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Donny Osmond, Stephanie J. Block, Sebastian Arcelus, The Bonner Family, and Daniel Emmet at the press conference for the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, held on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles, California, USA.

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00:02Good morning. I'm Athena here with Maximo TV. My question for you guys is, how has music healed you in
00:09your life?
00:12I'm going. It's healed me in ways it's hard to explain. First of all, physiologically, whatever that vibration is, there
00:22is a true physical healing that happens just with oxygen and the vibration of making sound.
00:30Then, as mentioned before, with music, it is the great connector. It doesn't matter if you speak the same language
00:36or have grown up in an understanding of a culture. Once that song hits, once music hits, whether it's orchestra
00:43or voice, there is an understanding and there is a communication where humans are speaking to each other on a
00:49level that goes beyond of language.
00:52So for me, always having that, being my daughter's age at about 11 is when I found this expression and
00:59it changed everything for me. I found freedom. I found friendships. I found my place in the world because it's
01:06on a different level than just a regular sort of language. It does feel holy for sure.
01:13I'd like to say something. I was about your age. I was 13. And I was a challenged child in
01:22special ed. And I couldn't read at the age of 12. I still couldn't read. I couldn't retain.
01:27And it was through gospel music and singing the hymns, putting my hand on the hymn book and learning the
01:36hymns. That is how I learned how to read and wind up graduating with honors.
01:46And so music is the music and then the text. It's very important. What are you saying through your music?
01:57And so.
02:00Great. Go ahead.
02:03Do I go? Yeah.
02:04Okay. Music has significantly built my self-esteem,
02:11especially when I sing with the Bonner family. I mean, they, I don't know if you've heard them, they, they,
02:16they sing, you know what I mean? And so, um, um, uh, one particular time in, in recording, um, our
02:25creative director, um, Maui, he actually gave me a solo. Oh my gosh. Oh, it just did wonders for my
02:34self-esteem.
02:35And then in the same breath. And then in the same breath, as we were recording one time and everybody
02:39had a solo and I pleaded him, please, don't let me sing.
02:43I can't sing like you guys. Give me a speaking part. He gave me a speaking part.
02:47So I had music behind me when I speak. And then that one time, and sometimes on occasion, I get
02:55a solo and it's very healing.
02:59And, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, what's the word you want to use when it builds your confidence, draws
03:06you closer to the savior. Uh, then I'm in heaven. Thank you.
03:14Just say that music for me has always, it's where I've found community. It's where I've found that sense of,
03:19see if that's working.
03:22Listen, I'm loud. I can just do that. Thank you. Music has always been a source of joy. Whenever something
03:29doesn't make sense, I've always turned to music.
03:30And that's where I found the greatest spiritual connection in my life. And that's where I find this wonderful opportunity
03:36where we all get to share in the spirit together.
03:38It's something that no matter where you're from, where, how long you've known anyone in the crowd, we all become
03:44a family together in the music that we sing.
03:47And I think I can speak for all of us when I say, I sure felt that last night. That
03:51was unlike anything I've ever experienced.
03:54And I'm so honored and proud to have been a part of that and to get to sing for the
03:59first time with the tabernacle choir.
04:02I'm going to get choked up. I'm going to stop. That was the greatest gift. So thank you for having
04:07me.
04:11Kate.
04:14Christy.
04:17Hello, I'm Christine Rappley with the Church News. I'd just like to hear from everyone.
04:22What was it like to sing with the choir and orchestra last night?
04:25Daniel, you already shared a little bit about that, but I'd love to hear from everyone else.
04:31I wish everyone could get that experience.
04:37Because last night, I'll never forget, it was one of the greatest moments of my life.
04:41And I've been in the business since Dirt was created.
04:48But when you're singing and you feel that power behind you and all those voices, it's, I don't even have
04:55the vocabulary to explain that feeling.
04:59Other than it's glorious, it's spiritual, it's heavenly.
05:07And it was such an honor to share the stage with such wonderful talent up here.
05:12So it was a moment. It was an evening.
05:15And I know tonight will be another evening that I will never forget.
05:20Ever.
05:22Yeah, there's something to be on stage in such a grand way with over 400 musicians alongside you, behind you,
05:33seeing tens of thousands of people in front of you,
05:36and yet still being able to feel the breeze and hear the crickets and see the moon.
05:41There's something very connected about it all.
05:44So you walk on stage in this awe-inspiring sort of place and feeling in your soul, and yet you
05:51still feel the balls of your feet and feel one with it, if that makes any sense at all.
05:57I don't know if that's the most articulate way, but as Donnie had said, it was an overwhelming experience.
06:02And it's hard to find the language to put it together because at the same time, it's grand, and yet
06:09it's personal and intimate somehow.
06:13Yeah, just to add to that, there's something about singing with the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra, and then add to
06:23that the history of the Hollywood Bowl.
06:26Add to that the artistry on stage, backstage, in service of this moment, and you can't but help feel like
06:42you are exactly where you should be in that moment.
06:46And as the nerves started to bubble up prior to the concert, I shared this with Mac a few minutes
06:56ago.
06:57I looked out at the choir during Call of Champions, and I saw him smiling as he was conducting.
07:06And that set everything at ease, because in the midst of this grandeur, our leader, if you will, was enjoying
07:19it.
07:19And it said, well, then I probably should too.
07:23And I can tell you, I certainly did.
07:27Well, I just have to reiterate, 1996 was the first time I sang as a guest solos with the choir.
07:38And I've had many, many spiritual experiences.
07:41My husband and I were Baptist missionaries right after we were married.
07:45We went to Liberia, West Africa.
07:48Many, many experiences.
07:50Sung in many, many choirs.
07:52Sung with choirs.
07:54And when I sang, and then they sang behind me, it was the most spiritual experience to this date that
08:06I've ever had.
08:07And I think a lot of it is because you have over 300 voices of people who are in Christ,
08:15that they're one.
08:16And that director pulls them together as one.
08:20And we're praising him.
08:23All together as one.
08:25And I was so excited that my children had this experience to be able to have some experience that I
08:34had.
08:35And so I'm just overwhelmed even talking about it.
08:42All right.
08:43I have a question for Mac.
08:45Here, really, really quick.
08:46Yeah.
08:46Can I, I'd like, I know you had just a chance, right?
08:50Anything else you want to add to that one at all?
08:53I can't wait for tonight.
08:56It's, it was such a surreal experience to be supported by that gold standard of musicianship.
09:04For over 400 incredible musicians and artists on a song that is meant so much to me throughout my career.
09:13And to be able to share that experience with all of us last night was otherworldly.
09:18And I know it's going to feel just as surreal tonight.
09:22But hopefully I'll be able to just take in the moment just that much more.
09:26Okay.
09:26Now, Mac, let's flip the question for a little bit.
09:29How was it for you?
09:30And we've had an opportunity to work with, you've worked with most of them at different times.
09:35But what about last night with all of them?
09:37How was that for you?
09:38How was that, how did that feel for you?
09:41Well, first of all, let me say how honored and grateful we are to those of us who were able
09:47to join and to bring their artistry.
09:51And really, it was the most delicious frosting to the experience to have all of you with us.
09:58And so we are very, very grateful and, again, very honored to be, that you would join us.
10:06I think last night was quite a remarkable experience because it all came together after months of planning.
10:15And there have been some bumps in the road.
10:19We still hadn't settled repertoire until last Friday.
10:23That's why I ended up playing one of the pieces on the concert.
10:27But how wonderful is that for Matt at the piano?
10:32That's not why I brought it up, but it was out of necessity.
10:38When I committed to do it, I thought, well, how hard can it be?
10:41Well, it was hard.
10:43The music was hard, so I had to work at it.
10:48But there have been many challenges to be here and to see it all come together so beautifully last evening.
10:56And the sound was probably some of the best sound that we have had in this kind of setting, particularly
11:05outdoors,
11:06which whenever someone mentions, would you like to do an outdoor concert,
11:10you kind of are not quite as enthusiastic as people may want you to be because it's a challenge.
11:16But to be able to do it in that wonderful, iconic venue with wonderful sound and with all of these
11:26wonderful guest artists,
11:27there are several sitting out here as well.
11:31We thank them as well.
11:33We just had a wonderful experience.
11:35And, of course, look, I always say, and we get to do it again.
11:38And so we look forward to that.
11:41Great.
11:43Any others?
11:44Oh, I like this.
11:48Hi.
11:49Are you ready for this?
11:51I'm Vivian.
11:52I'm Stephanie and Sebastian's daughter.
11:54And I'd like to hear from everyone about their first experience they can remember with music
12:01and how it, like, moved you.
12:06When I was born, I was singing when I came out of the womb.
12:14I actually said last night my first experience was singing in church.
12:20I am a child of God.
12:22That was one of the first songs I learned.
12:24And to sing it last night with all those beautiful children around me, it was just, it was heavenly.
12:31And then when everybody, the choir, and even the audience started joining in,
12:37it was like all I could do is to keep my emotions together and finish that song.
12:43But after it was over, it was just amazing.
12:46But my first experience professionally was at five.
12:51I was on the Andy Williams show, and I made my debut.
12:54And, oh, you're clapping.
12:55You remember that?
12:56You're not that old.
12:58But I was told there's these three boxes, okay, and they've got lenses on them,
13:03and there's little red lights on them.
13:04I didn't know what tally lights were.
13:05And they said when the red lights are on, everybody's going to be watching you.
13:10And as a five-year-old, I'm thinking, well, everybody's watching me anyway.
13:14There's about 150 people in the studio.
13:16I had no idea how many millions of people were watching.
13:20Until right after that aired, Andy asked me to join he and my brothers on a Christmas tour.
13:29It was in Chicago at the old McCormick place.
13:33And he introduced me, and I come out on stage.
13:37The spotlights blinded me.
13:39I had no idea how many people were out there.
13:43And I sang my song.
13:45I just thought there were maybe 150 people, like, in the television studio at NBC.
13:50I finished it, and all of this cheers and clapping and flashbulbs.
13:55You don't know what flashbulbs are.
13:57But all these flashes, and it scared me.
14:01And I ran off stage after the song was over.
14:05And the next thing I remember, remember, I'm five years old.
14:09I hear Andy Williams say, Donnie, come back out here and take a bow.
14:14This is all for you.
14:16And I thought to myself, I've got to do this the rest of my life.
14:23And so it was.
14:25And so it was.
14:28Well, for me, you probably know, you know, Nana and Papa would say I would listen to television
14:33commercials, and I could sing the lyrics, and then I'd start to find little harmonies when
14:38I was quite young, three or four.
14:40And then similarly, I made my first communion, and Sister Sarah said, Would you like to sing
14:45in front of the congregation for your first communion?
14:47And I did.
14:48And mine was, And I will ace you up on eagle's wings.
14:54Does anybody know that hymn?
14:55So we did that, and they called me the little Ethel Merman, which is a star from MGM, because
15:01I could only sing forte.
15:02That's it.
15:03Just a big voice.
15:04And I took that on as just a badge that I felt really proud of having that voice, and
15:11it was an identity that felt safe to me, and I grew from there.
15:14She doesn't know who Ethel Merman is.
15:16She doesn't.
15:17We'll do some MGM classes later when I get home.
15:22I mean, yeah, I think I always just sung at home.
15:31Music was an outlet for me, and as often was the case in elementary school, there were
15:41a few guys that could sing, probably a couple that felt comfortable doing it.
15:45And so you would sort of feature prominently in your school choir, and I do recall in sixth
15:53grade, I was auditioning for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and we all had to sing
16:00one of the songs together.
16:01And other boys went up first, and they sang it kind of low, sort of in the lower register,
16:06because they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.
16:09And so I followed suit, and I did the same thing, and I didn't feel like I'd really shown
16:16forth, as it were.
16:17And I begged them to give me, over lunch, I begged them to give me a second opportunity.
16:24And to John Cosentino's credit, he let me go back up there, and I sang it in soprano,
16:32which at that point I was, and, you know, I played Charlie Brown.
16:39Booked the gig.
16:40Booked the gig.
16:43My earliest memory, one of my earliest memories is singing in a gospel choir.
16:50That's when I came to know Jesus Christ, was, because gospel music is personal, it says,
16:56I love you, Lord.
16:59And you talk about how he loves you, and they called it, in the Baptist church, they called
17:06it singing with the anointing.
17:09And it's like, you leave earth, you're in a different space, and it's all about you and
17:17him.
17:18And so that was, I think, one of my earliest memories of singing, and so to be able to carry
17:25that in all music, to be, to be.
17:30Not to pretend, not to perform or to show, but to be.
17:35And so I'm glad I was able to share that type of experience with my children as they grow
17:44and become and just be in their music.
17:52I was raised by a very wonderful and promoting mom who just made sure I was always busy.
18:02And she enrolled me in the Cub Scouts.
18:07And so for either a year or two, somehow, somebody found out that, you know, well, my mom sings
18:15and he can sing too.
18:17So for my first experience in singing was to sing My Country Tens of Thee to start out the
18:26Cub Scout meetings for as long as I was a Cub Scout.
18:29And so singing just, I wasn't bashful anymore because that's what I have to do is we ready
18:36to start, come, stop meeting, Harry, sing My Country Tens of Thee.
18:40You earned your badge.
18:44You know, I always remember kind of singing around the house.
18:47As a kid, I came to the music game probably much later than most.
18:53I didn't start singing until I was 16 years old when we moved to Las Vegas.
18:57The first show that I saw when we moved to Las Vegas was, of course, Donnie and Marie.
19:01Yeah, let's swap, let's swap mics.
19:03Let's take that one back.
19:05I wasn't loud enough.
19:07Try that again.
19:09The first show I saw when I moved to Las Vegas when I was 16 years old was Donnie and
19:14Marie.
19:15It was the first year of your residency.
19:16And that was what so inspired me was I saw not only, I'd grown up listening to great music,
19:22but then I saw great entertainers.
19:24I saw the wonderful community of what you can achieve and what great artists and great entertainers
19:29can be.
19:29And the first experience, personally, I remember having with music was when I was 17 years old.
19:35I was invited to sing for the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation's annual gala.
19:40And I was asked to sing the song, You Raise Me Up, that was made famous by Josh Groban and
19:46was produced by David Foster, who I now have the great honor of touring with.
19:50And if you had told 16-year-old me that you would, years later, get to sing that song with
19:56the guy who produced it and won 16 Grammys, I would have said, You're nuts.
20:01But I am always so grateful for that first chance because I'll never forget what it felt
20:06like to set foot on that stage as an artist and to get to share the joy of music with
20:12a room full of people and to instantly create that bond that we all share in the joy of music.
20:19And I stepped off that stage and I remember telling my parents, This is what I want to
20:23do for the rest of my life.
20:24And they said, You're going to college.
20:27So we compromised and I went to college for music just down the road at Chapman University.
20:33And it's been the greatest journey of my life.
20:36I'm so grateful to get to live this dream every day.
20:39And I owe it all to that song.
20:42You raise me up.
20:45Truly, my first memory was sitting at my grandma's old upright piano in a very small town in central
20:53eastern Utah and playing tunes with both hands by ear of songs I had heard on the Lawrence
21:02Welk show.
21:05And the Lawrence Welk show was played religiously every Saturday night in my parents' home and
21:12in both of my grandparents' homes.
21:15And that's where I really, I heard that music and started to express myself by sitting down
21:22and playing it by ear.
21:24Wow.
21:25Well, thank you for your initial questions.
21:27We know you'd love to talk to each of them.
21:29Thank you very much.
21:33Thank you, everyone.

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