It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Less than three months after he dazzled LDS Conference Center crowds (and choir members) in Tanner Gift of Music concerts with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Utah Symphony, Brian Stokes Mitchell returns to Salt Lake City as the guest on the choir's Christmas concerts.
"I am ecstatic to be coming back," said Mitchell, who called the September concerts "one of the best musical experiences I've ever had in my entire life." The Tony Award-winning actor and singer praised Tabernacle Choir music director Mack Wilberg as "a genius musician, orchestrator, arranger and conductor," the choir as "just amazing" and the 21,000-seat Conference Center as a rewarding performance venue.
"It's the largest auditorium I've performed in," he said. "I've performed at the Hollywood Bowl, which is actually smaller, but the Conference Center feels 100 times more intimate. You can see everyone … and the sound system is great."
Mitchell will sing a mix of standards, traditional yuletide fare, newer songs and a couple of his own arrangements. Also featured are the choir, three Tabernacle organists, the Orchestra at Temple Square and the 3-year-old Bells on Temple Square, augmented by bell-ringers from the community. Edward Herrmann, best-known for portraying Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Emmy-winning TV movie "Eleanor and Franklin," will be the evenings' narrator.
"We always like a few elements of surprise," Wilberg said. "I don't want to give away too many secrets, but we will have almost 120 handbell players. … There will be a little something for everyone."
Mitchell, 51, won a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for the 2000 revival of "Kiss Me, Kate." He also was nominated for his starring roles in "Ragtime," "Man of La Mancha" and August Wilson's "King Hedley II."
The singer's appearances earlier this year were his Utah debut, but not his first visit to the state. He was here in October 2001 when his wife, Allyson Tucker, performed in Pioneer Theatre Company's Duke Ellington celebration, "Sophisticated Ladies," and has skied here numerous times. The Seattle native said East Coast resorts pale in comparison to the powder out West.
He's also a longtime fan of the Tabernacle Choir. "Christmas songs are some of the first songs I remember hearing -- probably like most people, it's part of the genetic code if you're raised in a household that celebrates Christmas. And my very favorite album in the house was a Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas album," he said. "I feel in a sense I was raised on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It gave me an appreciation for great choral singing."
Creese@sltrib.com
Making merry
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square and Bells on Temple Square present their annual Christmas concerts with baritone Brian Stokes Mitchell and narrator Edward Herrmann. Mack Wilberg conducts; Richard Elliott, Clay Christiansen and Andrew Unsworth are at the organ.
When » Dress rehearsal Dec. 11, 8 p.m.; performances Dec. 12 and 13, 7:30 p.m.; Mitchell and Herrmann also will join the choir on its weekly broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word" Dec. 14 at 9:30 a.m., with a mini-concert to follow.
Where » LDS Conference Center, 60 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City
Tickets » The free tickets for all four performances have been distributed. If you didn't receive any in the random drawing, you could join the dozens of ticket-seekers at online classified sites such as Craig's List and ksl.com, or just join the standby line 90 minutes before event time at the north gate of Temple Square. There also will be overflow seating with a live video feed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
Source: sltrib.com
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