Pepe Graduates from the TabCho

On Sunday, Jana and I traveled to Temple Square for the first time since the pandemic started. Temple Square renovation began just a few months before that, so really there hasn't been too much going on there in the past few years that we have missed.

Anyhow, the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are back as of a few months ago, and they are once again performing new "Music and the Spoken Word" broadcasts for the public each Sunday morning at 9:30. This particular occasion also marked the retirement of more than 30 TCAOATS members, including my lifelong friend, John "Pepe" Abercrombie.

Generally speaking, TabCho members may remain in the choir for 20 years or until age 55, whichever comes first. However, Pepe found a loophole to stay for about 22½ years altogether. He joined toward the end of 1999, and therefore, he reached his 20 years' mark at the end of 2019, with a planned retirement broadcast/concert set for the spring of 2020. As you all know by now, many live theater and musical groups (including Improvables!) closed down or postponed operations indefinitely at that time, which ended up being about 18 months for the TCAOATS. Ergo, this retirement ceremony featured a large number of retiring TabCho and Orchestra members who hit their 20-year marks or reached age 55 during the pandemic.

It was wonderful to be back in the historic Tabernacle. Likewise, it was wonderful to hear the TCAOATS live for the first time in years, because the TV broadcast just doesn't do justice to how great they sound in person. The retirement ceremony that followed the broadcast included conductor Mack Wilberg and Choir President Michael Leavitt (former governor of Utah) presenting plaques to each retiree.

It was good to run into a number of friends and other familiar faces who still perform with TCAOATS or who attended. As for Pepe, he tells me he'll spend the Thursday nights and Sunday mornings he now has free by looking for another musical group or groups to continue to sing with, which I'm sure will include at least his ward choir. It'll be odd not seeing his face among Choir members at future general conferences and concerts, but life goes on.