Imagine the awe and wonderment that the shepherds must have experienced on that starry night as they watched over their flock out on Judea’s plains when an angel of the Lord appeared to them announcing the birth of the Savior in the city of David. As if the announcement that the long awaited Messiah was born was not enough to cause great jubilation among the shepherds, “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:13-14).
Gentri (short for the Gentlemen’s Trio), comprised of Brad Robins, Casey Elliott, and Bradley Quinn Lever, has managed to create a similar sense of awe and wonder with their unique mashup of two popular Christmas carols, “What Child is This?” and “I Wander As I Wander” which they recently performed on the BYU television special, In Performance: Christmas Under the Stars, and it is also featured on their Merry Christmas EP. Their rendition has garnered rapid success with 3,397 views of the video since its publication on YouTube on 11 December 2015, and has also earned GENTRI the #1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Single Chart for the second consecutive week this holiday season.
Being among the top ten on the Billboard Charts is nothing new for Gentri. Their self-titled debut EP which was released on 31 March 2015 remained in the top ten of two different charts for ten consecutive weeks including three weeks at No. 2 on both the Classical and Classical Crossover charts. Following the album debut, the group released their first music video for their original single “Dare” which featured 8-year-old amputee dancer, Alissa Sizemore. The video made international headlines on news outlets around the world including ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, and Inside Edition.
General Manager of Shadow Mountain Records, Bart Olson, commented, “The response to GENTRI’s launch as a group and to their unique, cinematic pop sound has been truly overwhelming. When we first signed GENTRI to our label, we knew we had found unique talent. I think we are just scratching the surface of seeing just how remarkable and talented these gents truly are.”
Gentri has also performed with such notable artists as international tenor sensation Alfie Boe and Tony Award-winning vocalist Idina Menzel. They also opened for legendary rock band Journey at the Stadium of Fire, sung the national anthem for the NBA’s Utah Jazz and MLB’s San Diego Padres, and performed at the Governor of Utah’s annual gala.
