Jay Evard Welch (November 6, 1925 – December 15, 2008) was an American musician who was a music director of the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...

(MTC), a longtime

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

(U of U) professor, founder of the Mormon Youth Symphony and Chorus (MYSC), Jay Welch Chorale and the Salt Lake Repertory Orchestra. He was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. Welch was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

on November 6, 1925, to Jesse Evard and Pearl Snow Welch. He served in the Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He married Marcelle Beecher in

on March 21, 1951, and together they had six daughters. Welch graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

with a major in mathematics and minor in music. He continued his music studies at the

Paris Conservatory of Music The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Jau ...

, graduated with a master's degree in composition from

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and earned a Ph.D. in 1959 from the U of U, where he taught for 39 years before retiring in 1993. Besides teaching music theory and other classes to music majors, Welch taught music appreciation to thousands of non-majors. In 2004, the U of U's Emeritus Alumni Association awarded him the prestigious Merit of Honor Award. In 1957, Welch was named assistant conductor to Richard P. Condie, the music director of the MTC. Welch was appointed to be the first music director of the MYSC in 1969. In 1974, succeeded Condie as the MTC's music director, a position he held for only six months, due to an unexpected illness. He died on December 15, 2008, at the age of 83 in

References

1925 births 2008 deaths Conservatoire de Paris alumni American choral conductors American male conductors (music) American Latter Day Saints Mills College alumni Tabernacle Choir music directors Musicians from Utah University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Utah alumni University of Utah faculty 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War American expatriates in France {{LDS-stub