Whenever I am not selected in the lottery for tickets to the Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir concerts (which is often), I do the next best thing and attend the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast on the following Sunday because the guest artists usually perform a shortened version of the same program. This year the guests artists were Ruthie Ann Miles (known for her Tony Award-winning performance as Lady Thiang from The King and I on Broadway) and Dennis Haysbert (known for playing David Palmer on the TV show 24) and they joined the choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, the Bells at Temple Square, and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble yesterday morning at the Conference Center. The choir began with a beautiful arrangement of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" while standing in the aisles holding lights and then they marched to the stage (it was perfectly coordinated and I was quite impressed) singing "'Twas Midnight in the Stable." Miles joined the choir for a stirring rendition of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" which was followed by performances of "Welcome Christmas Morning!" by the orchestra and "Good King Wenceslas" by Brian Mathias on the organ. The choir continued with "What Shall We Give?" which I had never heard before but found very moving. Next, Haysbert read the Christmas story from Luke 2 (he has such a distinctive voice so this was very dramatic). The broadcast concluded with "Angels From the Realms of Glory" with Miles and this was spectacular (I had goosebumps). The Christmas concert usually features an uplifting true story and this year's was called "A Season for Shepherds." After the broadcast ended the audience was able to hear this story, recounting the experiences of Dr. Charles Mulli and his family in helping generations of disadvantaged children in Kenya, narrated by Haysbert who was quite emotional. I found Mulli's story incredibly inspiring, especially when he came to the stage and challenged the audience to care for the poor. This was another wonderful Christmas concert and I particularly loved the overall message about service this year. I'm glad I made the effort to attend.
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