Kelli O’Hara and Richard Thomas join in this year’s annual festivities
For millions, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is synonymous with Christmas. And this year’s annual concert, airing on BYUtv and featuring Tony Award-winner and Broadway icon Kelli O’Hara and Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Thomas, will delight, enchant, and keep the spirit of Christmas alive in the hearts of viewers.
The 90-minute, uncut “Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir featuring Kelli O’Hara and Richard Thomas” concert will premiere on BYUtv on Thursday, December 17 at 7 p.m., and will be available to stream on-demand after the premiere on the BYUtv app and on BYUtv.org.
Centered on American Christmas traditions, O’Hara with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square perform carols and ballads from an array of different music traditions, including folk songs, bluegrass, Broadway classics and African-American spirituals. Thomas recites an adaptation of the beloved Pearl S. Buck story “Christmas Day in the Morning” as well as the Christmas story from Luke Chapter 2.
Performing with the choir has been a dream come true for O’Hara. She has fond memories as a young girl, listening to the choir’s albums on her grandparents’ record player.
“Nothing could have prepared me for this experience, of hearing the voices of the choir filling the space behind me, of everyone coming together to be part of something greater than ourselves and celebrate oneness, love, and hope,” says O’Hara.
“It reminded me of why I started singing in the first place. This is an extraordinary program for our extraordinary times, and I hope that it can serve as a balm for weary hearts this holiday season.”
Adds Thomas: “The Tabernacle Choir’s music was a part of all my childhood Christmases, so it’s just thrilling to be a part of this concert and to plug all of my love of Christmas into the experience.
“Whatever faith tradition you come from, beautiful music is beautiful music, and expressions of caring and humanity and of aspiration are all the same for us. This program is filled with those sentiments and can bring all kinds of people together, especially in these difficult times.”
In addition to this year’s performance, BYUtv has additional Christmas concerts by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square available to stream for free on the BYUtv app and on BYUtv.org. These past concerts include these renowned guest artists: Tony- and Emmy-Award winning performer Kristin Chenoweth, Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee Sutton Foster and with film and tv actor Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), and internationally-acclaimed tenor Rolando Villazón.