By Elizabeth Swan
The Draper Philharmonic & Choral Society’s performance of King of Kings at Union Middle School in Sandy delivers a performance that satisfies what we all want from Christmas performances: the old and the classic, mixed with new perspectives and songs. That’s certainly the expectation that I came in with. I wanted it to feel Christmas-y, but I didn’t want to feel like I was hearing the exact same stuff that I’ve heard year after year. The Draper Philharmonic & Choral Society certainly met my expectations.
The experience begins when the audience enters as their junior orchestra is playing classic Christmas songs to welcome the audience. Then the story opens up with Anna (Valaura Arnold) , a priestess who saw the baby Christ, and Simeon (Austin Larsen), a priest who “received a witness that he would not die until he had seen the Savior in the flesh.” They are both praising God and express excitement at the coming of the Christ. Then begins the classic tale of Christ’s birth starring Mary ( Serena Mackerell), Joseph (Zack Grob), and the angel Gabriel (Nathan Curtis).
Arnold and Larsen open the performance with a beautiful duet. Even though they are the only two characters on the stage in the opening, they capture the attention of the audience.
Herod (David Timpson) is very intimidating and demonstrates power.
Mackerell is clearly a shining star. She has a powerful voice that is consistently heard over the orchestra. She plays Mary with tenderness and demonstrates the womanly strength that Mary had to have in her situation. Her duet with Elisabeth (Kimberly Robbins) is fabulous. Both of them are very talented singers. It is a masterful choice to have those two sing together.
Robbins’ voice is marvelous and stunning in its intense, but lovely, resona nce. Robbins and Mackerell are very talented.
Mackerell’s counterpart, Grob, is deeply passionate in his role. There is a moment given to him after he hears of Mary’s pregnancy and he feels the pain of being “cheated on.” It’s very emotional and put a new perspective on Joseph’s character and role. It is very powerful and Grob portrays Joseph as being convincingly hurt by the situation. He is also a sweet companion when he learns the truth about Mary’s pregnancy.
A shout-out must be given to the three wise men (Ryan Ward, Devin Butler, Benjamin Stanford). Their voices mesh perfectly together, particularly in their lovely song, “Where Is He?” All three of the wise men are very talented and have very confident presences on stage.
Jacob Lives and Tyler Teerlink are very talented composers. They should feel proud about the powerful music and lyrics that they created. The performance is frequently moving and their music is unique, powerful, and emotional. This is especially something to be loved with the trumpets in the song “Come, Thou King of Israel.” There are also powerful uses of the cymbals and the tubular bells worked into the music. It is so beautiful.
The choir adds so much grace to King of Kings. I loved their parts in the songs “Fear Not, the Lord is With Thee” and “Come, Thou King of Israel” and it’s clear that “Come, Thou King of Israel” is a perfect climax after Mary sang with Elisabeth.
Sherri Jensen is both the founder and the conductor for this group. She has so much passion for music and for telling spiritually important stories. The love she brings to their performances enhances the life of each show. Through King of Kings, she wants her audience to remember why they celebrate Christmas and to feel “true gratitude for the advent of the Son of God.”
Not enough can be said about the talents demonstrated by The Draper Philharmonic and Choral Society. You’d think it was freezing in the auditorium by how many goosebumps I got throughout the performance. I was in awe of and pleased by the music that exceeds all expectations. While there were only two performances, audiences can look forward to wonderful performances in the future.
Draper Philharmonic & Choral Society presents King of Kings, by Jacob Lives and Tyler Teerlink
Union Middle School Auditorium, 615 E 8000 S, Sandy, Utah 84070
December 6-7, 2019, 7:30 PM
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Draper Philharmonic & Choral Society Official Website
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