For the first time since the pandemic, following a few years of COVID-19 restrictions and limited seating due to construction on Temple Square, tickets for all 21,000 seats in the Conference Center were available — and claimed — for the Tabernacle Choir’s annual Christmas concert this year.
Broadway star and soprano Ruthie Ann Miles and the deep, authoritative voice of actor Dennis Haysbert greeted the thousands of people who flocked to downtown Salt Lake City Thursday night.
Haysbert was likely familiar to the audience — and not just because he once voiced the inescapable Allstate Insurance commercials or for his role in the TV series “24.”
Several years ago, Haysbert actually did voiceover ads for BYU football (his brother, Adam Haysbert, was a wide receiver for the Cougars in 1983 and 1984 — the undefeated, national championship-winning team).
Haysbert’s storytelling was a highlight of the night as he narrated the life of Dr. Charles Mulli, who at the age of 6 was abandoned and remained homeless for several years before gradually working his way up to building a business empire in Kenya.
The narration came with a major surprise — Mulli himself was in attendance and came on the stage to have a brief and emotional conversation with Haysbert. The moment was one of a few surprises throughout the night.
Here are some highlights from this year’s concert, which runs at the Conference Center through Dec. 21 and will air on PBS and BYUtv next year.
An emotional debut from Ruthie Ann Miles
After making her grand entrance with “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Miles became emotional as she extended her arm to acknowledge her mother in the audience and the role she has played in her career — including getting her on stage with the Tabernacle Choir.
“Thank you very, very much. It is an absolute thrill of my life to be here,” Miles, who won a Tony Award for her role in “The King and I,” said with a wide smile. “I am deeply honored to be sharing the stage with you. And (choir director) Mack (Wilberg), I can hardly believe it! I am profoundly humbled to be with you today.”
Miles shared how her mother was their church pianist and choir director growing up, and she was the “very free and available and not at all against (her) will” assistant who helped make copies of the sheet music they sang and rehearsed on Sundays.
“Thank you for teaching me and showing me how to feel music,” Miles told her mother. “But how could you possibly know that you would help prepare me for this? In our wildest dreams, thank you!”
Miles said of all the songs she helped her mom with, “nothing could compare to Christmas music.” She performed a tender rendition of “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” a carol that she said has always carried personal meaning for her because it is “a reminder that Christ, the child, was a gift to all of us and that Christmas is the opportunity to receive that gift, to love him and to share his love for the world.”
The soprano didn’t just stick to traditional Christmas carols. Later on in the evening, she walked and spun across the stage decorated with brightly lit Christmas trees as she performed selections from the 2004 film “The Polar Express,” including the Josh Groban hit “Believe.”
The emotion of Miles’ performance set the tone for a meaningful narration that had the audience on its feet.
‘Christmas is the season for shepherds’
Haysbert’s narration stands out for a couple of reasons.
Rather than beginning on the stage, he started out in the audience, praising the talents of the choir and all of the musicians who put the annual Christmas concert together. The orchestra then began to softly play “Silent Night” as he made his way down to the stage to tell the story of Mulli, who, 70 years ago, woke up in his family’s one-room hut to discover that his parents, poor and mired in debt, had fled in the night with his younger siblings.
At age 6, Mulli became one of 100,000 orphans across Kenya — a number that has grown to over 3.5 million today, Haysbert said. Mulli experienced homelessness over the next 10 years. By the age of 16, Haysbert said with a deep sigh, Mulli had lost the will to live as he was “trapped between a debilitating past and a hopeless future.”
But his perspective changed when he was invited to church.
“There he learned about the child in Bethlehem, born to give his life so that every boy and girl, every person in the world, would be healed and made whole,” Haysbert said. “When he heard the words ‘God loves you,’ he knew he was not alone. There was a good shepherd, and he was calling, and in that moment, Charles committed his life to answering the call.”
Mulli spent the next three days walking to Nairobi in search of a job, and wound up doing housework for a kind woman who took him in. The connection ultimately led him to his wife, Esther.
The couple ended up having eight children, and to provide for his growing family, Mulli converted his car into a taxi and founded a transportation company that evolved into selling auto parts, real estate and insurance. Within a few years, Haysbert said, the “hapless boy from Kangundo had become an international business executive, a leader in his community, a minister in his local congregation.”
But amid his life of contentment, Mulli once again had another change of heart when he was driving in the city and was approached by street children who were in need of money. He turned them away and immediately regretted it.
“As his compassion grew, his interest in business waned,” Haysbert said. Following a “wrestle with God,” Mulli sold his businesses and committed his life to rescuing children who were as vulnerable as he had once been. He went into the streets and brought three children into his home on his first night out, a month before Christmas of 1989. Over time, more children filled his home. The backyard transformed into classrooms, workshops, dormitories and a chapel, and a school was soon established.
“The entire effort was just a seed, but once it was planted, how quickly it grew,” Haysbert said, noting that live-in campuses and community centers now operate in 11 locations.
As of this year, Haysbert said, more than 30,000 children and youth have been “rescued, nurtured, taught and prepared for life,” with many going on to receive advanced education and stable jobs.
“But none of this captures the unreserved joy of children and youth who finally become part of the flock. ... once abandoned and alone, they are now immediately surrounded by peers who understand and accept them.
“This Christmas, Charles and others will again go out looking for children without homes, which reminds us, Christmas is the season for shepherds, for who would seek out the lost and lonely?” Haysbert continued. “And when we find them, in our families, among our friends, and throughout our communities, we will find the Christ child himself.”
As Haysbert’s narration came to a close, the actor revealed that Mulli had traveled all the way from Kenya to be in attendance. The philanthropist was welcomed with a massive standing ovation as he stepped onto the Conference Center stage to have a brief conversation with a visibly emotional Haysbert.
The two shook hands and shared a long hug before sitting together on the steps in front of the orchestra. Haysbert pulled out a tissue and began wiping his eyes as they briefly talked about the power of doing God’s will.
“Every time I read this,” he said, choking up as he tapped his hand a few times over his heart. “Thank you for inspiring us tonight. For inspiring me. Merry Christmas, to you and your family.”
A full celebration of talent
The Christmas concert pulled out all the stops from start to finish.
As people were still filing into their seats, the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble took the stage. The trumpets and bells rang out while choir members stood in the aisles of the Conference Center, holding candles as they sang the French carol “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
The choir members slowly descended down the steps and onto the stage as they performed “‘Twas Midnight in the Stable,” with the music gradually intensifying until all of the singers reached their seats.
Every single musical number — many arranged by Wilberg — showcased the work and talent that goes into this massive, all-volunteer production. The choir, orchestra, bells and trumpets all had their time in the spotlight with dynamic instrumental numbers. A real standout moment was “Hallelujah” from Handel’s “Messiah,” which had just about everyone in attendance on their feet and cheering.
The enthusiasm and standing ovations continued as Tabernacle organist Richard Elliott took the stage for another surprise of the night.
No Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert is complete without Elliott’s solo. But in somewhat of a departure from previous years, Elliott took a few minutes to first address the audience, reflecting on his years of doing these solos.
“Are you ready?” he exclaimed, bringing a rock concert vibe to the evening as he signified the time had come for the solo. But this time around, Elliott had a jazz combo playing alongside him for a lively rendition of “When You Hear the Pipe and Drum (Patapan).” The jazzy performance — featuring a clarinet, saxophone, upright bass and drums — was one of the highlights of the night.
While the Christmas concerts take place over only three days of the year, it’s clear from all of the little details — like the choir performing the Nigerian Christmas carol “Betelehemu” to tie in to Mulli’s story — that months of careful consideration and preparation go into this celebratory production that has become a beloved tradition.
