What is it like? Touring with the Choir

First, let me tell you this, touring with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was the most well planned, well thought-out, organized experience I have ever had in the church. I kid you not. Everything was thought out and executed to perfection. This is an ecclectic post with pictures and thoughts about tour related to what it was like for me. It's work and it's fun. Tour is different for everyone so I'm just sharing what it was like for me.

I consider Barry Anderson (Tour Manager) someone akin to Moses or Brigham Young. Traveling with so many people and taking them to the "promised land" safely is not an easy task. I can barely handle going on a trip with just my family without going crazy but imagine traveling with around 600 people and their musical instruments (some of which are priceless). The execution of tour was a wonder to behold. There were days I would just look out and say, "Wow!"

From the beginning everything was in order.

Quite literally the ONLY thing I had to do was to be where the schedule told me to be and rested enough to perform. Food, lodging, transportation, wardrobe, and additional needs were all handled for us. I just showed up, changed clothes, performed, changed back and rested. That was it.

Waiting for the bus in New York. Schedules told us where to go and what to do. Here, everyone is waiting for the bus to arrive.

Wardrobe was trucked in these boxes and were set up at each venue before we arrived. We just changed into concert attire, performed and changed back and got on our buses. These boxes would then "magically" appear at the next venue.


It isn't magic. This video shows some of the work behind the scences from devoted volunteers and staff.

We were traveling with not only people but with instruments. Here are only a few of the cases that contain the bells. Of course we did not use all the bells but had to bring them all along.

The food on tour was amazingly delicious. They had plenty of fruits, vegetables and proteins. We were provided with ample good food to fuel us on our tour. The food was so good everyone was taking pictures of it. Eventually, we were told to stop taking pictures of the food so people waiting in line could get food more quickly. Haha.

Let me just tell you about the first day for example. I show up to the airport with my overhead luggage. (My larger suitcase was shipped by truck and was waiting for me in my hotel room in New York.) There were security and tour people there to guide us to what to do and where to go beginning at the airport. They were everywhere during tour so if anyone had a question there was someone on hand to answer it. I became friends with Dennis (tour/security detail) who had the kindest smile and was so helpful. We were guided what to do, where to go and we boarded the plane. We arrived in Baltimore and there were additional tour detail people who escorted us to buses on the runway at the airport and who took us to our hotel. At the hotel, there were people there at different points along the way guiding us. We were checked-in already and our room keys were on a table and we went straight up to our room. We then reported for dinner in a ballroom and had dinner together as a choir organization. The food was healthy, warm and delicious. This was the first time I traveled (since 9/11) that I didn't want to pull my hair out at the airport. Everything ran smoothly.

Tour is not Vacation

Before I make it sound like tour was some sort of vacation I should clarify that it is anything but a vacation. For me, and tour is different for everyone, there was a lot of work involved before and during tour. What some people don't know is that in the choir there are opportunities and callings to serve within the organization. For example, I have three additional areas where I help. I am on the Health Committee, the Social Media Committee and the Tour Video Committee. Each opportunity allows a choir member to serve others and support the mission of the choir. I was able to serve in each of these areas during tour. Surprisingly my work on the Health Committee was the most surprising. I loved it.

Some of the choir members preparing things for Sacrament Meeting in the hotel ballroom. They volunteered or were called to serve during tour. The music for Sacrament was fantastic

Buses, Standing, Walking and Waiting

There were long bus rides but I made it a point to sit by a lot of different people to get to know them better.

On the bus shennanigans. These guys are hilarious.

The bus was a mode of transportation. They were climate controlled with spotty wi-fi and included fun videos that helped to ease all the time we spent in traveling.

There were times we had to wait around at venues to perform as well. We stood at Yankee Stadium for a long, long time (a couple of hours) to perform a 4 minute program.

Dressed and ready. Here we are waiting below the stage before the concert in Boston. 

Waiting behind the stage at Bethel Woods (Woodstock). It's tight with so many people. I'm so grateful we have a "no-scented items" policy in place.

We arrived at West Point and took a tour in the morning but had a whole afternoon of waiting until performance time in the evening. It was near the end of our tour and the lack of rest and tour life were taking its toll. For a brief moment we rested where we could.

Uh, yes, sometimes we had to make do and rest wherever we could.

Of course, we also had fun during down time too.



This video clip is of choir members gathered around the piano in a ballroom at West Point Academy. We were given the music that morning and there was a rumor that this would be memorized. Everyone randomly gathered together in this room with a piano to go over parts and to try and memorize the song.


Walking to Carnegie Hall in our concert clothing was interesting. It was also interesting that we were followed by camera crews amid the New York people staring and wondering who we were and what we were doing. Tons of fun.

Walking through Times Square in concert attire was an interesting experience. Because there are so many characters and people dressed up on Times Square we were actually very normal looking. There we just a lot of us so eyebrows were raised.


Walking back from Carnegie Hall was also amazing and singing with random people seemed to be the order of the night. George M. Cohan would be proud.

The first night on tour Dennis and I made it to the Capitol and ran into the President's Own Band who we performed with last September. They were fantastic and it was great to talk to the conductor afterwards. Probably one of the highlights of tour for me.


When I mention it was work, I really mean that. It was especially busy for the choir public affairs group and social media team. I saw them working all day and heard about them working through the night to share things from the tour online. I worked on a project with them as well. They were really busy.

Eric Malizia is our social media guru and he worked all day, every day during tour. It was a seriously busy time for him. Here is taking a picture of a video screen of people singing with the choir, a feature at the different venues where we performed.

Here is Eric interviewing in the hotel lobby in Boston. Seriously, he was working throughout the entire trip. It was crazy busy.

For a choir member it was work. Schedules were very specific. Everyday was outlined and while they had "free time" the reality was that it was still structured free time. Lack of rest and health concerns were a constant issue for some as well. Tired feet from standing and walking so much. Dietary changes.

The balance between performing and resting was a great mix. We were allowed to rest enough to perform at our pique and so we had to choose wisely how to use our free time. I chose not to run around like a crazy man during free time so I could rest properly which is probably why I did not get sick near the end of tour.

There were many opportunities to share the message of the choir. I met an usher for our concert in Bethel Woods (Woodstock) and we started talking about the area and we ended up talking about the church our our beliefs. I challenged her to talk to the missionaries (sitting close by us) and I saw her talking to them before the concert. 

What is it like? Tour with the choir is an amazing experience. For me it was an example of what a house of order can be like even when that house is full of people with varying personalities. I'm sure Barry Anderson will be one of the organizing angels in heaven. He definitely has a gift.