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Tens of thousands of people filled the Conference Center last night for a preview performance of "Ring, Christmas Bells."
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are welcoming Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell and stage and screen star Edward Herrmann as guest performers.
They performed in what choir managers and audience members are calling a stunning show last night.
The New York Times calls Mitchell, "the last leading man." The Tony Award-winning Broadway star says he can't imagine a better choir in the world. He says, "I wish all of you could have the experience actually, of standing up there and being surrounded by these heavenly voices. They are all just incredible artists, individually and collectively. It makes the most beautiful sound."
This is Tony-winner Edward Herrmann's first appearance with the choir, but he met his wife in Utah nearly 30 years ago when they were making a movie. He says, "My wife is LDS, but I understand that you didn't have anything to do with this except through prayer and the efficacy of prayer. I always thought it changes hearts but, obviously, it moves mountains as well."
Mitchell and Herrmann are celebrated performers, but director Mack Wilberg, they call incredible, and there is something different here, they say. Herrmann says, "There is an element here that I feel you are working for something other than just making beautiful music. There is a spiritual element here."
"You just feel it and let it come through you because, it's, you know, it's in everything. It's in the building, it's in the orchestra, it's in all of the people," says Stokes.
There are no tickets for tonight or tomorrow night's concerts, but you can form a standby line at the North Gate on Temple Square starting at 6 p.m. each night or at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday when the two guests will perform on "Music and the Spoken Word."
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
