This holiday season I have been incredibly lucky to be able to see some wonderful Christmas concerts! I had an opportunity to see another one with the Utah Symphony last night and it was amazing! The orchestra was joined by Broadway star and former member of Postmodern Jukebox Morgan James. She has a very classic soul sound and I loved her bluesy arrangements of Christmas songs (I was definitely tapping my toes throughout the concert). The orchestra began with a medley of Christmas songs called "A Christmas Festival" and then James took the stage with a sultry rendition of "Cool Yule." She continued with "White Christmas" and then performed an original song written for her Christmas album A Very Magnetic Christmas (so-called because it was recorded on analog tape) called "Long as I Got You." She mentioned that she didn't think a Christmas concert was complete without the next song and I immediately hoped that it would be "O Holy Night." I was absolutely thrilled when I heard the opening notes (I agree with her assessment). This was the third time that I have been able to hear my favorite Christmas song this season and her rendition was brilliant because she built to a powerful conclusion (including timpani!) that just about blew the roof off of Abravanel Hall! James took a break to change into another fabulous vintage gown (the second of four) while the orchestra played "Waltz of the Flowers" from Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. James returned to the stage with "This Christmas" and then performed my favorite song of the evening, "River" (I love Joni Mitchell). She concluded her first set with a lively version of "Winter Wonderland." After the intermission, the orchestra performed "Sleigh Ride." I've heard them perform this before and my favorite part is when the trumpet mimics the neighing of a horse at the end while the player wears the head of a horse! James continued with "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday" after which the orchestra performed the Suite from Polar Express. In her final set, James explained that she chose the songs "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "The Christmas Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" because they reminded her of her childhood and she hoped that we all had happy memories of Christmas, too. She concluded with "All I Want For Christmas" because it has now become the most popular Christmas song of all time! James was really personable and quite funny and when she returned to the stage after thunderous applause, she told us that she didn't have anything planned and then immediately began "What Are You Doing For New Year's Eve?" as an encore! It was a great night!
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