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On Monday night, members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square will be dialing in to vote for Katherine Jenkins to win in the finals of "Dancing With the Stars."
It's just a bit of professional courtesy. Jenkins will perform with them in July.
"We've got about 600 volunteers right there who will be voting for her," said Ron Gunnell, assistant to the president of the choir. "We would love to see her win."
Utahns have seen her dance on TV, and they'll get a chance to hear her sing in when the 31-year-old crossover artist performs at the annual Pioneer Day Concert on July 20 and 21.
Gunnell is charged with signing guest artists to perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. And like many Americans, he had never heard of her before she began competing on the current season of "Dancing With the Stars."
Never mind that the Welsh mezzo soprano has sold more than 7 million albums, performed with Plácido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli, and sung for Queen Elizabeth II.
"We started talking to her in the past couple of months," he said. "And she was just thrilled when we contacted her."
Gunnell said the program for the Pioneer Day concerts — titled "Songs of Joy" — isn't set yet, but will include a mix of classical music, Broadway show tunes and songs from Hollywood movies. Jenkins will perform several solo numbers with the orchestra and other songs with the choir.
"When we discovered what a huge crossover artist she is and what a great voice she has, we knew she'd be perfect for this performance," Gunnell said.
The program will include multimedia presentations of well-known personalities discussing the joy they find in music.
First, however, Jenkins has some unfinished business on TV. She and her "Dancing With the Stars" partner, Mark Ballas, will perform Monday, May 21 (7 p.m., ABC/Channel 4). On Tuesday, May 22 (8 p.m., ABC/Channel 4), viewers will learn if Jenkins, Donald Driver or William Levy will win the mirror-ball trophy.
If you go
I Admission to the "Joy of Song" concerts on July 20 and 21 at the LDS Church Conference Center is free, but tickets are required. A maximum of four tickets per household will be distributed randomly to those who register at lds.org/events from Saturday, May 19, at 12:01 a.m. through Monday, May 28, at 11:59 p.m.