TCATS #390 - Random Musings, Part 52

Choir-related happenings this week? 

Well, there weren't any actual happenings, per se (haha), but here's how the Choir came up for me personally during the last seven days.

First, I attended two family reunions and as you might suspect, I was asked about the Choir more times than I care to admit. I reassured them all that an actual date to return had been decided upon and they'd be able to hear us sing live, soon. They were happy about that news and went on to say how they always look for me during Conference, etc. etc. 

Second, I had a photo collage come up on my Google Photos app which included the 4th of July spent at West Point Military Academy. This was when the Choir was on tour back East, back in 2015. That concert we put on at West Point was a very memorable one and I'm not sure I'll ever experience Independence Day in quite the same way ever again. Good memories. Good times.

Third, there was quite a paragraph in our weekly newsletter about being able to physically fit back into what constitutes our Choir wardrobe. The pandemic has been hard on everyone for various reasons and we've all needed to find ways to cope. For those of us who have endured unhealthy coping mechanisms--whatever they might have been--I hope we can replace them with things that will better help us move forward.

Lastly, I was watching a Music & the Spoken Word rerun today as part of my desire to think about patriotism and what this country currently means to me. According to wikipedia, patriotism is defined as "the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to a homeland or the country and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment to create a feeling of oneness among the people."  As I looked into the faces of my fellow choir members during the broadcast, I guess you could say I felt some "choir patriotism". Love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to the Tabernacle Choir as a whole, but also to the individuals themselves--who help to create a feeling of oneness as we musically testify to the world. 

Can you tell I'm anxious to get back? 

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #389 - The Blanket

I'm going to keep it extra real for this blog post. 

There have been three thoughts regarding the Tabernacle Choir that have been going through my head this past week. 

First, we received instruction from our vocal coach, Rebecca Wilberg, to spend the next couple of months trying to get our voices back in shape. She sent some specific exercises to work on, to that end. So, along with singing at Church and singing in the car, I'm going to try and work on those exercises so I feel more ready when we all go back and starting singing as a Choir again.

Second, with the reality of seeing fellow choir members again sometime soon, I thought about the people I've stayed in contact with, the ones I haven't, and how I'll really process choir relationships again. I don't know that I came to any conclusion. It was just a thought--and one that sort of just sits there in my head. 

Third, a therapist I see occasionally helped me work through some frustrations I've had during this long Choir pause these past 15 months. Self-criticism has always been a struggle of mine and I've done plenty of that in trying to process why my emotions have been so difficult to manage. 

Aside from those main three things, people continue to ask me all the time about "choir status". While I still can't completely tell them all the details about the plan to return (I hear that such details might be made public sometime in the next few weeks....hopefully), I can tell them there is a plan and their wait to see live performances again is almost over.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #388 - And the Word Was Good

We received word on Friday that the plan to have us return and start singing again was approved! I can't disclose the date of when we'll start up again or go into any details of the plan until an official press release is made, but I think it'd be safe to say that the return will be sometime this year. 

To say that there was much rejoicing among the choir members, is an understatement. Going back to officially resume our musical missionary callings and to uplift and inspire others is all we've wanted to do for the past many, many months. So to finally have a date on when that's going to happen is exciting indeed. 

The press release that DID come out, though, was regarding the Choir going on tour in 2022. This tour will include the same cities and concert venues that were part of the postponed 2020 tour (and 2021 tour). You can read more about that, HERE.

That's about it. 

To all the fathers out there (and potential fathers), Happy Father's Day! If you haven't seen today's tribute via Music and the Spoken Word, tune in and enjoy...

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #387 - Nonplussed

We received a short paragraph in our newsletter Friday that basically told us that we wouldn't unite our voices again until sometime after the summer. There was no explanation as to why it couldn't or wouldn't be sooner--only that getting us all back together is a "complicated process."

Hmmm. 

I think the only thing I can do at this point is side with Thumper.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #386 - To the Depths of Patience

As much of the United States, and more particularly Utah, gets back to living life that almost reflects pre-pandemic times, the members of the Tabernacle Choir are finding out just how much patience they're made of! Friday's newsletter, yet again, contained no information on when we'll be back singing again. And people are going CRAZY. Several choir members took to Facebook to vent just a little steam.  And I've been getting texts from others who are also trying really hard to be patient but are finding it terribly difficult. It's one thing to be patient when you have an explanation. It's entirely another thing when there seemingly isn't any. 

Some quotes from our FB group and from texts:

"Major disappointment"
"Not this week, dang it!"
"It's like Groundhog Day, again and again and again..."
"I'm hanging on with faith and courage"
"I think it will be July or August"
"August/September"
" I just want information! It doesn’t even have to be crazy soon just at least a date or a plan or something!"
"Maybe they originally thought we'd still have restrictions in place this summer so they didn't plan for us coming back so soon"
"I've been so disappointed they haven't been more transparent with 'the plan'"
"What, exactly, are we waiting for?"

The Church has adopted this very calculated, careful, and cautious approach to everything-pandemic.
And apparently they are determined to keep that approach.

Anyway, I think it only fitting at this point to end this week's blog post with three of my favorite quotes on the subject of PATIENCE. These come from the master of words, insight, and meaning... None other than Neal A. Maxwell:

1) “Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance.”

2) "When we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.”

3) "Patience helps us to use, rather than protest, these seeming flat periods of life, becoming filled with quiet wonder over the past and with anticipation for that which may lie ahead, instead of demeaning the particular flatness through which we may be passing at the time.  We should savor even the seemingly ordinary times...".

 

(Read his talk on the subject, here)

Until next time, God be with you,

 

 

TCATS #385 - Bread

I consider myself a pretty good cook. I started at a young age learning how to make simple dishes and desserts. Especially desserts. For some reason my younger brothers and I would spend hours each Sunday making tapioca pudding, brownies, No-Bake cookies, and orange julius slushes. As I grew older, I started making various lunches and dinners for the family which transferred over into my college life and later into my married life. Nowadays, with my wife fully into her Masters degree homework, I'm usually on dinner duty. And although my cooking doesn't involve a lot of variety, my family usually DOES like what I make for them, so I'll take that as a win. 

Tonight for dinner, I decided to add the one thing that I've only attempted making once: french bread. My wife is practically famous for her bread dishes (dinner rolls, Swedish Bread, and cinnamon rolls are her specialty), so this time I decided that it would be a very good idea for her to give me some of the "tricks of the trade" as they say. As I followed what she told me to do, everything turned out near-perfect, and I re-learned a few important cooking lessons: first, if you need help, ask for it. Second, learn from the best. And third, it's best to follow instructions with exactness.

These three baking lessons easily transfer over to being a member of the Tabernacle Choir. 

There have been countless times I've turned to my fellow bass brethren and asked for help on how to get a certain rhythm, how to find the right pitch, or how to interpret a particular lyric. I've even asked for help on getting through a recording session or repeating various instructions from our conductors (that I had missed the first time). 

Thankfully learning from the best has never been an issue. Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy ARE two of the best conductors IMO. I've felt that and I've witnessed that more times than I can say. I'm very grateful for their continued guidance and devotion to this musical opportunity.

Following instructions with exactness is so critical in the Choir. We never have a lot of time to spare and Mack in particular is well-known for wanting to utilize every second--which we usually do! If we are quick to follow with precision, not only will we sound better overall, but we'll be able to get through all of the music we're asked to sing (and sometime memorize) each week. 

I may never be as good at making bread as my wife, but I sure appreciate the lessons I learned today. And I'm grateful they are lessons that have served me well in Choir and in other parts of my life. 

May they be of value to you, too.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #384 - Turning

There's a scripture in the Book of Mormon, from the book of Alma, that says: "But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility."

This covid "war" has taken its toll on everyone. There have been so many ways it's affected our behavior, thoughts, perspective, patience, and interactions. And now, at least for those in the United States, as masks are coming off and people rediscover the joy of not social distancing, we find ourselves either hardened or softened from what's transpired these past 14 months. Perhaps it's a combination, right? Perhaps we've become more hardened towards our politicians, for example, but more softened in our relationships. Or maybe we're more hardened towards various establishments or policy makers while at the same time more softened in our religious beliefs. Each person's hard/soft ratio is unique to themselves and each represents feelings and emotions and understandings that we can easily or not so easily relate to.

I'm afraid this week I found myself in the "hardened" camp. 

Despite the CDC's declaration that "fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing," our local Church congregations continue to adhere to the statement that masks are highly recommended. And when the Choir newsletter came out on Friday, I (and several other Choir members I knew) was very much expecting something to be said about the plan to get back to singing. I would have even taken a short sentence that said something like "Given the CDC's recent adjustment to covid-related mandates, we are working with Church leaders to determine the best time to resume normal Choir operations."

But there was nothing. 

Absolutely nothing.

I was so mad.

I can tell you a little bit about what the hardening process does to a person. I've become more bitter, more resentful, less thankful, more judgmental, less friendly, and more narrowly focused. And while I've certainly not enjoyed any part of this process, I find myself wondering just how it's going to last and how I'm going to reverse it. The only thing I do know about the softening process is that I can't do it alone and that God's grace will be the key. 

So I'm off to search for the key--which actually isn't lost. It's just hard to grasp right now. Hard to hold on to. Hard to turn. Part of me resists that turning, but the words to a Choir song lovingly haunts me: 

Turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

 

Until next time, may God be with you.