club sang together during the “Music & the Spoken Word” in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Sunday, Oct. 22.

Morehouse College and Spelman College are private historically Black liberal arts colleges for men and women, respectively, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Morehouse College Glee Club, under the director of David Morrow, is the college’s premier singing organization and has traveled around the world, demonstrating excellence not only in choral performance but also in discipline, dedication and brotherhood, according to the Tabernacle Choir’s news release last week. Similarly, the historic Spelman College Glee Club, under the direction of Kevin Johnson, has maintained a reputation for choral excellence since 1924.

A closeup of about dozen of the Spelman College Glee Club members performing during “Music & the Spoken Word.”

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra opened with “In Hymns of Praise.” The choirs joined together for “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

Then each glee club sang an African American spiritual — the Morehouse College Glee Club sang “John Was a Writer” and “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” from the Spelman College Glee Club members.

All of their voices combined for Tabernacle Choir music director Mack Wilberg’s arrangements of “What a Wonderful World” and “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

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About nine members of the Morehouse College Glee Club are pictured as they perform with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square at their weekly Sunday broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word.”

The Rev. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, attended the “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast along with Rev. Amos C. Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, California; his wife, Jane Smith Brown; and Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, ChurchofJesusChrist.org reported.

The Rev. Carter said, “I thought if I could get the excellence of the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Spelman College Glee Club to be projected on the world wide web with the Tabernacle Choir, that would be a powerful, unifying, surprising, shattering of a stereotype.”

In April, the Rev. Carter presented President Russell M. Nelson the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize and hinted at the possibility of the three groups coming together.

Dean Lawrence Carter and Dr. Amos Brown applaud during “Music & the Spoken Word.”

The Rev. Brown is an alumnus of Morehouse College where he studied under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“To be here on the mountain for a momentous moment of celebrating Spelman College [and] Morehouse College glee clubs, and this international tradition of the Tabernacle Choir, bringing meaning to many souls through the instrumentality of music is a blessing,” said Rev. Brown. He added: “I feel that we actually represent what the world ought to be about — that beloved community that my teacher Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned in which people would live together not in dissonance but in harmony.”

Choir President Michael O. Leavitt said, “I had high expectations, but this exceeded it. There was a sense of peace. There was a sense of common unity in our shared beliefs. There was a new friendship, it was a remarkable moment in choir history.”

During Lloyd Newell’s “Spoken Word” message titled “Observing God’s hand in His handiwork,” he said: “We appreciate the unity of these musicians even as we recognize their individuality. Each voice is different, and each one makes a difference. Everyone is needed.”

The Morehouse College Glee Club and the Spelman College Glee Club perform with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

Music & the Spoken Word: Observing God’s hand in His handiwork

Wilberg conducted the opening and closing hymns. Morrow, of the Morehouse College Glee Club, conducted “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “John Was a Writer.” Johnson, of the Spelman College Glee Club, conducted “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” and “What A Wonderful World.”

The glee clubs performed two additional songs for the live audience in the Tabernacle — which included more than 3,000 people — and Morehouse organist David Oliver performed a solo.

Previous episodes of the “Music & the Spoken Word” are available for on-demand viewing on the choir’s YouTube channel. Other past guest articles for “Music & the Spoken Word” include the West Point Glee Club in November 2022, the Piano Guys piano-cello duo in August 2022, and tenor Emmet Chahill in July 2023. The “Music & the Spoken Word” is a weekly broadcast that began in 1929 and is considers the world’s longest continuous weekly network broadcast, ChurchofJesusChrist.org reported.

Photos from ‘Music & the Spoken Word’

Kevin Johnson conducts the Spelman and Morehouse college glee clubs with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

A wide view of the Spelman and Morehouse college glee clubs with the Tabernacle Choir.

David Morrow conducts the Morehouse and Spelman college glee clubs with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

David Morrow and Kevin Johnson are given framed photographs from their special performance with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

Mack Wilberg conducts the Morehouse and Spelman college glee clubs as they perform with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

The Orchestra at Temple Square performs in the Tabernacle.

Thurl Bailey shake hands with Marva Griffin Carter and Dean Lawrence Carter in the Tabernacle.

The audience listens in the Tabernacle to the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Spelman College Glee Club.

The audience gives a standing ovation to the Morehouse College Glee Club and the Spelman College Glee Club in the Tabernacle.

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