As you know, life can just be really hard sometimes. And this past week was one of those weeks. Even some aspects of choir were hard. But through it all, I'm grateful for the people who care about me and I'm always thankful for edifying and uplifting music because it does have a significant effect on healing from hardships and feeling spiritually fed.
My favorite hymn we sang today was "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need".The lyrics that touched me the most are bolded.
My Shepherd will supply my need;
Jehovah is His Name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wand’ring spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.
There would I find a settled rest
While others go and come,
No more a stranger or a guest,
But like a child at home.
I'm thankful for a kind Heavenly Father and a merciful Savior who are extremely patient and who are anxious to bless and help. Even when there's a particular blessing I want that doesn't seem to come, there are plenty of other blessings in my life that testify of God's love and grace.
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Sunday, October 21, 2018
TCATS #250 - Using Gifts
My deepest sympathies for all of you who tried to get tickets for the Christmas Concert this year, but were met with all sorts of roadblocks and frustrations. Once again, the servers handling the ticket requests were unable to process all of those requests efficiently and effectively, leaving many of you with a most unpleasant experience. The word is that the Church will be fixing that problem for next year's ticket distribution experience. But I know that doesn't help with the fact that you didn't get any this year. I hope that you'll consider going early to get in the stand-by line because in all of my years doing Christmas concerts (5 now), MANY of those in that line actually do get in.
Today I was in an observer seat since I wasn't able to make it to Thursday night's rehearsal. Our family has a foreign exchange student living with us for three weeks and since she's a soccer fan, I took her and my other kids to a REAL soccer game at Rio Tinto stadium Thursday evening. A good time was had by all and I'm glad we were able to go. But, I do always miss choir when I don't go, and miss the people I've become good friends with there.
After a great broadcast, we launched into extra rehearsal #1 of 8, for the Christmas concert. We worked on three or four pieces, as well as a couple of songs for next week's broadcast. I don't want to give away all of the songs we'll be singing at this year's concert because everyone loves a surprise, right? But I do want to mention just one...Carol of the Drum. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs. I just love the narrative of this young man who doesn't feel like he has any gift to give to baby Jesus--only to to discover that the talent he has of playing the drums is a perfectly acceptable gift. Arguably the best gift. I tear up every time! I always think about the gifts I have and if I recognize them--and use them for the benefit of others.
How are you using YOUR gifts?
Until next time, God be with you.
Today I was in an observer seat since I wasn't able to make it to Thursday night's rehearsal. Our family has a foreign exchange student living with us for three weeks and since she's a soccer fan, I took her and my other kids to a REAL soccer game at Rio Tinto stadium Thursday evening. A good time was had by all and I'm glad we were able to go. But, I do always miss choir when I don't go, and miss the people I've become good friends with there.
After a great broadcast, we launched into extra rehearsal #1 of 8, for the Christmas concert. We worked on three or four pieces, as well as a couple of songs for next week's broadcast. I don't want to give away all of the songs we'll be singing at this year's concert because everyone loves a surprise, right? But I do want to mention just one...Carol of the Drum. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs. I just love the narrative of this young man who doesn't feel like he has any gift to give to baby Jesus--only to to discover that the talent he has of playing the drums is a perfectly acceptable gift. Arguably the best gift. I tear up every time! I always think about the gifts I have and if I recognize them--and use them for the benefit of others.
How are you using YOUR gifts?
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
TCATS #249 - Pushing Through
Today was just one of those days I wasn't really excited to get up early and go to the Tabernacle to sing. Any of you who know me, know how extremely grateful and humbled I am at being able to sing with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. So my not wanting to go sing today had nothing to do with that. It's just sometimes you get tired and life is busy and when faced with responsibilities--even ones you normally love--you just want a break. Nothing wrong with that. I actually could have taken a break and not gone in, but I have some family things going on this coming Thursday for which I'll miss rehearsal for so because of that fact, I got up, got ready, drove to my carpool spot, and got a ride into the Tabernacle to perform Music and the Spoken Word.
The crowds continue to amaze me. Even with it being in the 30s this morning, temperature-wise, they just kept coming in the doors. And by 9:30, we had another full house eager to see us perform.
I pushed through my fatigue, trying my best to make the songs come alive for me and hone in on the wonderful themes we were singing about. And while I don't think I did a great job, I think I did OK, all things considered. What always motivates me the most on days like today, is looking out at the audience, getting a feel for who they are and why they had come. Whether it's tears or smiles, or just intense staring (or even disinterest) being exhibited by the audience members, everyone there was being surrounded and immersed in the music and those with open hearts were being influenced in just the way they needed to be. The other thing that motivates me is the people and friends around me. I feed off of their excitement and happiness and I siphoned off an extra dose of that today.
The song I enjoyed singing the most today was THE GROUND. Not a very flashy title, but if you hear it in the context of being "grounded" in truth and in our Savior Jesus Christ, it takes on a whole new meaning. You can give it a listen, HERE.
Not much of an inspiring blog entry for you--I'm sorry. But I'm just keeping it real. Next week after the broadcast, we start learning Christmas music for our concert in December. I can't believe it's already THAT time. However, I'm really excited to delve into Christmas music which I think includes some of the best pieces of music ever written. We'll have eight extra rehearsals between now and the concerts, six of which we must attend, and that will take us right up to Christmas Concert week where we basically tell our loved ones farewell and we'll see them after the week is over. :)
Until next time, God be with you.
PS: For the last 248 entries, I've started each title with "MTC", meaning "Mormon Tabernacle Choir". But I realized today that I need to change the acronym to align with our new and improved name. TCATS.
The crowds continue to amaze me. Even with it being in the 30s this morning, temperature-wise, they just kept coming in the doors. And by 9:30, we had another full house eager to see us perform.
I pushed through my fatigue, trying my best to make the songs come alive for me and hone in on the wonderful themes we were singing about. And while I don't think I did a great job, I think I did OK, all things considered. What always motivates me the most on days like today, is looking out at the audience, getting a feel for who they are and why they had come. Whether it's tears or smiles, or just intense staring (or even disinterest) being exhibited by the audience members, everyone there was being surrounded and immersed in the music and those with open hearts were being influenced in just the way they needed to be. The other thing that motivates me is the people and friends around me. I feed off of their excitement and happiness and I siphoned off an extra dose of that today.
The song I enjoyed singing the most today was THE GROUND. Not a very flashy title, but if you hear it in the context of being "grounded" in truth and in our Savior Jesus Christ, it takes on a whole new meaning. You can give it a listen, HERE.
Not much of an inspiring blog entry for you--I'm sorry. But I'm just keeping it real. Next week after the broadcast, we start learning Christmas music for our concert in December. I can't believe it's already THAT time. However, I'm really excited to delve into Christmas music which I think includes some of the best pieces of music ever written. We'll have eight extra rehearsals between now and the concerts, six of which we must attend, and that will take us right up to Christmas Concert week where we basically tell our loved ones farewell and we'll see them after the week is over. :)
Until next time, God be with you.
PS: For the last 248 entries, I've started each title with "MTC", meaning "Mormon Tabernacle Choir". But I realized today that I need to change the acronym to align with our new and improved name. TCATS.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
MTC #248 - Conference Report (Unique x 3)
Conference is always an exciting and much anticipated event for the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This time, in particular, given how much overtime the rumor mill was putting in, individuals and families tuned in to hear instruction and counsel by church leaders and to hear if any of the rumors were going to come true.
This blog, however, is not about conference itself, but rather about the music rendered during conference. And this time, there were three important and unique aspects of conference music that I want to mention.
But before I do that, here are some numbers (for all you statistics people!):
Total songs sung: 21*
Hymns from LDS hymn book: 13
Children/Primary songs: 3
Other hymns: 3
American Folk Songs: 2^
Songs Memorized: 14
Hours rehearsed: approx. 10-12^^
*=this includes Music & the Spoken Word (MSW) on Sunday morning before the Sun AM session of conference
^=one of these was sung during MSW, one during conference
^^=does not include outside, individual memorizing time--which is fairly significant for newer members of the choir
OK. So on to the three unique things I wanted to mention...
First, it was the very first time that the choir performed as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (yes, "MoTab" is no longer). The name change was announced this past Friday morning, and there are plenty of news articles that covered the announcement (here's one). While the reaction to the name change has been mixed, I, personally, am excited for the change. Yes, it's going to take a very long time for the new name to take a firm hold around the world. And I suspect that even though there will be a lot of effort to educate people on the new name, some will continue to use the old one. But the change just feels right, and it falls perfectly in line with not only what the prophet has asked us to do, but it matches up with the other musical organizations of the Church: The Orchestra at Temple Square, and, The Bells on Temple Square. Already, church members and fans who have heard about the change are giving us a new acronym to go by: TCATS or TabCats. Not sure I'm on-board with that, but we'll see over time what acronym sticks.
For all of those who are not happy with the change--well--there's little to say. I just hope you can hop on board and continue to enjoy what's at the core of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square: high quality inspirational music!
The second unique thing about music at this conference was one of the songs we sang was requested by President Nelson. That, in and of itself, is not unique (he and other prophets/general authorities have requested songs before), but, what is unique is that it was not a traditional LDS hymn! It was actually a beautiful, somewhat haunting folk-song titled "His Voice is the Sound." When Mack first told us all about this, he said he had been somewhat shocked at the request, simply because the song was not a hymn or in the "traditional" Conference repertoire. Given that President Nelson is already being called the "prophet of change" though, I guess it's not too much of a surprise he requested a non-traditional song. But still...a pretty big deal, at least in the eyes of the choir. President Nelson didn't mention the song in his conference address that immediately followed the song, but as I talked with people, and thought about it, I realized how perfect it was as a backdrop to his talk (which was about the importance of correcting the name that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been known by--namely, "The Mormons"). One only need ponder on the title of the folk-song to see how well it supports the theme of the talk: The Lord's voice is the sound we should hear. It's the sound we should follow. It's the sound that should resonate within our heart and within our soul. For me, too, the song seems to connect the Christ of long ago, with the Christ of today--and why it is that we should worship Him and strive to be like Him. AND, why we should strive to help the world understand that the Church we belong to is none other than the Church of JESUS CHRIST.
The last unique thing about the music at this conference is that it included a hymn with words written by our prophet, President Nelson (titled "Our Prayer to Thee"). It was fittingly sung as the last song of conference. If you would like to listen to it (and for some, listen to it again) with the lyricist in mind, you can, HERE.
All in all, I just want to say how grateful I am that I get to sing with this marvelous choir. I'm humbled, all the time, at the unique opportunity. Several of the newer members of the choir were making similar comments during the past couple of days and those comments reminded me of the importance of always approaching this opportunity with humility and a focus on the choir's core mission: to musically uplift, inspire, and testify of Jesus Christ to all the world.
Lastly, a huge thanks to the organists (they have a heavy load playing so many pieces without any other accompaniment), the tech crew, our directors, and, of course, my wife and kids who continue to support me in this adventure. Love them!
Until next time, God be with you.
This blog, however, is not about conference itself, but rather about the music rendered during conference. And this time, there were three important and unique aspects of conference music that I want to mention.
But before I do that, here are some numbers (for all you statistics people!):
Total songs sung: 21*
Hymns from LDS hymn book: 13
Children/Primary songs: 3
Other hymns: 3
American Folk Songs: 2^
Songs Memorized: 14
Hours rehearsed: approx. 10-12^^
*=this includes Music & the Spoken Word (MSW) on Sunday morning before the Sun AM session of conference
^=one of these was sung during MSW, one during conference
^^=does not include outside, individual memorizing time--which is fairly significant for newer members of the choir
OK. So on to the three unique things I wanted to mention...
First, it was the very first time that the choir performed as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (yes, "MoTab" is no longer). The name change was announced this past Friday morning, and there are plenty of news articles that covered the announcement (here's one). While the reaction to the name change has been mixed, I, personally, am excited for the change. Yes, it's going to take a very long time for the new name to take a firm hold around the world. And I suspect that even though there will be a lot of effort to educate people on the new name, some will continue to use the old one. But the change just feels right, and it falls perfectly in line with not only what the prophet has asked us to do, but it matches up with the other musical organizations of the Church: The Orchestra at Temple Square, and, The Bells on Temple Square. Already, church members and fans who have heard about the change are giving us a new acronym to go by: TCATS or TabCats. Not sure I'm on-board with that, but we'll see over time what acronym sticks.
 | |
| Our last rehearsal as The Mormon Tabernacle Choir |
The second unique thing about music at this conference was one of the songs we sang was requested by President Nelson. That, in and of itself, is not unique (he and other prophets/general authorities have requested songs before), but, what is unique is that it was not a traditional LDS hymn! It was actually a beautiful, somewhat haunting folk-song titled "His Voice is the Sound." When Mack first told us all about this, he said he had been somewhat shocked at the request, simply because the song was not a hymn or in the "traditional" Conference repertoire. Given that President Nelson is already being called the "prophet of change" though, I guess it's not too much of a surprise he requested a non-traditional song. But still...a pretty big deal, at least in the eyes of the choir. President Nelson didn't mention the song in his conference address that immediately followed the song, but as I talked with people, and thought about it, I realized how perfect it was as a backdrop to his talk (which was about the importance of correcting the name that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been known by--namely, "The Mormons"). One only need ponder on the title of the folk-song to see how well it supports the theme of the talk: The Lord's voice is the sound we should hear. It's the sound we should follow. It's the sound that should resonate within our heart and within our soul. For me, too, the song seems to connect the Christ of long ago, with the Christ of today--and why it is that we should worship Him and strive to be like Him. AND, why we should strive to help the world understand that the Church we belong to is none other than the Church of JESUS CHRIST.
The last unique thing about the music at this conference is that it included a hymn with words written by our prophet, President Nelson (titled "Our Prayer to Thee"). It was fittingly sung as the last song of conference. If you would like to listen to it (and for some, listen to it again) with the lyricist in mind, you can, HERE.
All in all, I just want to say how grateful I am that I get to sing with this marvelous choir. I'm humbled, all the time, at the unique opportunity. Several of the newer members of the choir were making similar comments during the past couple of days and those comments reminded me of the importance of always approaching this opportunity with humility and a focus on the choir's core mission: to musically uplift, inspire, and testify of Jesus Christ to all the world.
Lastly, a huge thanks to the organists (they have a heavy load playing so many pieces without any other accompaniment), the tech crew, our directors, and, of course, my wife and kids who continue to support me in this adventure. Love them!
Until next time, God be with you.
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