I won the lottery!

I was one of the lucky ones who had my name drawn at random to receive tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert with the King's Singers. There were more than 1 million requests for tickets at www.lds.org, and only about 85,000 tickets available, so that makes my odds, what, about 1 in 11? And if you consider that everyone who requested tickets could get up to 8, that makes the odds more like 1 in 94. I'm not the type of person who wins things all the time, but if I could pick something to win, this would be it. We attended Friday night and it was fantastic! We got the boys' favorite babysitter for the evening, then drove to Salt Lake where we met Jeff's parents, aunt and uncle, and a couple of good friends on Temple Square. We made it to our seats in time--if you don't, you could lose them to standbys--and sat down to enjoy an hour-and-a-half of beautifully performed Christmas music.

If you like choral music, which I do, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir can't be beat. Their music never fails to uplift me. Everything they do is excellent. But then to add the the King's Singers, one of the most talented vocal groups I've ever heard, and excellent vocal musicians in their own right--well, it was incredible. My vocabulary and my reviewing skills just don't do it justice. Although it is really difficult to choose, I think my favorite numbers were the King's Singers a capella versions of "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow." "The Twelve Days of Christmas," my least favorite Christmas song, was even enjoyable, with some fun choreography by the University of Utah Dance Department. The concert was filmed for future broadcast on PBS television, so be sure to look for it next December. I'll be purchasing the DVD too when it comes out, something I don't normally feel the need to do. It was just that good. I've been feeling a little swamped by the various pressures of the holidays, and I've struggled to feel the spirit of the season. This concert broke through some of the cloud for me. And I don't think I'll be able to stand to listen to FM100 Christmas music for the rest of the year. Sappy, secular Christmas music--ugh.