Organ Recitals at the Tabernacle on Temple Square

03/12/2026

The daily organ recitals in 2026 will all take place in the Tabernacle while the Conference Center undergoes construction and remodeling in preparation for next year's Salt Lake Temple open house. A second recital will be played in the Tabernacle on Mondays through Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. from Memorial Day (May 25, 2026) through Labor Day (September 7, 2026). Please note that no organ recitals will be held on Saturday, April 4; Sunday, April 5; Friday, April 17; Saturday, October 3; and Sunday, October 4. More information regarding the Conference Center closure can be found at

The Conference Center in Salt Lake City will close from late March 2026 to March 2027, except for general conference and other major scheduled events. Conference Center parking and access to parking elevators will remain open.

01/28/2026

On Friday, January 30, 2026 at 7:30 p.m., renowned British organist and conductor, Daniel Hyde, will play a brilliant and varied program on the Tabernacle organ as part of the Virtuoso Organ Performance Series. Mr. Hyde has been Director of Music at King's College in Cambridge, UK, since 2019 and previously held positions at Jesus College (Cambridge); Magdalen College (Oxford); and St. Thomas Church (New York City). Admission is free but limited to those eight years of age and older. Further information can beis at https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/organ-virtuoso-daniel-hyde?lang=eng.

12/30/2025

The daily organ recitals will be held in the Conference Center (across the street) instead of the Tabernacle on Monday, Dec. 29 and Tuesday, Dec. 30 due to preparations for the funeral of President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The noon recital on Wednesday, Dec. 31 is canceled. The daily recitals will be held as usual in the Tabernacle from January 1 through the end of the week.

Funeral services for President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be held in the Tabernacle on Temple Square on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.

11/07/2025

The 2025-26 season of the Virtuoso Organ Recital Series at the Salt Lake Tabernacle continues on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. with principal Tabernacle organist Richard Elliott in a recital featuring music by Bach, Mozart, Reger, Widor, Dupré, Joyce Jones, William Grant Still, and Richard Elliott.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Richard Elliott earned his Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, later receiving master’s and doctoral degrees from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Prior to his appointment as a Tabernacle Organist in 1991, he spent three years on the full-time music faculty of Brigham Young University. A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, he has performed at national and regional conventions of the guild. He has traveled extensively as a solo recitalist, with performances on five continents, and previously served as an assistant organist at the John Wanamaker Department Store (later Macy’s) in Philadelphia, home to the world’s largest fully functioning pipe organ.

Admission is free (no tickets required) but is limited to those 8 years of age and older.

09/29/2025

Due to a special tribute broadcast as well as the funeral for President Russell M. Nelson, the daily noon organ recitals will not take place on Tuesday, September 30; Wednesday, October 1; and Tuesday, October 7. We apologize for any inconvenience to our visitors. Information on the broadcast and funeral can be found at

All are invited to view a special broadcast honoring Russell M. Nelson on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. His public viewing will be on October 6. And his funeral will be on October 7.

09/06/2025

The 2025-26 season of the Virtuoso Organ Recital Series at the Salt Lake Tabernacle opens on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. with distinguished organist Lynn Trapp in a recital featuring a varied program of music by Albert Alain, J. S. Bach, Nadia Boulanger, Alexandre Guilmant, Herbert Howells, and Lynn Trapp.

Lynn Trapp enjoys a career as concert organist, conductor, composer, pianist, and liturgist. Since 2015 he has served as Director of Liturgy & Music at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Baltimore, MD, where he oversees the liturgical minister program, is choirmaster and organist/pianist, and leads a professional scholar singer program and concert series. There he recently led the design and installation of a large new pipe organ built by Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. Prior to this appointment, he served at the St. Olaf Church in downtown Minneapolis for 20 years. He is an active organ recitalist in the US and Europe and has more than 100 organ, choral, and instrumental compositions held by several major publishers. Since 1997, as founder and codirector of the American Pilgrimage Choir, he has led performance tours to many European countries and the Holy Land. He is a frequent presenter and recitalist at sacred music and worship conferences.

Admission is free (no tickets required) but is limited to those 8 years of age and older.

08/27/2025

IMPORTANT NOTICE: there will be no organ recitals on Temple Square beginning today (Wednesday, August 27) through next Monday, September 1st, due to an unavoidable confluence of circumstances. The Conference Center is closed through Monday to aid in preparations for a large public event this weekend, and the major renovation work on the Tabernacle organ is not quite finished. The organ crew needs every single minute to get the Tabernacle organ ready for the return of the Tabernacle Choir for Sunday's "Music & the Spoken Word" broadcast. In addition, the instrument is not entirely ready for a public hearing since much of the pipework has not yet been reconnected or tuned.

Please join us from September 2nd onwards to hear the Tabernacle organ as it sports all new leather in approximately 80% of the instrument. (The remaining 20% of the leather will be replaced in 2026, but we do not anticipate having to completely shut down the organ as was done this summer and in the summer of 2024.) Thank you for your patience!

04/30/2025

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE DAILY ORGAN RECITAL SCHEDULE AND LOCATIONS: The daily organ recitals will move from the Tabernacle to the Conference Center on Monday, May 12, 2025 and will remain there until further notice (most likely until mid- to late August 2025). This will facilitate the much-needed replacement of aging leather components in the windchests of the Tabernacle organ. While the normal summer schedule also includes the addition of a second daily recital on Mondays through Saturdays at 2:00 p.m., that will not be the case in the summer of 2025 for various reasons. Also, due to a recording session in the Tabernacle on Saturday, May 10, the noon recital that day will be moved to the Conference Center. The recital on Sunday, May 11 will remain in the Tabernacle (at 2:00 p.m.)

Here is a summary of the schedule for May 12 through approximately August 17:

· Mondays through Saturdays: organ recital at 12:00-12:30 p.m. in the Conference Center
· Sundays: organ recital at 2:00-2:30 p.m. in the Conference Center
· No recitals in the Tabernacle
· Enter the Conference Center through doors 5-12 on the southwest corner of the building

We apologize for any inconvenience to our guests.

01/27/2025

The 2024-25 season of the Virtuoso Organ Recital Series at the Salt Lake Tabernacle continues on Friday, February 7, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. with renowned organist James Welch in a recital featuring a varied program of music by J. S. Bach and Charles-Marie Widor, as well as compositions by Richard Purvis and Dale Wood–each subjects of extended biographies written by Dr. Welch.

James Welch received a doctor of musical arts degree in organ performance from Stanford University, where he studied under Herbert Nanney and served as assistant university organist. Welch taught on the music faculties of the University of California, Santa Barbara and Santa Clara University. He has concertized internationally, with performances in such prestigious venues as Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and the Salt Lake Tabernacle at Temple Square. He has also performed and taught in Beijing, Taipei, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Jerusalem. Many of his recorded performances have been aired on American Public Media’s Pipedreams program. His travels, studies, and performances on historical and modern instruments throughout the world have given him a sure command of many styles of music. Critics in the US and abroad have praised him for his technical facility, solid musicianship, and creative programming. He currently lives in Provo, Utah, where he continues his teaching and performing.

11/30/2024

Christmas on Temple Square is now in full-swing, and the 30-minute daily organ recitals are one of many offerings for visitors wishing to savor the spirit of the season. The recitals, which are played by members of the Tabernacle Choir organ staff and other members of the organization, include a wide variety of Christmas selections during the holiday season. During the winter months, the recitals are held in the Tabernacle on Mondays through Saturdays at 12:00 noon and on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free, and no tickets are required.

09/06/2024

We mourn the loss and honor the memory of Bill Hesterman, who recently passed away following an extended illness. Bill loved the Tabernacle organ and played a huge role in its maintenance and preservation over many years. We express our condolences to Bill's family.

View William "Bill" Hesterman's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.