This December, the beloved annual “Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir” special returns to PBS. Tony® Award-nominated performer Megan Hilty and well-known film and television actor Neal McDonough join the iconic 500-person Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in a soulful celebration of the season. McDonough and Hilty, who each share Irish heritage and traditions, join the Choir and Orchestra, trumpeters and bell ringers in delivering a deeply personal program that weaves together well-known holiday tunes, classic Christmas carols and hymns with some traditional Irish musical numbers.
Former Tabernacle Choir guest artist and Tony Award-winner, Brian Stokes Mitchell, is back to remember and relive twenty years of inspiring Christmas concerts. From opera, gospel, and pop singers to Broadway and cabaret stars; from Shakespearean actors and movie and television stars, the Choir’s guest artists provide, not just formidable talent, but a little something for everyone.
Elliott was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He originally planned to become a studio musician and studied organ as part of this goal. After studies at the preparatory division of the Peabody Conservatory and the Catholic University of America, he received a bachelor's degree from the Curtis Institute of Music while also serving as an assistant organist for the Wanamaker Organ. It was while he was a student at Curtis that Elliott joined the LDS Church. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Argentina from 1981 to 1983. Elliott received Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying under David Craighead. He then became a professor of music at Brigham Young University. He was appointed a Tabernacle organist when Robert Cundick retired in 1991. In addition to accompanying the Tabernacle Choir and giving recitals at Temple Square, Elliott has recorded many organ pieces with various labels and occasionally gives organ recitals at various locations across the United States. Several of Elliott's arrangements for organ have been published, many by Jackman Music.