In 1999, Dr. Craig D. Jessop was appointed music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir organization, including the Temple Square Chorale and the Orchestra at Temple Square. He had previously served as associate director since 1995. Prior to his appointment with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Jessop served as Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force (USAF) music programs. His assignments included serving as director of the USAF Singing Sergeants in Washington, D.C., 1980-1987; commander and conductor of the Band of the USAF in Ramstein, Germany, 1987-1991; and commander and conductor of the Air Combat Command Heartland of America Band in Omaha, Nebraska, 1991-1995. Jessop also served as music director of the Maryland Choral Society, the Rhineland-Pfalz International Choir of Germany and the Omaha Symphonic Chorus. In addition to his work as a conductor, he has been an active baritone vocalist and has performed in the choirs of Helmuth Rilling and John Rutter. Jessop is a winner of the Utah State Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera Auditions and has participated in the Merola Opera Training Program of the San Francisco Opera. Since 1989 he has been a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers, participating with Shaw in concerts and recordings throughout Europe and at Carnegie Hall. In February 1999, Jessop completed a final project for the late maestro with the Telarc-label recording of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony performing Shaw’s English adaptation of Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem.”