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When Wizard Language Institute president, Carlos Martins, asked Stephen Jones to compose a song as a tool for students to learn English, primarily in Latin America, Jones had little idea of how far it would reach.
As a native of Curitiba, Brazil, Carlos Martins was taught English by American missionaries. Martins used his newly developed English skills to teach others in order to earn enough money to serve his own mission in Portugal. Afterward, he attended Brigham Young University (BYU) and graduated with a degree in statistics—computer science.
Upon his return to Brazil in 1987, Martins established Wizard by selling books to people who wanted to learn English in their homes. More than twenty years later, his company has grown into the largest language school in Latin America.
In the spring of 2008, Martins asked Jones, dean of BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications, to compose a Christmas song for Wizard’s curriculum and as a gift to his students. Jones agreed to help, but told Martins he would want to collaborate with others. Jones began meeting with Sam Cardon, an Emmy award-winning composer and producer, to orchestrate and record the song. They worked with some of Utah’s finest studio musicians and vocalists – including Jenny Jordan Frogley and David Osmond.
Realizing it could serve a wider audience than they first envisioned, Jones approached Martins about sharing “Joy to Everyone This Christmas” with the world and he graciously agreed.
Dean Jones organized a production team of students and alumni from BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications to create a music video using images from around the world by BYU photographer Mark Philbrick and established a website to share the message: Joy to the world, the Lord is come.