PBS began broadcasting a 60-minute recording of the previous year’s concert in 2004. … It has become a sought-after family tradition,” Jarrett said in 2017.
“And then it expanded, and in 2000, when we were able to enter this beautiful facility, we began the tradition of opening it up to many, many more people. Past choir President Ron Jarrett said he traced the roots of the Christmas concert back to an event held for employees of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Since then, a variety of award-winning performers have stepped on the Conference Center stage to sing or share a narration and the Christmas story about the Savior’s birth. Singer Gladys Knight and actor Roma Downey were the first guest performers for the concerts in the Conference Center. When the Conference Center opened in 2000, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s Christmas concert moved from the Salt Lake Tabernacle into the new 21,000-seat auditorium.
