Tabernacle-Choir-Christmas-Concerts
Acclaimed Broadway singer and actress Lea Salonga will be the featured guest artist at this year’s Christmas concerts by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.Photo courtesy Raymund Isaac. All rights reserved.Acclaimed Broadway singer and actress Lea Salonga will be the featured guest artist at this year’s Christmas concerts by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square. The performances are scheduled for December 15, 16 and 17, 2022, at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. Under the direction of Mack Wilberg, music director of the Choir, and Ryan Murphy, associate music director, Salonga will ring in the Christmas spirit with live audiences after two years of concerts that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are delighted to have Lea Salonga with us as we welcome the community back to the Conference Center for our Christmas concerts,” Wilberg said. “Her compelling voice will bring the holiday spirit to the hearts of our audiences with joy, peace, light and love.”
Salonga is a multiple award-winning actor and singer renowned worldwide for her powerful voice and perfect pitch. She is best known for her Tony Award-winning role in “Miss Saigon.” In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards in the field of musical theater.
Many fans of all ages recognize Salonga as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from “Aladdin” and Fa Mulan for “Mulan” and “Mulan II.” For her portrayal of beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend.” Salonga’s 2022 Dream Again Tour and her 2019 The Human Heart Tour saw sold-out audiences and record-breaking sales across North America and the United Kingdom. She currently stars in the HBO Max series “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.” An avid techie and gamer, Salonga divides her time between the United States and Manila, Philippines.
Sir David Suchet, one of England’s eminent actors, will be the guest narrator for this year’s Christmas performances.
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Sir David Suchet, one of England’s eminent stage, screen, and television actors, best known for his role as Poirot, will be on the Conference Center stage with Broadway singer, actor, and "Disney Legend" Lea Salonga and The Tabernacle Choir for the annual much-celebrated event, December 15-18, 2022.2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Mack Wilberg, the Choir’s music director, said, “We are very pleased that the distinguished actor Sir David Suchet will be a part of this year’s Christmas concert as he recounts a moving Christmas story as well as the greatest story ever told, that of the birth of the Christ child.”
Suchet played Hercule Poirot in ITV’s “Poirot” for 70 episodes over 24 years. He has also received many awards and nominations for his decades of work on stage in London’s West End and on Broadway. Suchet has played characters such as Iago in “Othello,” Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice” and Caliban in “The Tempest.” He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play for all three roles.
In 2011, Suchet was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2020, he was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire for his services to drama and charity.
This year’s concerts signal a return to normal after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Christmas concerts and closed the 2021 concerts to the public. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, the Choir continued its Christmas concert tradition with a special featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, which was taped in 2020 and aired on television to great acclaim last December. For the live concert in 2021, Broadway star Megan Hilty and renowned film and television actor Neal McDonough joined the Choir, the Orchestra and the Bells at Temple Square and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble for a performance that was taped for airing this year. The concert, “O Holy Night: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir Featuring Megan Hilty and Neal McDonough,” will be broadcast on PBS on Tuesday, December 13, at 8 p.m. EST and on BYUtv on Sunday, December 18, at 8 p.m. EST.
How to Attend
Tickets to this year’s Christmas concert on December 15, 16 and 17 are complimentary but required. Tickets have already been distributed through a random selection process. Admission will be open to those ages 8 and older. As was the case for the recent general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the number of tickets distributed will be limited due to the construction in and around Temple Square.
Tickets will not be required for the 30-minute weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, December 18, following the concerts. The guest artists are scheduled to perform on the broadcast.
A Grammy Award-winning, multiple Emmy Award-winning, all-volunteer choral ensemble, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square comprises 360 men and women who join their talents to create their trademark, instantly recognizable sound. They are accompanied by the Orchestra at Temple Square, a 150-member symphony orchestra, and the Bells at Temple Square, a 32-member handbell choir, which are likewise all-volunteer organizations. Together, they provide inspiring music that has the power to help people feel closer to the divine and celebrate God’s love for all His children.
For more information, please visit thetabernaclechoir.org.