Mormon Tabernacle Choir's guest conductor in town this week

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Last June the Mormon Tabernacle Choir invited fans across the United States to enter the Conduct the Choir Video Facebook Contest for a chance to conduct the Choir's 360 voices.

After numerous video entries and more than 18,000 votes were cast, Justin Lewis, a flight commander in the United States Air Force and married father of two from Pennsylvania, was declared the winner.

His video entry can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnKQ3MW1yyk

He is the associate conductor of the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band.

Shortly after winning the contest, Lewis entered basic training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and was unable to perform with the choir last year.

The choir worked with him to pick a date and will now fly Lewis and his wife to Salt Lake City the week of Valentine's Day.

Lewis will conduct the Choir on Sunday, Feb. 17, immediately following the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. He will conduct Beethoven's "Hallelujah Chorus" from Christ on the Mount of Olives.

Lewis has also served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Suzuki Institute and music director of the Mormon Orchestra of Washington, D.C. He recently completed a master's degree in orchestral conducting at Penn State University.