The tradition of closing every Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast with “God Be with You Till We Meet Again” is a long one, but here's how the tradition of the music conductor singing rather than leading during the song began.
In 1974, the Choir’s 11th conductor, Richard P. Condie, was set to retire. On his last broadcast, he came up with a plan to avoid all the sad goodbyes and unwittingly started a new tradition for the beloved concluding song.