Guest artists share what it was like performing at the Tabernacle Choir's 2024 Christmas Concert

SALT LAKE CITY — Despite the immense size of the Conference Center, guest artists at this year's Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert said the space felt intimate during Thursday's performance.

Broadway actress Ruthie Ann Miles said she has performed for large crowds but hasn't encountered a space that large, with a feeling like a Broadway house.

"There are not very many stages that feel this kind of connection with the audience with this huge scale. ... I can look straight into people's eyes and speak with them, which is my favorite way of telling stories," she said.

Dennis Haysbert, an actor known for his deep voice narrating the concert, said despite how vast the venue is, "It also gives you a good hug."

The guest artists, along with choir leaders, spoke at a press conference Friday following the first of three Christmas concert performances by the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square and the Bells at Temple Square. The concert tickets have all been passed out, but there will be a stand-by line for anyone hoping to get into this weekend's performances.

'It just leaves me full'

Haysbert said that when he heard about the story being told through this year's Christmas concert, his participation "was a done deal." However, he said it was hard for him to get through the first paragraph of the script — he couldn't fathom a 6-year-old being left alone.

"It is really hard to get through this story, but I love the feeling that comes over me when I do tell it," he said.

He said with the music, it's even harder to hold in his emotions, but it is a "glorious" and "delicious" feeling.

"It just leaves me full, and I just hope that it's translating out to the audience," he said.

Haysbert said meeting the man whose story is featured, Charles Mulli who was a surprise guest at the concert, was like meeting a lost friend.

He talked about going off script during the concert Thursday evening and said because of how close the two have become, and the questions he has, their conversations could go for hours.

Mulli spoke at the press conference on Friday about struggling on his own as a child, becoming a Christian and working long days as he started a business.

"For 10 years, God really made me survive. I think, and I believe, he had a purpose for my future," Mulli said.

He said God touched his heart one day as children in the street came up to his vehicle and he remembered where he came from. At 40, Mulli said God told him to give everything. He said his wife and eight children were terrified when he told them he was giving everything away — but God used him and drew people to him.

Now, Mulli said his organization cares for over 8,000 children, giving them "free love of Jesus Christ," free food and education through Mulli's own schools.

"God is really real; (I know) because I've seen it," he said. "I'm so happy to have this chance to talk and to share about how God is bigger and is very loving," he said.

Mulli said through faith, people can do good things not for themselves but for God. He said his organization feeds 5,000 families each Christmas in addition to giving meals throughout the year to children at his schools and in Kenya's public schools.

Haysbert said he decided to go to Kenya and meet the children Mulli's organization cares for. "When I tell the story, I'm not here but in Kenya. And I have no idea what Kenya looks like, but I know I'm there, and then I come out of it" he said.

He said hearing stories like Mulli's will bring people around the world together.

"When you think about this man and what he went through, you don't see color. You don't see race. I mean, we are all one race. We are human beings, and we're in this together," he said.

Mack Wilberg, the choir's director, said the focus of this year's concert is hope and service. He said they hope people leave the concert with the spirit of both hope and service.

He said having Mulli come to share his story in person is "the icing on the cake." He thanked him for letting the choir share his story with millions of people over the next year.

Wilberg said it takes some inspiration and luck to find the right story for each year's concert. He said sometimes they tell stories of people who are no longer alive — like the story of Victor Hugo in last year's concert — but because this year's story was contemporary, they could bring Mulli onto the stage.

'Embraced into the company'

Both Haysbert and Miles said they have been familiar with the Tabernacle Choir's music for a long time. Miles spoke about listening to the music with her mom, who was very involved in church music for their own church while she was growing up.

She emigrated to the United States when she was 5, and as she learned English, the two communicated best through music. She talked about singing harmonies with her mom while driving.

"I could never have imagined that one day I could be on the stage and performing with them, with the additional gift of having my mom in the audience," she said.

Miles complimented the intentional musicianship and discipline of the choir and orchestra. She said their first practice together was on Tuesday, and everyone came prepared with their parts of the program ready.

When she arrived, she said she was welcomed in and it felt like she was "embraced into a company."

"It does not often happen this way ... it really has felt like a welcoming, like folding us into a blanket of love," she said.

Wilberg said they ran through the songs with everyone twice before the first performance. He said leading the choir is a "magnificent privilege" but also "a lot of hard work."

He said he strives for unity and contrast in choosing the music for the program. And although the Christmas concerts have been going on for many years, the building of the Concert Center 25 years ago evolved the annual event into what members of the church are familiar with today. He said each concert takes on a life of its own and has a unique meaning.

Mike Leavitt, president of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, expressed gratitude to the guests who loaned their talents and story for the concert.

"This performance is the Christmas spirit on a monumental scale," he said.

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