Not even in her wildest dreams did Kelly Eisenhour ever see herself singing with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops in Boston's Symphony Hall on New Year's Eve.
And she still has a hard time believing it.
"It's so strange," she told the Deseret News. "I just saw the 'Holiday at Pops' show on TV, and I was thinking, 'I'm going to be on that same spot in two weeks.' "
For Eisenhour, the road to Boston has been paved with a lot of talent and a good deal of hard work. "I've been a professional singer for 20 years," she said, "and I've sung a myriad of things. I was a backup singer for Gladys Knight. And I did shows in Las Vegas, where I sang everything from country to pop."
But after 11 years of playing Las Vegas, Eisenhour was ready for a change. She was tired of doing six shows a week, and she realized that her career wasn't going to go anywhere as long as she remained there. So, four years ago, she moved to Utah. "I got married to someone from Ogden," she says, "so you can say I moved here because of a man."
Now living in Harrisville with her husband and three children, Eisenhour is quite happy with her life in her newly adopted state. "My career has gained so much more ground since I left Vegas. I'm focusing in on jazz. I direct the jazz choir at BYU, and I'm also a private voice teacher there. And I'm just loving it all."
Eisenhour also works with Jazz Arts of the Mountain West, an organization that introduces young people to jazz. "We go to schools and colleges and do workshops and bring the music to the kids."
Along with all of these commitments, Eisenhour still finds time to perform. On Jan. 15, she'll appear in concert as part of the Jazz at the Sheraton series, and every Friday evening during January, jazz aficionados will be able to catch her act at the Cliff Lodge in Snowbird.
But for the moment, Eisenhour is concentrating on her upcoming concert with Lockhart and the Pops. "I'm just thrilled about singing with them."
As Eisenhour relates it, her appearance with the Pops came about almost by chance. "Ken Green, who was the piano player for Lockhart's first pops concert with the Utah Symphony, told everyone about me. I was contacted by the orchestra and asked to submit a tape." Not too long after that, Eisenhour was invited to sing on the program.
"Lockhart really liked my voice," Eisenhour said. "He told me, 'I need to get you out to Boston.' "
That was in November 1999. When almost a year went by and Eisenhour still hadn't heard back from Lockhart or the Boston Pops, she figured they'd forgotten about her. "But six weeks ago I got a call from the Pops asking me to go on tour with them at the end of February. That was like, wow!"
But that wasn't all. "Not long after the first call, they called me back and wanted to know if I would like to sing at their New Year's Eve concert. I said, 'Let me think about it — yes!' "
Eisenhour sees the concert and tour as a window of opportunity for her to become a nationally recognized singer. "I've been offered a chance to move up in the ranks, so to speak, and I'm hoping that will happen. It's really a dream come true."
Recently, Eisenhour recorded a new CD, "Now You Know," which is currently available only through her Web site www.keisenhour.com; record stores won't have copies until February.
For Eisenhour, performing in Boston will be a sort of homecoming. She lived in the city for a few years while attending Berklee College of Music on a scholarship. "I only lived about three blocks away from Symphony Hall," she said. And while at Berklee, Eisenhour was the recipient of the prestigious Sarah Vaughan Award.
"This is the best New Year 's Eve gig I've ever gotten," she says.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com