Hope of the Season: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir premiered on PBS on December 15, 2025. The 90-minute theatrical program features The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, Bells at Temple Square, and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble in a celebration of Christmas stories centered on hope, love, and service.
Renowned film and television actor Dennis Haysbert and Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles join the Choir as special guests. The program presents music from around the world, stirring spoken narratives, and a special feature on the life and humanitarian work of Kenyan philanthropist Dr. Charles Mulli.
What Hope of the Season features
The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra, and Bells at Temple Square present a program of hope and joy at their annual Christmas Concert in the 21,000-seat Conference Center in Salt Lake City. Music from around the world and stirring spoken narratives painted a vivid portrait of the heavenly hope of Christmas, including a special feature on the life and human- itarian work of Kenyan philanthropist Dr. Charles Mulli.
Assisting the Choir as special guests at this concert were renowned film and television actor Dennis Haysbert and Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles. With the Choir, Orchestra, Bells at Temple Square, and the Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble, all joined together to celebrate these inspiring Christmas stories of hope and love in action.
Experience the magic of Christmas as Tony Award-winner Ruthie Ann Miles and legendary actor Dennis Haysbert join the beloved Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for a breathtaking 90-minute theatrical celebration.
Hope of the Season: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir is filled with powerful stories of hope, love, and the true spirit of the season.
Dennis Haysbert and Ruthie Ann Miles
“Ruthie Ann Miles and Dennis Haysbert brought extraordinary warmth and authenticity to this year’s concert. Ruthie Ann’s crystalline voice and emotional depth perfectly capture the message of hope we seek to share, while Dennis’s powerful presence and storytelling elevated the entire production. Together they helped us create a concert that speaks to the universal human need for hope, particularly during the holiday season." - Mack Wilberg, Music director of The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square
Renowned film and television actor Dennis Haysbert and Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles join the iconic Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in a stunning 90-minute theatrical program, which celebrates inspiring Christmas stories of hope and love in action.
The Conference Center in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City’s Conference Center at Temple Square is a remarkable cultural and event space. Despite its size, there are no columns in the Center’s auditorium, leading to unobstructed views between the performers and audience, as well as an unexpected feeling of intimacy.
The Conference Center pays homage to the neighboring Tabernacle, a building of great historical significance built by early pioneers, which is the principal home of the Choir. (Summers and December are spent in the Conference Center.)
“This is one of the most beautiful venues to sing in because there’s no interruption from columns - it’s just open. It’s massive but has this feeling of intimacy. The moment I walked into the auditorium, I passed out. Not really, but I did do a big faint for everyone.” - Kristin Chenoweth
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
Founded in August 1847 by a small group of frontier settlers just 29 days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has evolved into a world-recognized, Grammy and Emmy® Award-winning musical organization that is unparalleled in its size, history, reach and versatility.
When Latter-day Saints moved to the Salt Lake Valley in the American West under the direction of Church President Brigham Young, a small choir was formed which first sang at a conference of the Church on August 22, 1847, just 29 days after the first pioneers arrived. From this small beginning, the Choir has become an international musical sensation.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is a world-renowned, 360-member choir credited with over 4,900 episodes of its weekly live performance of “Music & the Spoken Word.”
The Choir has traveled around the world performing in acclaimed concert halls, for the inaugurations of seven U.S. presidents beginning with its first for President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, at World's Fairs and expositions, in acclaimed concert halls, on television and radio broadcasts and now internet streams, and numerous other prestigious events and occasions.
Recognition and recordings
The Choir has won four Emmy® Awards, 1 Grammy Award and multiple Grammy nominations, was awarded the National Medal of the Arts in 2003 and inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2015.
It has released over 200 recordings which have earned two platinum and five gold albums and hit #1 on Billboard®’s classical music charts 15 times.
In October 2018, the Choir changed its name to “The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.”
How the Choir is organized
Though the Choir remains an all-volunteer force, its 360 members must each pass a rigorous, nine-month, four-phase audition process which includes 16 weeks of training that test not only their musical aptitude and range, but also their dedication to the Choir’s demanding rehearsal and performance schedule.
The annual Christmas concerts by The Tabernacle Choir organization include a 500-person-strong-cast of 360 Choir voices, 85 Orchestra at Temple Square instrumentalists, 32 bell ringers from Bells at Temple Square, actors, and dancers who join with the invited guest artists to produce this annual holiday spectacle.
Music & the Spoken Word
The Christmas concert is the largest undertaking of the Choir’s 75 performances each year. This includes their weekly, 30-minute live Music & the Spoken Word broadcast, which dates back to 1929 and is the longest continuously running weekly network broadcast in history.
In 1929, the Choir began broadcasting Music & the Spoken Word on radio. Now the program-carried on over 2,000 radio and television stations and with over 4,900episodes-is the world’s longest continuing network broadcast.
It is celebrating its 90th anniversary as a free nondenominational program of music and inspiration.
The Choir has been credited with over 4,900 episodes of its weekly live performance of “Music & the Spoken Word.” The program is the longest continuing network broadcast in history, now in its 94th year.
09/06/26 | Repairers of the Breach | Music & the Spoken Word #5059 | The Tabernacle Choir
A long-running Christmas tradition
Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir is a storied tradition that dates back decades. A rich roster of guests has traveled to Salt Lake City over the years to star in the phenomenon.
The treasured “Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir” special returns to PBS for the 22nd year.
| Christmas special | Featured guests | Program details |
|---|---|---|
| Hope of the Season | Ruthie Ann Miles and Dennis Haysbert | Stories of hope and love in action |
| Joy | Michael Maliakel and Lesley Nicol | A 90-minute theatrical program about opening hearts to all |
| Season of Light | Lea Salonga and Sir David Suchet | A Christmas program featuring Tony Award-winning and internationally recognized performers |
| O Holy Night: A Celtic Christmas | Megan Hilty and Neal McDonough | The 2022 Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir special |
| 20-year anniversary special | Brian Stokes Mitchell | Highlights from the best performances of the past two decades |
Previous guest artists and narrators
Gladys Knight, Angela Lansbury, Bryn Terfel, Audra McDonald, Renee Fleming, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Natalie Cole, David Archuleta, Deborah Voigt, Santino Fontana, Laura Osnes and Rolando Villazón, among others, have performed as musical guest artists.
And Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, Hollywood star John Rhys-Davies (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”), legendary broadcaster Walter Cronkite and the Muppets® from “Sesame Street” have served as narrators.
Selected Christmas programs
Broadway star Michael Maliakel and beloved British actress Lesley Nicol (from Downton Abbey, the MASTERPIECE TV series) join the iconic Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square in a stunning 90-minute theatrical program,Joy: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir. The heart warming production illustrates that the real meaning of Christmas is opening our hearts to all.
Season of Light: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir stars Tony Award-winning Disney and Broadway star Lea Salonga ("Mulan," "Miss Saigon") and world-renowned screen and stage actor Sir David Suchet ("Agatha Christie's Poirot").
In the 2022 Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir special, Tony Award-nominated Broadway star Megan Hilty and renowned film and television actor Neal McDonough join The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for O Holy Night: A Celtic Christmas.
In December of 2021, Broadway legend and Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell joined The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square as the narrator of its 20-year anniversary special. The star-studded program showed highlights from the best performances of the past two decades.
The Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and Bells at Temple Square join together with Tony® Award-winning star Kelli O’Hara and renowned actor Richard Thomas to celebrate this simple, timely message of Christmas-a message of love, selfless service, and gratitude.
Celebrate Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir with Emmy® and Tony® Award-winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth, who brings her characteristic charm, style, faith and artistic prowess to Salt Lake City for an unforgettable night of Christmas celebration that was over a decade in the making.
In December, 2018, the annual holiday musical spectacular Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir welcomed Tony® Award- winning actress and TV star Sutton Foster and the Emmy-nominated stage and screen star Hugh Bonneville.
The program included cherished Christmas carols such as “Christmas Time is Here” from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Joy to the World,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Silent Night.”
Since bursting onto the international music scene in 1999, tenor Rolando Villazón has established himself as one of the most critically acclaimed, beloved, sought-after and versatile performers of our time. In 2017 he loaned his extraordinary talent to the acclaimed Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir for a musical night to remember.
PBS, BYUtv, and streaming availability
Since 2004, the Choir’s Christmas specials have become a beloved PBS tradition where the programs have consistently ranked as the most viewed PBS holiday programs.
BYUtv has worked with The Tabernacle Choir since 2017 to bring the specials to PBS working hand-in-hand with partner station GBH-the largest creator of PBS content for TV and the web.
Streaming is available across PBS’s video streaming platforms including PBS.org, the PBS app, and PBS’s OTT (“over the top”) channels and at BYUtv.org and on the BYUtv app after the initial airings on the respective channels.
BYUtv
BYUtv provides families more than 2,000 hours of entertaining and compelling programming they can enjoy together. The network's content is trusted, contemporary and clean, yet clever and sophisticated enough to inspire children and parents alike.
BYUtv's diverse portfolio of original, co-produced and acquired content includes scripted and unscripted dramas and comedies, 700+ hours of live HD collegiate sports, game shows, and holiday special made-for-tv movies, docudramas and concerts.
BYUtv is available in more than 50 million homes in every state of the country on DISH Network, DirecTV and 139 other major cable systems.
A digital pioneer, BYUtv was the first U.S. television network to stream all of its content live and unencrypted over the internet.
Today, BYUtv has more than two million YouTube subscribers and two billion views and is available live and on-demand on multiple digital platforms free of charge, including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Windows Media, digital apps for iOS and Android, and BYUtv.org.
Based in Provo, Utah, BYUtv is part of BYU Broadcasting, which is owned by Brigham Young University.
GBH and PBS
GBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Arthur, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, and more than a dozen other primetime, lifestyle and children’s series.
GBH’s television channels include WGBH 2, WGBX 44, and the digital channels World and Create. GBH Radio serves listeners across New England with 89.7 GBH, Boston’s Local NPR®; 99.5 WCRB Classical Radio Boston; and WCAI, the Cape and Islands NPR® Station.
GBH also is a major source of programs for public radio, a leader in educational multimedia, and a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired audiences.
PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content.
Each month, PBS reaches over 120 million people through television and 26 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances.
Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life.
Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by followingPBS Pressroom on Twitter.
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