Music

On a recent episode of “The Book Mic Drop” podcast, Jason and Jenny discussed their new book, “Witnesses of Christmas: A Musical Journey Through the Nativity of Jesus the Christ” and their annual Christmas show, “Joy to the World: A Sacred Celebration.”

The book is now available online or in traditional retailers. Tour tickets and showtimes are available at www.jennyoaksbaker.com/tour

Below is an edited transcript of the interview, exclusive for Meridian readers.

Jason:

Jenny, tell us who you are and why you do what you do?

Jenny:

Well, why I’m doing what I do is because the Spirit has told me to do it, and I try to be obedient because I love blessings.

I started playing violin when I was four, and immediately showed that I had this talent that God had given me. My mom recognized that and she was extremely supportive, and my dad as well. I practiced really hard and my parents instilled in me that I had a responsibility to develop my talent and be worthy and ready to use that talent to build the kingdom of God. And I just always knew that God had something for me to do and I had to keep the commandments, work really hard, and listen to the spirit to try to figure out what it was.

Then I got into the Curtis Institute of Music, which is a really special place. It’s probably the best music school in the world, so I was really blessed to get in. And then I got my master’s from Juilliard School in New York City. I met my husband in New York and we got married and moved to Washington, DC for his job. Then I got into the National Symphony and played as I was having children.

By the time I’d had our fourth child, I felt like the symphony wasn’t what God wanted me to do. He wanted me to be home with my kids. So I walked away from the symphony, which was really hard and scary.

I made some solo albums, but I didn’t have any solo concerts. The day after I resigned from the symphony, conductors started calling and I started performing quite a bit. Not being in the symphony, I had more time to help my kids develop their musical talents and over the years they started performing with me. Although they are now grown up, happily they still perform with me.

My oldest daughter Laura is married and she plays the violin. Hannah is the second oldest and she is a pianist. She’s going to the Royal Academy of Music studying piano in London. She’s in her third year now of college. Sarah, my third daughter, plays the cello. She started the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland this fall, but she’ll also come back for the tour. And then Matthew, our youngest, is a junior in high school. He plays classical guitar. So we performed together as “Jenny Oaks Baker and Family Four,” with my wonderful husband who supports it all.

So that’s a little bit of who I am and I’m grateful to be able to perform and grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted me with this beautiful show and has provided miracles and direction on how to bring it to the world.

Jason:

Amen, amen, and amen. I just feel so fortunate to have known all that because we’ve known each other for a long time. And I know that you love your education and the schools you attended, and I know you love the halls you’ve played in around the world, and I know you love the show and I know you love the book and I know you love it all, but you love God so much more than any of that that it pales in significance. It’s silly to even compare the two.

Tell us a little bit about the Christmas show that we’ve put on these last few years.

Jenny:

It’s called “Joy to the World, a Sacred Celebration,” but it’s all about becoming a better witness of Jesus Christ, which is why the book is called “Witnesses of Christmas,” and it follows the same script as the show.

Jason:

So this all started about three years ago. Jenny reached out and said, “I want to do a Christmas show in the middle of a global pandemic.” We did just one show at Tuacahn Amphitheater in St. George, Utah for the first and second year, and then we jumped to 10 cities in 2022. And we survived somehow. We survived 10 cities! And then Jenny called me early this year . . .  And what did you say to me, Jenny?

Jenny: 

I don’t remember because it’s just been such a long year! But I think I was like, “I want to do 20!”

Jason:

Yep, she said let’s go from 10 to 20. And I just remember thinking, “OK, five years from now, at the rate we’re going, we’ll be doing 1,200 shows between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” But somehow, you have pulled this together! What has this been like?

Jenny:

It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever broken down in tears so many times sitting at my computer as I have the last few months. It was really hard to figure out how to do a tour for 10 cities, but I did it and I thought, “This year I know what I’m doing, this is not new. I just do the same thing but just double it no big deal.”

Oh my goodness, it’s so much harder than just two times harder. And I know how to work hard, and I’ll pull it off, and I know that God is helping me. But Heavenly Father likes to teach you lessons as He helps you and sometimes those lessons are not super fun, but they’re worthwhile and I’m grateful for them when I’m done with them. But when I’m in the middle of them I’m not as grateful.

I’m working on it, but it has been the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to pull off. Every day I pray for specific miracles that I need to come through, and very often those miracles come. It’s keeping me working hard, my Kleenex box is right by my computer, but it keeps you humble, and doing hard things is what sanctifies me and helps me become more of the person that God would have me be. So I know how to work hard, I know how to rely on the Lord, and this has been a really good test of that.

Jason:

I posted and wrote a little bit about some of the miracles and the exhaustion and the things that came together to make last year successful and special. You take all this work over months and months and months, and you saying it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done, which I absolutely believe, and now you have to stand on stage and actually do the thing that you have been studying and practicing to do since you were a toddler.

Jenny: 

Once we hit November 24, that’s my vacation. I will bring it every single night because I know how to do that, but that’s the easy part. I will bring it and my kids will bring it, and Jason always brings it, Alex will bring it, and the local dancers and choir will bring it.

We have 60 different performing groups on this tour and that actually is one of the hardest things to do, actually finding the performing groups that are willing to do it during Christmas because it’s a busy time. But we have Irish dancers at every stop group and Lyrical dancers at every stop and a choir at every stop and a bagpiper. We’re using the same two bagpipers on the whole tour, so that makes it a little easier than last year. And then we have a percussionist, Jay Nygaard, who’s wonderful.

Jason:

I actually think it’s really helpful for people to know that you’re not just coming to experience something really special on stage for an hour and a half, you’re coming to experience the culmination of months and months of work, prayer, sweat, and spiritual energy that goes into it.

So tell us, is there anything super interesting that’s new about this year that’s worth it for people that maybe came last year and are trying to decide if they want to come again?

Jenny:

Well before we go into that, honestly, I don’t care if people who are at the show understand how much work went into it. I want them to be there to have a really great spiritual experience to become closer to Jesus Christ, to feel unified with their family and friends, and to have the spirit speak to their hearts and help them feel the true meaning of Christmas and to just become a better witness of Jesus Christ.

I honestly don’t need them to know how much work went into it, but I do want them to feel the spirit and to know of God’s love for each of them. So that’s why Heavenly Father has blessed me to be able to pull us off, and that’s why he blessed you to write such a powerful and impactful, beautiful script and deliver it with such authenticity.

There’s also, of course, entertaining moments. It’s not just like attending a religious service. It’s got Irish dancers and lots of energy and beautiful lighting and gorgeous videos of Jesus Christ. It’s a really special show.

As far as the new things, this year I hired a lyrical choreographer. In our Idaho Falls show last year, I loved the choreography so much. When the choir was singing “Glory to God” and we were playing these glorious Christmas carols, the dancer’s hands were reaching up to heaven in such a beautiful way and I just loved the choreography. So I reached out to Janell Fullmer and I said, “Will you choreograph the whole show for next year?” So the lyrical dancers in every show will have this same choreography. There’s a name for it, it’s called liturgical dance. It’s a kind of dance that is more religious and sacred. So that’s new this year.

I hired a creative director, Scott Eckern, and he’s gone through the script and just kind of tweaked things. We made it an hour and a half instead of two hours with no intermission just to tighten it up and make it even more spiritually and artistically and creatively impactful. You just changed a little bit of the script. Here and there we’re changing some of the projections and the Irish dancing. We’ve got the congregation joining in on “Silent Night,” which will be really beautiful and powerful. It’ll be pretty different and, I think, just even more impactful and beautifully satisfying.

Jason:

It’s interesting because generally you think, well, if you’ve taken away, then you’ve diminished its value, like it’s now smaller. But actually by taking a little bit away from the show in terms of the length and tightening up, adjusting the song order, it’s actually better. I can’t wait to get on stage and see how it plays out, because I think, by taking the intermission away, by reordering the music a little bit, I just think it’s going to be an even better, more powerful show.

Jason:

Jenny, tell us about the VIP reception you’ve dreamt up for these shows.

Jenny:

Oh goodness, I hope people come. We’ll be doing a VIP reception where you can come early to meet the cast. Everyone who attends the VIP reception will get a signed copy of the “Witnesses of Christmas” book we’re talking about today, we’ll have some little refreshments, and a photo opportunity that makes it look like a Hollywood premiere.

Jason:

Now let’s talk about this book, which is our reverse story. I called you after the show last year and said, “What if we packaged the narration with your music in some new arrangements, and produced something that might be a lovely gift for both people who attend the show and people that will never have an opportunity to see it.”

Cut to the “Witnesses of Christmas.” Part one of the book is an edited version of the narration from David the shepherd, along with adjusted sheet music from the show so readers can play and sing along. Part two of the book dives into some attributes of the Savior with scriptures that illustrate those attributes, and then real world examples on how we can become more like Him by adopting those attributes, learning from his life, and applying those lessons.

Jenny: 

There are also QR codes in the book, which give you recordings from the Christmas show. We wanted to make it very interactive for people and so they could gather their families and sit around the Christmas tree and have this experience of the show where they read the script, and then they can experience the music in one of three ways.

You can either listen to the recording of the music, or watch an accompanying music video accessed by a QR code, or, if you want it to be more interactive, there’s vocal/piano sheet music that you can perform yourself.

It’s a great way to experience the Christmas story and bring yourself closer to Jesus Christ. And then the second part is not in the show, but it’s kind of the “why” behind becoming witnesses of Christ. How does that apply to our lives? And it’s really beautiful, what you’ve written. And then there’s an extra bonus video at the end.

Finally, I have to say that I am so thankful to my dear friends, the Proctors, for their friendship and support through the years. And I can’t wait to meet Meridian readers across the country at the show!