Church Seeking Members Worldwide With Music Skills for Paid and Volunteer Opportunities

Wherever you live, if you are a Latter-day-Saint with music skills and want to be considered for projects, events and productions produced by the Church of Jesus Christ, add your information to the Churchwide talent database.

What Is the Talent Database?

The talent database is a list of professionals and volunteers with acting, music and other related skills that Church producers can consider engaging for music projects, events, broadcasts, performances and other productions.

Details about artists’ skills, experience, contact information and geographic location help producers find and connect with skilled individuals when and where they are needed.

Latter-day Saint actors, musicians and those with non-performance skills who create a profile on the Church’s Music and Casting web page can learn about casting and other opportunities for contributing their creative talents to Church music projects, events and productions.

Musically Skilled? Consider Joining Talent Database

The Church’s music division is looking to extend its list of potential musicians by inviting members worldwide to submit their information to the talent database for future consideration.

Also needed are applicants with non-performance music skills, such as transcription, experience using music notation software, text editing and translation, audio recording, and event and project coordination and logistical planning.

These skilled individuals are needed to assist with live events, the Church’s music library, hymnbook-related projects, and other paid or volunteer opportunities.

“The talent database is a means for us to connect with music talent worldwide in a way that we have never had the capability to do before,” said project coordinator Corinne Judd.

Not only are music coordinators looking to connect with talent outside the Utah area, but “there’s also great interest in cultural music styles and other non-traditional styles,” she said.

“This effort to expand our database of artists from around the world represents the Church’s overall commitment to represent a worldwide church in future music projects,” Judd said.

For example, the talent database will be used for selecting and casting singers for the audio version of the new hymnbook.

Other events and projects the database will be used for include:

• General conference choirs
• Broadcasts for children, youth, missionaries, young single adults, and other audiences
• Regional devotionals and performances
• Temple Square events
• Church music festivals
• Commissioned arrangements and compositions
• Review and feedback of member-submissions in a variety of musical styles
• Church music library engraving and transcribing
• Virtual music training and education
• New hymn and song translation feedback
• Audio version of new hymnbook in multiple languages

Who Should Create a Profile?

Guidelines for what the Church’s music division is looking for in prospective artists include:

• Beginning, intermediate, and advanced vocalists, instrumentalists, accompanists, composers and arrangers
• Artists of all ages, demographics, cultural backgrounds and styles
• Musically skilled Latter-day Saints located anywhere worldwide
• Performing ensembles such as chamber ensembles, duos, choirs, bands, family ensembles, etc. (submit as a collective group)
• Artists interested in volunteer or paid opportunities (or both)

How to Get Started

If you are interested in submitting your information, first create a My Talent Profile and indicate which types of projects you might be interested in.

Then include examples of your prior work via a shareable link, as well as links to relevant professional websites, social media accounts and YouTube accounts.

“Once a profile is created, applicants will be able to apply directly to projects made available on the casting site,” Judd said. “And the Church will be able to notify them of available projects that fit their criteria.”