It has become a tradition for the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra to center their Family Pops Concert on a theme.
“Our first year was a “Star Wars” theme,” said AFCO Director and Conductor Dr. Craig Jessop. “Last year was a “Wizard of Oz” theme.”
Jessop has created a unique juxtaposition for this year’s concert.
“This year is a country theme, meaning country and western music…I had heard Cold Creek at a performance in Salt Lake City and they just blew me away. Their banjo player, their fiddler (are) just world class,” Jessop said.
Creative collaborations are not new to Jessop, but performing together will be a first for Cold Creek and the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra. Jessop, who conducted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, has worked with other country music artists including the band Alabama.
“When I was director of the Air Force Singing Sergeants in Washington DC we did a salute to the Grand Ole Opry,” he said. “It’s an amazing tradition that still continues to this day. It felt like a really fun thing to create an old time radio show live from the Ellen Eccles Theatre: The Golden Days of Radio.”
Cold Creek will join the AFCO at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on Saturday, October 10 in Logan. There is a 2 p.m. matinee and 7:30 p.m. performance.
