What's a president-elect to do when he can't book A-list stars like Andrea Bocelli and Céline Dion for his inauguration? If he’s Donald Trump, he takes a quick cue from past presidents and taps . . . the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, perhaps to both the delight and ire of his mortal frenemy Mitt Romney. Ah yes: the Utah-based choir, which has performed at past inaugurations for the likes of George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, confirmed it will perform during the Jan. 20 ceremony.
“The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has a great tradition of performing at the inaugurals of U. S. presidents,” said Ron Jarrett, president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, in a statement. “Singing the music of America is one of the things we do best. We are honored to be able to serve our country by providing music for the inauguration of our next president.”
The choir has been added to the extremely short (Trump’s favorite word) list of inauguration performers, which currently only includes opera star Jackie Evancho. Technically, maybe two items does not a “list” make, but that is a debate we will save for our next semantics meeting.
Anyway, that’s the inauguration day set so far—and if recent damning reports from The Wrap are any indication, Trump is still desperate to fill the ceremony with A-listers. So many artists have rejected inauguration invites that the president-elect allegedly ordered a “Hail Mary” shakeup of his team structure, bringing in veteran talent booker Suzanne Bender to lock in mainstream artists. His team has also reportedly offered cash and ambassadorships to famous bookers, so long as they secure some seriously big names along the likes of (peerless) past performers Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin. However, Boris Epshteyn, the communications director for the inaugural committee, has been quick to shoot down those rumors. “There is no truth to this insinuation. First-class entertainers are eager to participate in the inaugural events. The inauguration as a whole will be an exciting and uniting celebration of freedom and democracy.”
