MTC Week #82 - Rumors, Speculation & a Surprise Announcement

So last Sunday, the Choir President asked all of us if we would please come to Thursday night's rehearsal 30 minutes early and meet in the Conference Center's Little Theater for a "special presentation." Following that invitation, we all sat there mulling over what he had just said and started formulating what this special presentation could be about. After rehearsal was over and we were free to talk with others, it was like someone had lit a match and threw it into a dry forest! Speculation was the flame that consumed everyone's thoughts and conversation. Was it an award the choir had won? Was someone in the administration leaving? Were we going to hear more about the influence we had had on others through our most recent tour? Or could it be an announcement concerning our next tour?

Of course that last speculative thought about an upcoming tour was the most exciting to everyone. But the timing seemed off. After all, we go on tour every two years, not every year, so 2016 was an offcycle tour year. Given that, why would they be announcing a tour destination so early?

Needless to say, the speculation and conversations continued throughout the week. Choir members talked about it and texted each other about it, and the spouses all chimed in with their two bits. Finally, Thursday arrived and we congregated in the Little Theater. TV cameras were there to film the event and after not too long, President Jarrett got up and was barely able to get out the announcement before the choir went crazy with excitement. We were headed to Europe for our next tour! And not only that, it was going to happen in 2016.

[You can see videos and official announcements HERE, HERE, and HERE.] 

President Thomas S Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had this to say: 

“Our goal is for the choir and its companion Orchestra at Temple Square to be a shining example of the musical arts to all the world. With the announcement of this European tour, I am delighted that these noted ensembles will have the opportunity to touch the hearts of people in multiple nations through their magnificent music,” added President Monson. “This tour will be an important step forward as the choir and orchestra continue to build bridges of friendship and understanding across the globe as ambassadors of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

To be truthful, I had mixed emotions about the announcement. Certainly, the

thought of going to various European countries to share hope and peace through music, made me smile! At the same time though, I knew how much my wife has been wanting to go to Europe, and I was concerned about the price tag attached to guests being able to come. And, I was concerned about being able

to take that much time off of work (15 working days) without it impacting the vacation days I'd have left to spend with my family. Many other friends in the choir had the same concerns. That said though, and like in all things related to this great work that the choir does, things will work out as they should. 

As you can imagine, (for many obvious and less-obvious reasons) going to rehearsal right after the announcement was made, was a bit difficult. Our minds were preoccupied with the thoughts of visiting Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. But the music we rehearsed and performed today was some great music, and I'm sure that those who got to hear us, were influenced for good. 

A baritone sitting next to me today quietly exclaimed, "Isn't it such a privilege to be here?"

"Yes," I thought to myself. "Yes it is."

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC Week #81 - Pioneer Day Concert 2015 Review

Pioneer Day Concert: Music for a Summer Evening

There's nothing like coming back from a two-week tour, only to be thrust right back into extra rehearsals and concert preparations! The Choir just doesn't have much time to rest. After today, however (amazingly enough), we are back to just once-a-week rehearsals with no concerts on the immediate horizon. At least for the next couple of months :)

Laura Osnes singing "If I Loved You"

Thanks to the foresight and talents of Bro. Wilberg, the repertoire for the Pioneer Day Concert (a.k.a. "Music for a Summer Evening") was largely made up of pieces we already knew. Those new in the choir were at a disadvantage--but, they DID have the two weeks while the rest of us were on tour, to work hard on memorizing the songs. Additionally, we had teleprompters to assist us with the words. (NOTE: For me, the teleprompter is both a blessing and a curse. I think it's used, mainly, to assist the guest artist who joins us. But while it does show the words, if you lock your eyes on it for longer than a second or two--maybe to just get the first word of the next phrase--it sort of sucks you in, your brain goes on auto-pilot, and you forget what you're really singing about.)

Our guest artist, Laura Osnes, was incredible. She did a fantastic job on

The bass and baritones during
"Come, Come Ye Saints"

everything she sang. She was also very thankful and very complementary of not only the choir and orchestra, but of how the staff has taken care of her during her stay here. I must comment, too, that the dresses she wore were a great mix of fashionable and modest. Which is a combination rarely seen in the world at large these days. Overall, I was very impressed. As we sang "God Be With You" to her today (along with her husband who joined her on stage), after Music & The Spoken Word had concluded, she put her hands to her chest and just cried. I think she'll look back at this opportunity with nothing but good feelings and happy smiles.

Anyhow, the concert itself was fun. The songs were upbeat and of the "lighter" variety and it seemed like the audience really enjoyed them. They certainly loved Laura, who got a standing ovation for "Climb Every

Rick Elliott playing his creative version of
"Give My Regards to Broadway"

Mountain," and loud applause anytime she concluded other numbers she sang. They also loved Rick Elliott's organ number--which was no surprise since he always comes up with arrangements that wow all of us. 

If you happened to miss all of the fun, you can find the concert, in its entirety, on YouTube, HERE. 

One last thing I want to say. It's becoming alarmingly easier to take this experience I'm having, for granted. And I don't want that ever to happen! I want that magic to stay right where it is.  Regarding that point, I talked very briefly to a new choir member, after the concert. I just asked "So how did it go?" Grinning from ear to ear, he said, enthusiastically, that he had loved it. "Even though it was a bit nerve-wracking," he added. His words, his facial expression, his whole demeanor caused me to reflect. It's true you don't have to be nervous or overly enthusiastic to have a great concert experience. But on the flip side, you don't want to walk on stage completely calm and non-emotional, either. The ideal is probably right in the middle. I think some of that enthusiasm and excitement comes from continually working to be humble and thankful--to look at each concert as an opportunity and responsibility. Being a musical missionary is not just walking on stage and participating in a concert. It's actively sharing your testimony while you sing; it's noticing people in the audience; it's saying a prayer for them before you sing, and while you sing, that they might feel, something. And then it's thanking God afterwards for the marvelous opportunity and looking forward to the next one. Even if you're tired from a two week tour and all the preparation that went on before it.

And that's exactly what I plan to do, and keep doing.

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC Week#80 - 2015 Tour Review!

Truth be told, I've been both looking forward to writing this post and dreading it at the same time. The enormity of what happened, what I felt, and what I experienced during two weeks on the East coast simply can't be summarized properly in one blog post. But even though time is always short and other demands of life take priority, I'll do my best :)

Tour was amazing. Since this was my first one, I have no other tours to compare it to. But it exceeded my expectations and I feel extremely blessed to have been able to go. Listed below are ten reasons as to WHY tour was so amazing (no particular order). NOTE: Picture gallery at bottom of post. More pictures forthcoming!

THE SITES: From Central Park to the 9/11 Memorial, to the One World Observatory to the Lincoln Memorial. There were a lot of things we were able to see and experience in D.C. New York, and Boston. The pictures included in the post will speak to those. I'm grateful to have visited all of them. Fun and meaningful.

THE VENUES: So we sang at 6 venues in all. Strathmore, Bethel Woods (Woodstock site), Carnegie Hall, Yankee Stadium, West Point Military Academy, and the Wang Theater. They were all unique and beautiful in their own way. Where was my favorite place to perform? The outdoor venues were fun. In fact the day we were at Bethel Woods, it was actually rainy and cold. But the crowds still came and we put on a good show for them. It was actually nice to perform in cooler weather as usually the bright lights of an indoor stage make us hot. Cargenie was great, just because it was on the bucket list. West Point was unique as we sang patriotic songs to 1400 new cadets and other audience members with a feeling of patriotism permeated the air. Gosh, they were all fun to be at.

BOB IN THE CITY: So you're probably wondering what this is. Well, a group of us decided to kind of stick together during the tour--which was particularly helpful for the spouses of us choir members since they had more free time than we did. Anyway, we made a chat group called "Bob in the City" (random) to stay in contact with each other was figured out what to sightsee, where to go eat, and a host of other things. It was very handy!

BUS RIDES: OK. So the bus rides weren't so popular. But they were memorable! Because they didn't want to keep us moving from hotel to hotel, our central "hub" was the Marriott Marquis right there in Times Square. Having a central location though meant being bused to various venues, sometimes 3-5 hours away. While being on the bus that long wasn't exactly fun, conversations, texting, looking at all the Facebook posts coming in, and having time to think were all positives. I'm thankful for our excellent bus drivers who got us where we needed to go, safely.

THE FOOD: Probably a third of the meals were provided by the hotel or venue we were at, while the rest were on our own. This was a good mix. The provided food was excellent--particularly the food at Boston the first night we got there. Best clam chowder I've ever had. We also hit a lot of yummy restaurants--from Mexican to Italian to classic American fare. Yummiest dessert by far was the banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery.  Let's just say we were rarely hungry.

THE VIDEOS: While on the bus, we were able to watch some videos produced by the video committee of the choir. These included interviews of current and past choir members, a tour of the organ pipes, interviews of children of choir members, and some hilarious commercials. All interesting and fun. Thanks to everyone who helped put those together!

JENNIFER: Of course one of the great things of this trip was spending so much time with my wife! It's true the performers were away at sounds checks and performances a lot, but we still had lots of time to be together--to see the sights and converse and enjoy.

FRIENDSHIPS: It's challenging to build good friendships among choir members when we usually are given 5 min here and 10 min there to converse--let alone go on non-choir related activities together. Being on tour provided lots of opportunities to go below the surface talk and to also see the great sites of the East coast together.

THE SONGS: I could spend a lot of time talking about the songs we sang. Many of them came to have a special meaning to me. Whether they helped me feel patriotic or excited or grateful or contemplative or somber, the songs really were the heart of the tour. The audience loved them, giving us several standing ovations, and I was grateful for the wide variety. The one song that will always epitomize this tour is called "Epilogue". It closes the first half of the concert after we've sung about many aspects of Christ's life and teachings. The song evokes a lot of emotions and also makes me think about the time when this earth life is over and we stand before our Maker. I can't really describe more as these feelings are very personal, but I'll always be very grateful that Bro. Wilberg composed that song. 

CONNECTION: One of the things I love most about being part of this Choir is the sense of connection. Our goal is to bring the gospel to people through music and that seems to get amplified on tour. As a friend of mine said about his East coast experience, "it's the sense of purpose and of mission that bind us all together. I love feeling connected to something bigger than me that also unites individuals around a common goal." Part of the connection happens through having that common goal, and part of it happens when we are actually singing to the audience. We connect with each other as we connect with the notes and lyrics and it's all a very beautiful thing.

Deboarding the plane in Baltimore

Making our way to the buses on the tarmac

View of New York City as we were on the bus

A group of us visiting the Baltimore Temple

Having a meal at the hotel

Jennifer and I in front of the Washington Monument

I've always wanted to see the Lincoln Memorial! What a great man he was.

Going across some cool moving sidewalk inside an art museum in DC.

Fun on the bus!

The view outside our room at the Marriott Marquis

First night there, we went to a very happening place: the Shake Shack
L to R: Jennifer, Siope, Dennis, Alicia, Greg, myself

Smack dab in Times Square. Definitely the city that never sleeps

Our friends the Parker's came to the Strathmore concert. Was so good to see them.

At Bethel Woods, doing a sound check. Here's Michelle Blauer and Jennifer

Bethel Woods selfie

The Bethel Woods concert hall

Some fellow basses waiting to get started

Bethel Woods performance

Getting lined up for our concert at Strathmore

A group of us waiting for the subway

A view from within one of the historic churches in NYC

Outside the church, in the gardens

Taking a creative pose in Central Park

We solved the Mystery Room puzzle within the allotted
1 hr. It took everyone's brain power--a  lot of fun.

Jennifer visiting the MOMA in New York and enjoying
all the wonderful art on display.

The mess hall at West Point. They feed 4400 cadets
three times a day, in only 20 min each time.
We thought it had a Hogwarts resemblance

Eating some food at West Point

Another view within the mess hall. Love stained glass windows

Jennifer, overlooking the Hudson Bay at West Point

At one of the performances outside Carnegie Hall
with Desiree and Dennis

Singing at Yankee Stadium!

Lined up, ready to go on stage at West Point. The new cadets
pictured were going to march on and do a salute for
each state and territory (each salute was accompanied
by the shot of a canyon)

Our performance at West Point. You can see all of the
new cadets in white, in front.

During one of our bus stops, en route to a concert.

Lobster--part of the dinner at the Boston Marriott hotel

At the top of One World Observatory

At the STRAND bookstore. Unique used/new
bookstore with very tall shelves and
interesting people.

This was SUCH a good musical. Loved it.
FINDING NEVERLAND

Outside the theater before going in to watch.

Enjoying some empanadas at Empananda Mama.

Bicycling through Central Park was a blast. So pretty and peaceful.

Siope, Dennis, and Ben waiting for the 
sound check to start at Carnegie Hall.

Before the sound check at Carnegie

Waiting outside for the Carnegie Concert to start

My friend Dennis Flynn, ready for the Carnegie Concert

Concert at Carnegie

Bus ride over to Yankee Stadium, with good friend
Ryan Bateman

On Yankee Stadium field for the sound check

Before our 2nd Carnegie Hall performance

After the concert with my beautiful wife