Three amazing guests—Matthew Morrison, Laura Michelle Kelly, and Oscar “Andy” Hammerstein III—joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for their “Music for a Summer Evening” concert held annually in conjunction with community-wide Pioneer Day celebrations. This special Broadway-themed concert was held on Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, at 8 p.m. in the Conference Center and was conducted by Mack Wilberg, music director of the Choir, and Ryan Murphy, associate music director. 

Matthew Morrison is a versatile actor, singer, and dancer who has been recognized for his work on stage and screen with Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award nominations. Morrison most recently starred as J. M. Barrie in the Broadway musical Finding Neverland and is well known to television audiences as Mr. Schuester in the musical comedy television series Glee. In 2012, Morrison hosted and narrated the PBS special entitled Oscar Hammerstein II—Out of My Dreams, which focused on the Broadway producer’s life and career.

Laura Michelle Kelly is a Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress and singer for her star-making performance as Mary Poppins in the London stage production. It will be a reunion performance for Morrison and Kelly, who starred opposite each other in the Broadway musical production of Finding Neverland, where Kelly performed the role of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Kelly has performed in numerous London and Broadway musical productions as well as radio, TV, and concert appearances, which include Royal Albert Hall, Hampton Court Palace, the Royal Opera House, and Buckingham Palace.

Oscar “Andy” Hammerstein III, grandson of the famed lyricist and music theater producer Oscar Hammerstein II, will join the Choir and Orchestra as the narrator of this special concert focusing on the Broadway contributions of his family. This will be a return engagement for Hammerstein, who narrated the Choir and Orchestra’s much-loved “Music: It Runs in the Family” 2017 RootsTech concert. In addition to serving as the Hammerstein family historian, Hammerstein is also a painter, writer, and lecturer.

These summer concerts featuring music by the Choir and Orchestra have been a long-standing tradition. Recent guest artists have included Alex Boyé (2017), King's Singers (2016), Laura Osnes (2015), Santino Fontana (2014), Nathan Pacheco and Lindsey Stirling (2013), Katherine Jenkins (2012), and Linda Eder and Brian Stokes Mitchell (2011),