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SALT LAKE CITY — A composer, arranger, guest conductor and former Brigham Young University music professor has been named the new music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Mack Wilberg replaces Craig Jessop, who abruptly resigned last month from one of the most treasured institutions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church.
Wilberg was the associate director under Jessop and served as interim director after Jessop stepped down after eight years in the position. He said he wanted to teach and spend more time with his family.
"It's a bit of a pressure cooker, but the best kind," Wilberg said of directing the choir.
As music director, Wilberg will oversee musical and creative aspects of the choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, the Temple Square Chorale and the Bells on Temple Square, including selecting repertoire for concerts, recordings and tours. He will also oversee the creative direction for the church's weekly "Music and the Spoken Word" broadcast.
Jessop conducted the choir and Utah Symphony at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, working with world-renowned artists Sting and Yo-Yo Ma.
Under Jessop, the choir launched a private record label in 2003 and released more than 10 albums. Several of those topped Billboard's Classical Music chart.
Mac Christensen, president of the choir, said that before Jessop became director in 1999, choir tours didn't draw huge crowds. Now, he said, they can "fill an NBA arena with more than 14,000 people. Last year alone we had a million request for tickets to the Christmas concert."
