The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Chrismas Concert Series

Chrismas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Featuring Frederica von Stade and Bryn Terfel (1x3)

Air date: Dec 01, 2003

Frederica von Stade, one of the world’s foremost mezzo-sopranos joins the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for the 2003 Christmas special. Frederica von Stade has enriched the world of classical music for more than three decades with her appearances in operas, concerts and recitals. She appeared with the Choir during the 2002 Winter Olympics when she described the experience as “just amazing. . . . I can’t quite believe how they make these amazing sounds. Her concert appearance included “The First Nowell,” “One December, Bright and Clear, “and Czech carol “A Bethlehem allons vite!” Bryn Terfel, world-renowned Welsh baritone, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square began a lasting friendship in 2003 when he accepted the invitation to sing in the Christmas concert. That year Queen Elizabeth II awarded him with a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for service to opera. Terfel was born and raised in northern Wales, where he was singing onstage in Eisteddfod competitions by the age of four. He graduated from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the rest is history. He shares a Welsh connection with the Choir—many of the original members of the Choir emigrated from Wales.