Tens of Thousands to Attend
Christmas Concerts
Description
Mack Wilberg acknowledges the performers at the Christmas concert.
© 2008 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Download
1. Edward Herrmann, Actor, Christmas concert performer
Edward Herrmann said there is a spiritual element to the concert.
In order to function properly, this content requires the Adobe Flash© Player.
Click here to download
Flash™
2. Brian Stokes Mitchell, Singer/Actor, Christmas concert performer
Brian Stokes Mitchell enjoys singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
In order to function properly, this content requires the Adobe Flash© Player.
Click here to download
Flash™
3. Mac Christensen, President of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
After Brian Stokes Mitchell sang last September in the Conference Center, he had requests for Mitchell to return.
In order to function properly, this content requires the Adobe Flash© Player.
Click here to download
Flash™
4. Edward Herrmann
During the concert, Edward Herrmann narrates the tragic family story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote the poem set to music in the hymn "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."
In order to function properly, this content requires the Adobe Flash© Player.
Click here to download
Flash™
5. Mac Wilberg, Conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mac Wilberg expresses his joy working with good and talented performers.
In order to function properly, this content requires the Adobe Flash© Player.
Click here to download
Flash™
A preview performance on Thursday, 11 December, preceded two evening concerts, Friday and Saturday, 12 and 13 December, and cast participation in the weekly CBS Network broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word, Sunday, 14 December.
Returning to Salt Lake City after performances with the choir in September, Brian Stokes Mitchell shares his musical versatility in his guest appearance with songs ranging in genre from jazz to classical to pop. Mitchell, himself a composer and arranger with music featured in the concert, describes conductor Wilberg as a “kindred spirit” and anticipates the “fun and excitement” of the seasonal collaboration.
Wilberg says, “We are absolutely delighted to have these two great talents with us this Christmas. Our audiences fell in love with Stokes’ rich baritone and marvelous stage presence when he was here in September. Combining his talents with an actor the caliber of Edward Herrmann, for whom we have written a very special narration, will make this program one audiences will thoroughly enjoy.”
In the concert, Mitchell will perform three pieces he arranged himself in addition to those arranged by Wilberg. Mitchell, during his associations with the choir conductor, discovered “that we feel music in the same way.” In the old English Carol “The Friendly Beasts,” Mitchell musically assumes the voices of the various animals in the stable and displays the broad range of his vocal talents. The gifted baritone also joins the choir and orchestra in the traditional French carol finale “Angels From the Realms of Glory.”
In keeping with the concert theme, versatile actor Edward Herrmann shares the poignant tale of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s composition of the poem “Christmas Bells,” which eventually became the beloved holiday carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Longfellow penned the meaningful text during the Christmas season of 1864 after learning of his son’s injuries in the Civil War and three years following the accidental death of his wife. “Longfellow suggests the hope for peace we all share,” Herrmann said. “I’m terribly moved to share this message in this remarkable venue.” Herrmann will also narrate the timeless account of Jesus Christ’s birth in Luke 2.
Herrmann, whose narrations are familiar to public television or History Channel viewers, has also participated in similar readings with orchestras in other cities and claims a lengthy list of movie and television credits.
Joining the choir, orchestra and renowned guest artists will be the Bells on Temple Square, six local high school bell choirs and a community bell choir known as The Bells of a Joyful Sound. In addition, over 80 dancers from the community will participate in the program, as will a featured dance ensemble of eight ballet students, all choreographed by Carol Iwasaki of the University of Utah Department Of Ballet. Organ solos by Tabernacle organists Richard Elliott, Clay Christiansen, and Andrew Unsworth will round out the festive holiday offering.
Style guide note: When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to our online style guide.
