Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four

America’s Violinist, Jenny Oaks Baker is a Grammy Nominated, Billboard No. 1 performer and recording artist. Jenny has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress and as a guest soloist with The National Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Utah Symphony and the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square. Jenny has released 18 studio albums which have sold nearly a million copies and consistently chart on Billboard. In her efforts to share the light of Christ with more of God’s children, Jenny is now producing and touring inspirational shows across the world. Jenny, her husband Matthew, and their four children (Family Four) are from Salt Lake City, Utah. Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four have performed with orchestras throughout the United States including the Utah Symphony, the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras and the Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square. They have performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Family Four are also featured on many popular music videos and productions. Their debut album, Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four hit No. 4 on the Classical and Classical Crossover Billboard Charts. Their Christmas album, Joy to the World debuted at #7 on the Billboard Charts.

Laura is 22, plays the violin and percussion, recently graduated from Brigham Young University and is married to Caden Dickson.

Hannah is 21 and studies piano at The Royal Academy of Music in London.

Sarah is 19 and studies the cello at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Matthew is 17 and plays the classical and electric guitar.

Jenny and her children have been performing together as a family since each child started playing their instruments when they were three or four years old. Their father, Matt Baker is a business executive and is incredibly supportive of his wife and children.

Jason F. Wright

Narrator

Jason is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of Christmas Jars, Scar Dakota, and many others. Jason’s work has appeared in hundreds of outlets including The Washington Post, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Deseret News, Forbes, CNN, and Fox News. Jason is also a popular speaker and consultant who speaks and trains on kindness habits, the miracle of opening doors, faith, failure, and his Kind-ness Card movement. He has also spoken to more than 250K students in assemblies and writing workshops. Jason has been seen on CNN, Fox-News, C-SPAN, and on dozens of local television stations around the country. He’s currently serving as Writer-in-Residence at Southern Virginia University. Jason was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, but has also lived in Germany, Illinois, Brazil, Oregon and Utah. He is married to Kodi Erekson Wright. They have two daughters and two sons they love, and three grandchildren they love even more. Today they call the Shenandoah Valley home.

Alex Sharp

Soprano Soloist

Alex started her professional career as ‘Dorothy’ in The Wizard of Oz at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland, which led to multiple lead roles in Ireland’s foremost theatres. Internationally she has played ‘Eponine’ in Les Miserables, originated the roles of ‘Bernadette’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s world premiere of The Beautiful Game, Cambridge Theatre, London, ‘Tess’ in the world premiere of Find Your Way Home, Albany Theatre, NY, and most recently ‘Bridge Kelly’ in Parcel from America, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin. As a soloist Alex has appeared extensively with the R.T.E. Concert Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the Halle, Birmingham City Orchestra, the Upper Canada Chorus, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, A Kurt Bestor Christmas, American Festival Chorus & Orchestra and the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra & Chorale. In the United States Alex is best known as a former member of the Grammy-nominated group Celtic Woman. She has had the opportunity to tour extensively with them throughout the world and perform on prime-time TV shows such as ‘Dancing With The Stars’ The Regis & Kelly Show, The Today Show and the National Christmas Tree Lighting 2009.March 2023, Alex released the theme song and music video “Faith of Our Fathers” for the annual RootsTech 2023 Worldwide Convention. And in December 2021, 2022, and 2023 she performed as featured soloist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Witnesses of Christmas Concert broadcast worldwide. Alex is honored to be part of Joy to the World once again and to perform with Jenny and her incredibly talented family in sharing the Christmas message of the Saviour’s birth.

Preston Yates

Baritone Soloist

Preston Yates graduated from BYU with his bachelor’s degree in music, dance, theatre. National Premieres: The Count of Monte Cristo (the Count)— with composer Frank Wildhorn, and Zorro: The Musical (Ramon). Other favorite credits include The Phantom of the Opera (Phantom) and Les Misérables (Javert). Preston was also featured in a Broadway Records album for a new musical—Song of Solomon—along-side Ramin Karimloo. Preston is the co-owner of Yates Vocal Studio and teaches professional voice and performance/style coaching in Utah and internationally via Skype.

Jay Nygaard

Percussionist

Jay is a passionate, driven artist and advocate for the arts from Southern Utah. He is Executive Director of Artistic Resource for Teachers and Students (A.R.T.S.) Inc. He is in his fourteenth season as a member of the Tuacahn Center for the Arts Orchestra, and he is an active performer innumerous other groups and projects. In his free time when he's not composing, doodling, or chasing his dog around the house with a ukulele, he loves to work on the yard, watch movies, play games, and help his wife Tabitha with her art business: Last Chance Brass.