I mourn the loss of Jerold Ottley, a gifted conductor who raised the artistic standard of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to new heights during his 25-year term as music director. He was a prominent Utahn cut down by Covid 19.
Ottley, a man of self-deprecating good humor, reduced the performing size of the choir, instituted tenure limits, and created a training ensemble and a system of vocal coaching that improved musicianship. His reforms bore fruit after he took the helm in 1975 and continued for a quarter century.
His partner in life and music was his wife JoAnn, a magnificent soprano in her own right, who served as the choir’s vocal coach and sang leading roles with the Utah Symphony and Opera. She survives him.
In Jerry’s memory I would write, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. God be with you till we meet again.”
Paul Wetzel, Salt Lake City