Acclaimed Award-winning actress of stage and screen, Lea Salonga, will be the featured guest artist at this year’s Christmas concerts by The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square on December 15, 16, and 17, at 8:00 p.m. (Mountain) at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. Under the direction of Mack Wilberg, music director of the Choir, and Ryan Murphy, associate music director, Salonga will ring in the Christmas spirit with live audiences after two years of impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. As in past concerts, there will be a guest narrator for the concerts who will be announced at a later date.
“We are delighted to have Lea Salonga with us as we welcome the community back to the Conference Center for our Christmas concerts,” said Wilberg. “Her compelling voice will bring the holiday spirit to the hearts of our audiences with joy, peace, light, and love.”
The Christmas concerts have become a traditional audience favorite and will include a 500-person cast consisting of 360 Choir members, nearly 100 members of the Orchestra at Temple Square, and the 32 members of Bells at Temple Square, all of whom combine with the guest artists to present this annual musical celebration.
Today’s announcement signals a return to normal after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 Christmas concerts and the 2021 concerts were not open to the public. Despite such challenges, the Choir continued its Christmas concert tradition with a special featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell in 2020 which aired on television to great acclaim last December. In 2021 Broadway star, Megan Hilty, and renowned film and television actor, Neil McDonough, joined the Choir, the Orchestra, the Bells at Temple Square.
LEA SALONGA
Lea Salonga is a multiple award-winning actress and singer renowned across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch. She is best known for her Tony® Award-winning role in Miss Saigon . In addition to the Tony® , she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World Awards in the field of musical theatre.
Many fans of all ages recognize Lea as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II . For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend.” Lea’s 2022 Dream Again Tour and her 2019 The Human Heart Tour saw sold-out audiences and record-breaking sales across North America and the United Kingdom. She currently stars in the HBO Max series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. An avid techie and gamer, Lea divides her time between the United States and Manila, Philippines.