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ATLANTA — Singers from Utah to Georgia came together in a powerful show of unity.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square shared the stage Monday evening with two historically Black colleges in Atlanta. The Utah-based choir performed with the Morehouse College and Spelman College glee clubs at the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, bringing the audience to their feet numerous times throughout the concert.
It's part of the Tabernacle Choir's tour of the southeastern United States, and it's a continuation of the collaboration between the singing groups that began last year.
"I think that the Tabernacle Choir being with us on our campuses is a wonderful thing," said Elijah Gatling, a Morehouse College student and member of the school's glee club. "It's pretty much indescribable for me."
'It feels like home'
For the singers of the Spelman College Glee Club – which bills itself as the "oldest collegiate choir of African American women in the United States" – rehearsing is nothing new.
But Monday's run-through before the evening concert felt a little bit different for Simone Moales.
"It feels amazing. It feels like home," said Moales. "It feels like reuniting with family."
In this case, that family is the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
"I am more than excited — beyond excited — and extremely honored that the Tabernacle Choir saw fit to come to our home and share their songs of hope with us," Moales said.
The choir is visiting Florida and Georgia on this leg of what's called the "Hope" tour.
"The theme of our concert is songs of hope," said Michael Leavitt, Tabernacle Choir president. "We want to remind them that hope is alive, and that hope is found in Jesus Christ and the goodness of helping our fellow man."
An unlikely partnership
The collaboration between the choir and the two colleges started last year when Morehouse honored President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Nelson has made outreach to the African American community a top priority, especially since 2018 when the Church marked 40 years since the ending of a policy that limited Black members' participation in the faith.
Part of that outreach is the collaboration with Spelman and Morehouse. They sang together in Utah last year on the program "Music and the Spoken Word."
Now, they're joining their voices in the south. The groups will perform again Wednesday evening at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
"I never would have imagined that that would happen," said Leslie Darcas, a member of the Tabernacle Choir, of the collaboration with Morehouse and Spelman. "But it's an amazing thing that has come about."
It's something the singers said is building a bridge in a divided world.
"With the state of our government, with the state of our nation, with the state of the world, we needed to see love amongst people from different walks of life," said Gatling, the Morehouse College student. "I think this is what we needed."
"If these two concerts have any inkling of hope in them – any inkling of freedom, any inkling of opportunity for us to unite – then I think we've done our job," Moales said.
