..and the winner is…
At 11:00 am Mountain Standard Time Director Mack Wilberg and President Mac Christensen announced that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir 2008 Christmas Guest Artist will be…
Get Stoked…
Brian Stokes Mitchell!!! (I Love this man)
Joining Stokes, as narrator will be the legendary actor Edward Hermann of Gilmore Girl and Franklin Roosevelt fame.
CONCERT DATES: December 11-14th, 2008 at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
FREE TICKETS: Choir Concerts are always FREE – but are ticketed events, and this is the hottest ticket of the year. An Online Lottery “Random Selection Process” has been instituted. Starting Saturday, October 25, 2008, through Tuesday, November 4, 2008. (it does not matter when you enter – the selection is random) you may enter one time to see if you can snag some tickets to one of the performances. Go to THIS PAGE for more info and to register once it opens. Tip: Register for all dates, in order of preference. The more flexible you are, the greater your chances. IF YOU DO NOT GET TICKETS THERE IS A STAND-BY LINE FOR EACH PERFORMANCE. (In the past, the Sunday morning broadcast + mini-concert has always accomodated the stand-by)
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For those who had the opportunity to attend the Tanner Gift of Music Concert this past September, you were able to hear Stokes beautiful rich voice, and share in his powerful stage presence and positive spirit. He is not only one of the great talents of the nation, he is truly one of the nicest of persons.
Dubbed “The Last Leading Man” by the New York Times, Brian Stokes Mitchell (who goes by “Stokes”) has enjoyed a rich and varied career on Broadway, television and film, along with appearances in the great American concert halls. His musical versatility has kept him in demand by some of the country’s finest conductors and orchestras. In 2005 he made his cabaret debut as both singer and musical arranger.
Stokes headlined the Carnegie Hall concert presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” with Reba McEntire, which aired on PBS in the Spring of 2006. It was released on DVD on June 6, 2006.
Stokes Broadway career includes performances in “Man of La Mancha” (Tony nomination and Helen Hayes Award);
In 1998 he he became the sole recipient of that year’s Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League, the nation’s oldest theatrical honor, for his performance in “Ragtime.” In this video clip, he performs a scene from “Ragtime” on the Rosie O’Donell Show with actress Audra McDonald:
His long television career began with a seven year stint on “Trapper John, MD.” Numerous film and TV appearances more recently include “One Last Thing” which debuted at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, recurring roles on “Crossing Jordan” and “Frasier,” PBS’ “Great Performances,” DreamWorks’ “The Prince of Egypt,” (he was the singing voice for Jethro) and his “Presidential Debut” in “The Singer and the Song” from the White House.
His latest venture is his release of a self-titled album as the inaugural artist on the newly -formed Playbill Records label. In addition to singing, Stokes produced the album and also wrote many of the arrangements and orchestrations. (I purchased an early copy of this – and it is superb)
Sorry ladies, he’s taken. He is married to actress Allyson Tucker – They have a young son.
For more information please check www.Brianstokes.com.
A complete list of credits can be seen on BroadwayWorld.com
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And the actor/narrator guest will be Tony-winning American stage and film actor Edward Herrmann
He used his Fulbright scholarship to study at London’s Academy of Music and Dramatic Art; several years of regional theatre led to movie and TV work. In 1977 Herrmann offered the first of his many interpretations of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the TV movie Eleanor and Franklin (He’d later be a singing FDR in the theatrical feature Annie [1982 (1979), though Herrmann was proud of the fact that he learned to pitch and bat southpaw, something that a previous movie Gehrig, Gary Cooper, never quite mastered.
His occasional villainous movie appearances notwithstanding, Edward Herrmann is to most viewers the very embodiment of intelligence and integrity; he was decidedly well cast as the erudite host of several historical documentaries on the Arts and Entertainment Cable Network. – (Hal Erickson review, All Movie Guide)
Trivia: He loves to collect and restore vintage cars, and owns several. Most recently, Mr. Hermann has been seen on Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Norman Shales “the intern”
Latter-day Soprano 
i Can’t thank you enough for letting me know about the Christmas concert details. I really am a groupie of the choir. I love the music and how I feel when I listen. (in person is always so much better than CD, but I take what I can get) I was in the Tabernacle for the singing of mozart’s requiem and Mack Wilberg’s Requiem. That sealed the deal for me. Since then I have been to Music and the Spoken Word 4 times, and any other concert, including last years Christmas concert as many times as possible.
That is how I met my voice teacher. He was willing to meet me after the performance. Long story, and not important to anyone else, but me.
We did go to the Tanner Gift of Music in September, and LOVED Mr. Stokes. He really does have a rich voice, smooth like butter, sexy, lovely, fun to listen to.
On another note, I wanted to thank you for this Blog. I have been reading for a while, although not from the beginning. I enjoy what you write, and you do it so well. I think if I could write like that, I would be a blogger, too.
Sincerely
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TabFan1 – your comments are greatly appreciated. It is always fun for me to hear from one of my “silent readers”. I tell everyone that if they want to improve their writing skills – then the best course of action is to write! Keeping a personal journal is a good place to start. (also a great way to follow Pres. Kimball and Pres. Eyring’s challenge) I have done that since age 11 – but I don’t consider myself a professional writer. Many thanks for the compliment!
Hope you can make it to the Christmas concert
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Brian Stokes Mitchell was awesome in the Tanner Gift of Music concert–I can’t wait.
My mom sang in the Tabernacle Choir since I was about 12 years old, so I have been going to the Christmas concert for many years. My first date with my wife was at the Tab Choir Christmas Concert. Eight concerts later, I sang in the Christmas Concert as a new member of the Choir (with Mom still in). My wife attended without me for three years until our busy life with our kids necessitated my resignation. And just last year we took my oldest daughter, freshly eight years old, to her very first Tab Choir Christmas Concert.
If I don’t get tickets this year, I think I may shrivel up and die.
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Matt- love your story!
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I saw your awesome Christmas concert this past Saturday, and would love to know the words for the processional “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” The Choir and Brian were fantastic.
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Hi Kyle – thanks for visiting, and leaving your comment. Specific choir related requests can be made here. – Merry Christmas!
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