MTC Week #26 - Freedom

Music and the Spoken Word today had a "freedom" theme, in line with the celebrating of Independence Day this coming week. It was a very fun and rewarding broadcast to be a part of as I enjoy singing songs that center on such themes. 

I think these patriotic songs that we sing each year at Memorial Day and Independence Day are being more and more--or less and less--appreciated by people. Those who long for our country to be more of what it once was and have it return to traditional morals and values and freedoms that it was built upon, are in the "more and more" camp. Those who are perfectly fine with the way this country has become are probably in the "less and less" camp. 

Don't get me wrong. I still believe our country is a great country. I, like you, still enjoy the freedoms we have and the opportunities this country affords us. And for that, I'm very grateful. At the same time, I'm saddened by the actions (or inactions) of our current government, by the decisions handed down by our judicial system, and by the abuse of power demonstrated by the current presidential administration. I'm also saddened by a growing trend of selfishness, of intolerance, of disrespect, and of amorality. 

Indeed, the scripture in 2 Timothy 3 fits nicely in describing what times we live in:

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. . .

So what can be done? 

I don't claim to have all the answers, but some, I think, are found in some of the lyrics we sang today. Here are a few of those lyrics for your thoughtful pondering and spiritual interpretation:

I hear a distant song: it fills the air.
I hear it, deep and strong, rise up in prayer:
'O Lord, we are many; help us to be one.
Heal our divisions: let thy will be done.'
I know the time will come when war must cease:
A time of truth and love, a time of peace.
The people cry, 'How long?
Till all our world can join the song
Of freedom, freedom.'
(From John Rutter's piece, DISTANT LAND. Click HERE to listen) 

Our fathers' God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.
(From Samuel Francis Smith's MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE. Click HERE to listen)

Both of these songs acknowledge God as one who can heal and help. If we but turn to Him and His Son Jesus Christ, and live lives that reflect God's pattern for happy living, what an incredible difference that would make in our great nation.

May we all do just a little better.

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC Week #25 - Random Observations & Being Taught by Trials

As there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary this week with rehearsals and Music and the Spoken Word, I thought it might be somewhat interesting to jot down some observations I've made lately about the choir experience.

A. It's very interesting to think that during my lifetime in the choir (who knows how long I'll be in, but 17 more years is a possibility), I'll likely not actually meet everyone in the choir. It's a strange thought. But given how many people are in this organization, there's really not enough time or opportunity to even say "hello" to every person. Unless the individual was a fellow bass, I probably wouldn't recognize a tenor, alto, or soprano if I ran into them at a restaurant or a store or some local place. What's strange about this, even though we don't know each other, we can still be a unified choir by expecting everyone to do their part and by praying for everyone to work hard. 

B. I've noticed there are three types of people in the choir. You have your extremely social individuals who talk and comment each moment they get. They congregate during breaks to discuss this or that, walk with each other down our long hallways, and enjoy friendships. You have your non-social individuals who are often seen alone reading books during breaks, walking alone, and keep their heads down. They come to choir, sing well, and then go home. Then you have those who straddle the fence and perhaps could be called your "semi-social" group.

C. There are about 350 to 450 who attend our Thursday night rehearsals each week (and certainly several more who attend the Sunday broadcast--probably a couple of thousand). There are those who come for a few minutes; those who stay for a good hour or so, and those die-hards who stay from start to finish. There are always youth groups and groups from other countries who visit on Sunday. And occasionally we have guests of choir members sing with us for fun on Thursday nights. This last time we had a young man, probably in his 20s, who was studying to be a Lutheran pastor. As he was introduced, it was said that he loved the choir and loved talks given by President Uchtdorf! That produced quite a chuckle as you normally wouldn't expect that from someone trying to become a pastor of another faith.

D. The issues that Bro. Wilberg and Bro. Murphy have us fix each week as we rehearse music are very often the same things. Vowel placement and singing on pitch (which are related) win the top prize. It makes me wonder why, if we as a choir know that (and certainly everyone must know that), it takes so much work each week to get those two things implemented and/or fixed. 

E. Organ solos are truly cool. I don't think I noticed this when not in the choir, but our organists  Richard Elliott, Clay Christiansen, Andrew Unsworth, Bonnie Goodliffe, and Linda Margetts are VERY talented and know how to play some very inspirational and moving pieces. 

F. Us new choir members have a lot of work cut out for us as we try and learn and memorize new songs. We currently have two concerts in the not too distant future and we practically have to memorize the entire song lineup! It takes me a few days just to memorize one and now when I see I have twenty to commit to memory in just three to six weeks, I feel overwhelmed. I wonder what I'll be listening to on my iPhone several hours a day for next few months!

That's about it for this week. We have our Pioneer Day Concert coming up on July 18 and 19th. And we have the Deer Valley Musical Festival coming up on August 8th. 

To end on a spiritual uplifting note, here were the words spoken today by Bro. Newell on our Music and the Spoken Word broadcast:

The Bible records that the Apostle Paul had what he called "a thorn in the flesh"-a trial or difficulty that helped to keep him humble and steadfast. He asked the Lord three times to take it from him, but it remained. Yet Paul came to see divine purpose in his infirmities and hardships, declaring with great wisdom, "For when I am weak, then am I strong."

At times, for each of us, the path of life seems to be all uphill, filled with obstacles and hazards. But these struggles are not meant to stop us or discourage us. They are meant to change us. If we face our challenges with all of the courage, patience, and faith we have-undoubtedly developing a great deal more in the process-we'll reach the top of that hill and make an important discovery: In the journey of life, the destination is not as important as what we become along the way.


From that elevated perspective, we may notice that our hardships were the very things we needed to make us better and stronger. Becoming our best self often happens because of-rather than in spite of-unfavorable circumstances. Our greatest trials can become our greatest teachers.

Until next time...God be with you.

MTC Week #24 - Father Introspection

June 15, 2014

A very happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there. It's not an easy job to be the father that God wants you to be but I know many fathers who try their best to live up to that ideal, including my own father. While my dad and I were not very close growing up (very different interests), I always respected him and was grateful for his example and what he taught me. So thanks Dad for who you were and who you are today.

For Music and the Spoken Word today, we sang a number of songs that made

me do some serious reflection (and which almost produced a few tears), about how I did, and how I'm doing, as a dad. My kids span six years old to 15 years old, and I naturally thought about my oldest and how she'll only be with us for another three years or so before she launches into the world. In some respects, three years is awhile. But as every year seems to go faster than the previous one, three years is going to fly by.

Incorporating some of the lyrics of today's songs into my thoughts, I asked myself these questions regarding my children: 

Am I a dad who is brave, strong, and true?
Do I fill the world with love and do you see that I do?
Do I spend enough time with you flying kites, swinging in the swings, playing ball?
Have I given you more than things? Have I given you a heart that sings? Do I have a place in your heart?
As I'm turning around and realizing how quickly time has gone, will I have taught you enough before you go out the door? Before you have kids of your own?
Have I helped provide a home where there's a special feeling of warmth, security, shelter, and love?

I'm thankful for being able to sing songs today that help remind me of my responsibilities of being a great dad. I'm grateful in general for being able to sing songs each week that speak to my soul. And as people come to watch the choir rehearse each week and to watch Sunday morning's performance, I have a prayer in my heart that they'll leave the experience inspired to be better.

After today's Music & Spoken Word broadcast

Until next time, God be with you!

MTC Week #23 - Normal?

June 9, 2014

So is this past week what they'd call a "normal" week with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? I dare say it was. I'm not sure any of us who just joined back in January have ever known a normal week! At any rate, we met for rehearsal Thursday night and, as mentioned in my blog last week, the folks from the ACDA leadership were there in the audience listening and observing. Thankfully the rehearsal itself went "very well" (in the words of Bro. Wilberg) and the only hitch was that the orchestra was missing one of the pieces we'd be performing on Sunday. Thankfully they are a very bright orchestra and picked it up just fine as we rehearsed Sunday morning.

The theme for Sunday's Music & the Spoken Word was "The Root of Good Manners". I thought that was an interesting title and tried to think, offhand, what the root of good manners would actually be. Surely it's more than just being polite or being kind, though I'm sure those would fit in there somewhere.

Bro. Newell, who gives the spoken word each Sunday, said the following about this topic: 

Actor John Rhys-Davies says that it is quite natural to feel shy, to be uncomfortable in a room of strangers. His advice? "Turn it the other way around and think, 'I'm walking into a room full of very shy people, and my job is to make them feel at ease and comfortable in their situation.' That is really the root of good manners: making the people around you feel comfortable."

Some people are so skilled at making others feel comfortable. They're genuinely interested in others; they're kind and thoughtful; they're easy to be around. Instead of focusing on themselves, they choose to be considerate and responsive, and they seem to take sincere joy in making people happy.


It's easy to assume that some people are just naturally outgoing-that it comes easily to them-and the rest of us simply aren't that way. But the fact is that with a little effort and practice, anyone can choose to be open, loving, and warm. That might mean we attentively listen, or we think, "What can I learn from this person?" For others, it might mean we speak up a little more or make the effort to meet someone new.

The skill of good manners is not beyond anyone's reach-at its roots, it's simply a matter of forgetting ourselves and helping others feel comfortable.

My sister-in-law Jenny is an expert at this and my wife and I are amazed at her ability to make others around her feel comfortable. We try ourselves to do this but it doesn't quite come as naturally as she makes it look! What's interesting to think about though, is sure...you can walk into a room of people you may not not know and be content to just "lay low." And I suppose there are times when that's OK. But think about what you're missing out on. There are all of these people, each with a story, each with a personality, and each probably willing to get to know you if you take the initiative. Who knows how your life might be impacted or blessed just because of a conversation? In the eternal sense, we're all God's children so perhaps if we look at it as just getting to know one of your brothers or sisters, that might make it easier.
Go ahead...give it a try!

The song that touched me the most on the broadcast Sunday was the one we always close with:  God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again. For some reason, I felt as though it was really impacting someone in the audience as we sang it. Check out the background of this hymn, and also a wonderful conversion story regarding the Torgersens of Norway. One excerpt from that story: "They concluded the tour in the Tabernacle and were about to leave when a choir recording of “God Be with You Till We Meet Again” began to play. “I sat down and started crying,” recalls Solvor. “I couldn’t stop. Thor attributed my strange behavior to being overcome by beautiful music, but I didn’t tell him what really happened, because I couldn’t speak.”

Until next time, God be with you...

MTC Week #22 - Of Absences, Hope, & Future Performances

June 1, 2014

As is the case each year at this time, the Choir started rehearsing at the Conference Center instead of the Tabernacle to accommodate the larger crowds that come to Temple Square during the summer months. As we gathered in the choir seats, one thing became very obvious: there were a lot of men absent! In fact, most of them were tenors, interestingly enough, and there were so many gone that poor Bro. Gheris (who, along with his wife Deb, make the seating assignments) had quite the time trying to re-arrange everyone. Since seating on Thurs nights reflects where we should sit Sunday morning for the Music & Spoken Word broadcast, the rearranging was a necessity. Bro. Wilberg gave us all a mini-speech about summer attendance. He realizes that summer equates to vacations and family events. Which he wholeheartedly supports. "But when you are in town", he said, "please make sure and be here ready to rehearse and perform." Why would somebody not want to be here? I thought... I hope I never get into that mindset. I still pinch myself each time I'm there to make sure it's all real.

The rehearsal went well, except that I didn't have two pieces we were singing. Three things I learned from not having music: 1) choir members are very willing to let you look off their copy (even sometimes just giving it to you) 2) the library is not open after choir rehearsal is over, and 3) check the music in your folder BEFORE going to the choir seats. Lessons learned.

So while rehearsing with Ryan Murphy before the broadcast started, he told us the story behind one of the pieces (I really like when he does that). The song "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go" is about a man (George Matheson, the

George Matheson

lyricist) who was engaged to get married to the love of his life, and at the same time, found out he was going blind. As his bride to be came to terms with this news, she decided that she would not be able to go through with the marriage and live the life of someone being married to a blind person. As George dealt with this tragedy of losing his bride-to-be and losing his sight, he had every reason to be upset with God. But he did not go down that path. He chose HOPE, and let the love of God envelop and comfort him. A love that would "not let him go". 

It's true. God's love is always there. The prophet Isaiah says how God's "hand is stretched out still." It's still there--all the time. And especially when we're going through hard times.

(Here is a performance of the song you can take a look at)

Bro. Wilberg reminded us of some important upcoming performances... Next week, for rehearsal, over 100 choral directors involved with the 2015 ACDA Conference are coming to observe us so of course he'd like us at our best for Thursday's rehearsal. The upcoming conference (early next year) is being held in Salt Lake City and apparently we're going to have a large role in that. We have the Pioneer Day celebration concert and then the Deer Valley concert. Never a dull moment and lots of great music!

Until next time...God be with you.