Two French singers earn a place in the famous Tabernacle Choir [Tabernacle Choir]

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Esther lives in Bordeaux, a city in southwestern France. Clément lives in Reims, in north-eastern France. Now they have a new and unexpected bond. Both were selected as international participants of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square in the state of Utah, (USA). They will sing with the choir during the World General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 6-7, 2024.

Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The award-winning Tabernacle Choir is one of the largest and oldest choirs in the world. The Choir has performed in front of audiences in over 28 countries and has sold millions of records.

Born in Strasbourg, Esther Petion is the ninth of ten brothers and sisters raised in a musical family. As children, all her brothers and sisters learned to sing and play an instrument, including her, who later made singing her profession. At the age of seven, she Esther couldn’t wait to start attending the Strasbourg conservatory, to learn music theory and to sing in the children’s choir. She learned the basics of the piano from her mother, and at the age of nine she added the cello to her repertoire.

Today Esther lives in Bordeaux and works as a speech therapist for children and adults. Plus, she never misses an opportunity to sing. “I’m not a professional,” Esther explained, “but I’ve always liked singing for pure pleasure and to express my joy.” She sang in many choirs at the conservatory and in church. Like her mother and most of her sisters, Esther is a soprano. “Singing with the Tabernacle Choir will be an incredible musical experience and an opportunity to offer my voice to the Lord.”

Esther will travel to Salt Lake City together with Clément Jouault, a bass-baritone born in Bordeaux but now living in Reims with his wife and daughter. Clément is an air traffic controller, an amateur pastry chef and a serious musician. He is not a professional singer, but almost.

There was never a shortage of music in Clément’s house, and it was there that he started learning to play the piano at the age of five. His parents immediately saw something in Clément and did not allow him to abandon lessons when he was tempted to do so. Their support and patience allowed him to continue studying the piano. During his high school years, he accompanied various singers on the piano and was an active member in his local congregation’s choir, directed by a professional musician.

When, ten years ago, Clément moved with his family to Reims to pursue his career in the air traffic sector, his musical life took a turning point because he applied to enter the Reims conservatory, not to study piano, but opera singing. “That’s when my true adventure as a singer began,” Clément observed. With the help of high-level teachers and opera singers, he managed to take part in professional productions, including Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”.

“Singing with the Tabernacle Choir has always been one of my dreams. At one point, I even thought about moving to Utah, working for the Salt Lake City airport, studying music at Brigham Young University and audition for the Choir, but it didn’t go that way,” Clément explained. “When I heard about this program I was impressed.”

After being recommended by the Central Europe Area Presidency, both Esther and Clément received an email from the Tabernacle Choir with an invitation to come in for an audition. The process took around ten weeks, and started with an online interview which served to explain the practical details. After that, there was the technical audition. They had about a month to record their voices with different performance modes, then sent the recordings to the examining committee.

The most nerve-wracking test for both was the 15-minute live online audition with Ryan Murphy, assistant director of the Tabernacle Choir. “He was very kind and professional, plus he speaks French,” they both said. A few weeks later, they received an email with the final result.

Clément says: “One morning I grabbed my phone to turn off the alarm and saw that there were some emails. One of these was from the Choir and began with the word ‘Congratulations’. So I woke up my wife and told her, ‘I did it!’”

“When I saw the email, I was overwhelmed by so many emotions” recalls Esther. “I was surprised, happy, curious and anxious for the adventure that awaited me. I was really excited. Above all, however, I was immensely grateful to Heavenly Father.”

Esther and Clément will have a few weeks available to learn the 11 musical pieces that they will perform with the Tabernacle Choir. Once they arrive in Salt Lake City, two weeks before the Conference, they will be appointed musical missionaries and will spend all their time preparing for performances. Both are deeply grateful to have the opportunity to be called as missionaries. “This means a lot to me because I have never served as a missionary,” Esther said. “Now this is my mission, and it’s made especially for me. I believe that Heavenly Father has a special way to ensure that each of us can witness His Son and His mercy.”

These two French singers will be official members of the Tabernacle Choir for five years and will have the opportunity to sing in at least three different General Conferences of the Church. The first international participants performed with the Choir in April 2023, and for the first time this year European singers were invited to audition. At the next General Conference, which will be held in April 2024, twelve international participants will be present, seven of them from Europe (France, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and England).

“I think many of my friends at the conservatory will be watching the Conference sessions to try to see me,” said Clément. “They helped and encouraged me during the selections, so I’m happy that they can share this experience with me.”

“For the first time I will find myself in front of so many people, which is intimidating at first” reflects Esther. “But I know that Heavenly Father will help me understand how to react to be a good missionary within the Tabernacle Choir.”

General Conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occur twice a year, in April and October.