By Benedicte Dansie
Joy to the World presented by the Utah Voices was a bright and brilliant way to kick off the holiday season. Set against the backdrop of Libby Gardner Hall’s intricate organ, decorated Christmas trees, and warm lights, the concert hada cozy and cheerful feel. The audience was a mix of all ages creating a fun, family friendly environment that heralded in the joy of the Christmas spirit.
The program itself was under 1 ½ hours, which made it easily manageable for families with small children. The music was a mix of classical Christmas music such as: Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, and O Come, All Ye Faithful in addition to some less well known songs such as: The Star Carol, and Trinity Te Deum. The songs were all beautifully executed by the choir, small brass section, piano, organ, and other musical soloists. The principal accompanist Carrie Froyd artfully played through a plethora of complex and difficult pieces making them seem flowing and effortless. The music was all lively and lovely, selected to not only tell the Christmas story, but to ring in the season with beloved Christmas Carols.
Kelly Dehan (Artistic Director) and Eric Noyes (Associate Conductor) were engaging with not only their singers and musicians, but the audience as well. When the children’s choir entered the stage, Dehan kneeleddown so that he was on their level to assure that all of them feel comfortable and can see. The children’s choir was absolutely darling and as the conductor said, an amazing way to ensure the show sold because they were so cute to watch. By the bright smiles on all of the performers faces you could tell that they not only loved what they were doing, but completely trusted their conductors as well. This made for a beautiful blend of voices and instruments that projected the exuberance of the choir into the music they were performing.
Utah Voices was celebrating its tenth year this holiday season and Dehan paused the program to stop and speak with the audience about how the choir started. He spoke candidly of the fact that when he first called and asked to conduct the choir he laughed and said no because he was much too busy for that. However, when he was called by a friend the second time, and told he was going to be the conductor, he couldn’t help saying yes. After speaking a little more about the choir, Dehan asked how many of the choir members had been there since the very beginning ten years ago, at least 30% of the choir raised their hands. This was when Dehan invited the original conductor Dr. Michael D. Huff to come join him on the stage to conduct a few numbers.
The program overall had such a warm and homey feel, because the choir was so tight knit, the audience was comprised of mostly friends and family making everyone friendly and open. I absolutely loved this program and the joyful environment it provided for the evening. It was an amazing way to kick off the Christmas season and bring the joy of the season into my life.
Utah Voices presented Joy to the World
Libby Gardner Hall, 1375 Presidents Cir, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
November 23, 2018 7:30PM
Utah Voices Facebook Page
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