The Mormon Tabernacle Choir had the opportunity to perform two concerts this past Saturday, on the campus of Utah State University in the newly remodeled Newel and Jean Daines Concert Hall. The whole event began early as the Choir arrived on campus around 9:30AM, some having driven up themselves, while most had taken a bus that the Choir organization had provided. (As a side note, the bus ride was actually nice as it afforded time to talk with friends and to appreciate the beautiful Fall colors that were part of the journey)
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| My bus buddy, Ryan B. |
From 9:30 to noon, we had a sound check/rehearsal to make sure things sounded good and to perform any adjustments needed with the audio equipment. The hall was beautiful--not ornate or elaborate--but nicely designed with great acoustics. And it's these acoustics we especially appreciated as it's always a constant challenge for us to actually hear each other in our Tabernacle home. As such, when we're in an actual concert hall like the one we were in, it makes it easier to hear each other, to blend, and to put forth a unified sound.
After the rehearsal, we headed off to eat lunch in one of the banquet rooms, enjoying the 5-10 min walk across campus. The hour went by quickly, and we hurried back in order to get changed into concert attire. This activity of changing clothes is probably the least favorite of everyone because...well...let's face it, there aren't a lot of places on this earth that have adequate (i.e. "spacious and efficient") changing rooms for hundreds of performers! But, we all made do, and once properly dressed, we got in line and headed out on stage to take our seats.
The concert went very well. For me personally, since I wasn't able to go on tour this past summer with the Choir, I was really happy to sing the repertoire of songs that we normally take on tour. It was great too, to sing from the location in the hall that I was in. Most of the choir was in the middle of the stage/loft area, but because there were so many of us, they had to put some of us on the sides, kind of in the balcony wings. I was one of those in the wings--but it was neat to be so close to the people who were right below us and to see their faces and their reactions. The only downside to being where I was is that it was right in front of the organ pipes--and during some of the more heavy-organ numbers, it was so loud I couldn't even hear myself sing. :)
At any rate, the audience seemed to love the concert, as judged by their clapping, smiling, and standing ovations. At the end, our special guest conductor, who was none other than former Tabernacle Choir director, Craig Jessop (who's now the dean of the USU College of Fine Arts), led the Choir in two encore numbers. The first was audience favorite Climb Every Mountain. The second, and probably one of the biggest hits of the night, was the USU Aggie Fight Song--which we had learned just especially for our USU fans. Not only did we sing the song, but we did the actions as well and the audience absolutely loved it! (see here for an idea of how it looked/sounded)
After the concert, some friends and I headed over to the creamery for some Aggie ice cream (braving the long lines) and then went to dinner. Afterwards, it was nice to just walk around campus and enjoy some reflective time. I realized, once again, that I am WAY past college age. In my heart, I still feel like I've never left my 20s, but then I see these students around me and it's very evident I'm way past that time of my life.
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| My dinner dinner break walk-around-campus buddy, Ben |
The evening concert went much like the first and the audience generated the same type of positive response. Overall, it was a fun experience and I'm really grateful that we get to do these types of concerts here in our home state. As we ended with "God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again", a lot of our audience members wiped their eyes or were just all smiles. One couple who I ran into after the matinee earlier, said "Thank you, thank you. It was all just so beautiful."
Before ending today's post, I do want just mention this morning's Music & the Spoken Word broadcast. Having arrived home last night close to midnight (or even later for some) and then waking up early to go do the broadcast, there were lots of tired souls. We had to try and adjust our faces on camera to look like we were excited to be there! While I was certainly tired, I looked at how many people had come to hear us sing (the Tabernacle was nearly filled to capacity) and I again knew that it was time to put away my weariness and focus on singing with as much energy and enthusiasm as possible. After all, today's audience deserved just as great of an experience as any other, and it was up to us to help them feel the power, the warmth, and the important truths contained in the songs we sang.
I hope we succeeded.
Until next time, God be with you.
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