"Music was a vital force in helping the Mormon pioneers along the trail," said Jerold Ottley as he talked about the upcoming series of nine Tabernacle Choir concerts commemorating the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers in Utah's Great Salt Lake Valley.

The concert series begins Friday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. Other concerts are scheduled for Utah communities Cedar City, St. George, Ephraim, Logan, Price, Vernal, Provo and Ogden.President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, will welcome those in attendance prior to the beginning of the Salt Lake concert.

"Music helped the pioneers keep their spirits up on their historic trek from the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains," said Brother Ottley, musical director of the choir.

Admission to the Salt Lake City concert will be free, said choir Pres. Wendell Smoot, but reserved-seat tickets (limited to two per request) are required. These tickets may be obtained beginning Monday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the west gate information booth on Temple Square. Standby seating for those without tickets will take place 15 minutes prior to the concert's starting time.

The program will focus on the Mormon pioneer era of the mid-19th century with the principal work a specially commissioned piece by composer Mack Wilberg, "Fantasia on Old Latter-day Saint Hymn Tunes."

Sharing time on the podium will be Brother Ottley and associate director Craig Jessop. The choir will be accompanied by a brass-and-percussion ensemble of 14 players, as well as the famed Tabernacle Organ, with John Longhurst, Clay Christiansen and Richard Elliott taking turns at the console.

The musical selections will be interwoven with commentary by Lloyd Newell, who will tell of the role music played in the lives of the pioneers. Brother Newell is the announcer-commentator for the choir's weekly radio-television broadcasts.

In addition to Wilberg's "Fantasia," the program will include "High on the Mountain Top," arranged by Robert Cundick; "The Morning Breaks" by George Carless; "All People That on Earth Do Dwell," arranged by Florence Jolley; "Ye Shall Have a Song" by Randall Thompson; "The Gathering" from "To Utah" by Robert Cundick; "Let the Mountains Shout for Joy" by Evan Stephens; "Come, Come, Ye Saints," by William Clayton; a medley of familiar tunes from the pioneer period by the Sesquicentennial Brass Ensemble; the anthem of the Sesquicentennial, "Faith in Every Footstep" by Newell Dayley; "Climb Every Mountain" by Rodgers and Hammerstein; "What a Wonderful World," arranged by David Cullen; "This Land Is Your Land," arranged by Robert D. Cormier; and "The Spirit of God," arranged by Mack Wilberg.