In 2014, Sheryl Moser left Rexburg with her music diploma in hand and over five years of experience as one of the voices of BYU-Idaho’s Collegiate Singers. Soon after, she auditioned for the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square—her home for the last 10 years.
Moser’s first performance with the Tabernacle Choir was as a Collegiate Singer in their weekly broadcast program directed by Mack Wilberg, "Music and the Spoken Word.” That memory returned to her on Sunday, March 23, as the voices of 45 BYU-Idaho students reverberated through the Tabernacle at Temple Square.
The singers performed two solo pieces, conducted by BYU-Idaho Director of Choral Activities Randall Kempton. Then, for the closing hymn, the students joined the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra for a piece conducted by Wilberg.
“The Tabernacle Choir rehearsal process is very professional,” Kempton said. “They're very focused. As the students observe and experience that, they learn what it takes to perform at a professional level with organizations like the Tabernacle Choir.”
Most of the Winter 2025 Collegiate Singers are majoring in music, which makes the experience a great asset to their future careers.
David Djambov, an organ performance major, highlighted how this type of experience is important to music performance students.
“Having opportunities to perform at high profile places—where there's potentially a lot of pressure—but also working with great musicians like Mack Wilberg and the Tabernacle Choir is super valuable,” Djambov said.
“We were working on the music and making it as polished as it could be,” said Thomas Farr, a music education major and member of the Collegiate Singers. “It was also just great practice in how to pace something like that. We were very much down to the second with how long each song could be to fit into the broadcast.”
On the day before the performance, the Collegiate Singers also performed a full concert at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Salt Lake City. Conducted by Kempton, the choir showcased a vast repertoire of songs—all centered around celebrating the Easter season.
Djambov had an organ solo in the program, which featured conducting by Farr, vocal solos, improvisational pieces, and songs accompanied by students playing the saxophone, violin, and harmonica.
On the drive back to Rexburg, the choir also made two stops along the way to sing at different church meetings.
“We performed four times in that twenty-four-hour period. It was good to feel that pacing and what it would be like on a more regular basis if we went into this professionally and were touring regularly,” Farr said.
The Music and Spoken Word broadcast featuring BYU-Idaho’s Collegiate Singers is available to watch at https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/march-23rd-2025the-evidence-of-faith.