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Old and new Christmas traditions mingled in musical presentations by two Salt Lake-based ensembles.

Utah Chamber Artists' Christmas concert, always a highlight of the holiday season, pleased the capacity audience in Libby Gardner Concert Hall on Monday with some new carols by Barlow and Christopher Bradford, mingled with some favorite arrangements by the elder Bradford; the father-and-son composers shared the bill with a suite by British composer Bob Chilcott that likewise juxtaposed the fresh and the familiar.

Christopher Bradford, 20, showed good instincts and great promise in his two contrasting carols: the sweet, simple "A Christmas Lullaby" and the rambunctious "Let Us Drink and Be Merry." Bradford's second carol showed the clear influence of his father at the outset, but quickly took off in its own direction with humorous tone painting and tipsy-sounding shifts of meter. The overall effect was of "Carmina Burana" distilled into a Christmas carol, and the highly capable chamber choir and orchestra appeared to be having fun with it. "Next time, I'm going to make him conduct it," Barlow Bradford, the choir's founding artistic director, quipped afterward.

The elder Bradford joined in the merriment, albeit in rather refined fashion, with his new carol, "Let Us All Be Merry." He invited the audience to join in on three of his arrangements: "O Come O Come Emmanuel," "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" and "Silent Night"; rounding out the program were his bracing "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and sublime "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly."

The centerpiece of the evening was Chilcott's "On Christmas Night," in which eight original settings of familiar carols, in diverse styles, nestle cleverly with well-known tunes such as "Once in Royal David's City" and "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming."

The University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble has revived the Salt Lake City tradition of performing Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors," but this year the student company took the production to a new venue, teamed up with a new orchestra and paired "Amahl" with another short opera about an unexpected nocturnal visitation: a new setting of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

This year's "Amahl" was a charmer, with strong performances all around. Most memorable at Saturday's matinee at the Grand Theatre were Keanu Aiono-Netzler, Jared Lesa and Andrew Neumayer as the kings. David Sauer's deft stage direction was remarkable in its efficient individuation of characters, from the principals to the charming trio of dancers. Robert Baldwin's Sinfonia Salt Lake, seated onstage behind the action, gave a lovely performance of the beloved Menotti score.

The U.'s opera program showed its depth in "A Christmas Carol," which spreads the musical wealth among a large cast. Daniel Johnson was a formidable Scrooge; Anthony Buck's music helped illustrate his transformation, with the vocal line growing richer as the notorious miser gradually opened his heart. (Michael Leavitt wrote the libretto, which is highly faithful to Dickens' novella.) Faculty members Robert Breault (Jacob Marley), Seth Keeton (Ghost of Christmas Present) and Mary Ann Dresher (Charwoman) sang alongside their students for the first time in a Lyric Opera Ensemble production, digging in with obvious glee. It was an auspicious start to a new holiday tradition. —

Utah Chamber Artists

Carols by Barlow Bradford, Christopher Bradford and Bob Chilcott.

When • Monday, Dec. 5

Where • Libby Gardner Concert Hall on the University of Utah campus

University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble

Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors" and Anthony Buck and Michael Leavitt's "A Christmas Carol."

With • Sinfonia Salt Lake

When • Reviewed Saturday, Dec. 3

Where • Grand Theatre on Salt Lake Community College's South City campus