O HOLY NIGHT: CHRISTMAS WITH THE TABERNACLE CHOIR FEATURING MEGAN HILTY AND NEAL McDONOUGH  

“When we discovered that Megan Hilty and Neal McDonough shared Irish heritage, everything clicked into place and we decided to capitalize on that for this year’s Christmas concert special. It was an absolute pleasure working alongside these two generous performers who bring such beautiful perspectives on life, faith and family through time-honored traditions. We are thrilled to share this performance with everyone and celebrate its shining message of hope and light.”

 - Mack Wilberg, music director of The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square

December 2022: 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, at Temple Square and Gabriel Trumpet Ensemble to celebrate the holidays with a return to the Emerald Isle.

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. In addition to favorites such as “O Holy Night” and “Angels from the Realms of Glory” (“Angels We have Heard on High”), the program includes several unique cultural flourishes and nods, such as when a penny whistle, Irish fiddle and bodhrán (a frame drum used in Irish music) join Tabernacle organist Richard Elliott in a lively jig.

McDonough serves as the evening’s narrator, delivering thoughtful reflections on the role that family, heritage and traditions play at this time of year. McDonough, whose own parents emigrated from Ireland to Boston in the late 1940s and early 1950s and who instilled in him a deep love of his homeland and heritage, shares with the audience the symbolism behind traditional Irish customs, many of which have been embraced and are well-recognized around the world. From whitewashing the walls of the cottage and a “Christmas morning dip in the icy sea” to placing a candle in the window and decorating homes with holly, McDonough shares how these simple traditions serve as reminders to embrace the spirit of the season, wash out the old and welcome in the new, clean out our hearts, and love and serve the weary and downtrodden.

With the music and musings intertwined, the result is an uplifting holiday and musical feast that inspires hope, stirs reflection and invites the peace of the season for any viewer, regardless of background or belief.