I'm grateful I was back with my choir family Thursday and today after not singing in the Sunday broadcast for the past three weeks. Today, of course, was our "Thanksgiving Special" and the songs and the message all centered around the theme of gratitude. As such, I thought it would be fitting to express ten reasons I'm grateful for my continued time with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Keep in mind that these ten reasons aren't going to be your typical reasons--I have those reasons and have expressed them in this blog before (getting to sing, the people, the music itself, the guest artist experiences, etc). But these are some atypical reasons that go down to the tiny details.
10. I'm thankful for plastic water bottles that don't make those crinkly noises when you pick them up. I recently discovered the Evian brand water bottle and it's the perfect height, is QUIET, and has an easy to screw on cap. Does it cost more than the popular Kirkland brand? Absolutely. But a few Evian bottles can go for months by refilling them.
9. I'm thankful for
the people who choose the background lighting and patterns and scenery
that gets displayed behind us. We don't notice it at the time we're
singing, but when I review the performance on Youtube or TV, I see what a
great job they did.
8. I'm thankful that not everyone arrives at the Tabernacle for choir at the same time. I was getting dressed this morning in the blue suit and red snowflake tie and had plenty of room to do so. Getting back into "regular" clothes afterwards, though, isn't so roomy!
7. I'm thankful for multiple bathrooms that are available to use when nature calls. Yes, the Conference Center men's bathroom could use more stalls (there's typically a line for those during break), but it's just nice that there's one there.
6. I'm thankful for friends to talk to during breaks and even friends who wait for you as you exit the stage or as you pick up your music and have a long walk ahead of you to the Conference Center or the Tabernacle. The conversations that ensue are usually uplifting and bring a smile to my face.
5. I'm thankful that I'm not always on ROW #6. Even though I'm assigned to row #6, I often get moved down to #5 or #4 because someone else is absent and the spaces need to be filled in. Row #6 is the most crowded row out of them all. Someone felt a need to stick an extra seat into that row when there really wasn't enough space to begin with.
4. I'm thankful when I'm walking to and fro and other members of the choir that I pass in the hallways look me in the eyes and with a smile, say "hello Ryan".
3. I'm thankful for family members and friends that say how much they enjoyed another performance of ours, even when they've already heard the songs a million times.
2. I'm thankful for the organ solo that occurs AFTER the broadcast each Sunday. I don't get a chance to just sit there and hear it too often, but when I do, I'm always thankful because it's always so moving.
1. I'm thankful every time I finally make it to my seat and have about 5 minutes before rehearsal starts. I love to just sit there, look around, notice people, enjoy the familiarity, and count all of my blessings for being able to be there in the first place.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
TCATS #306 - Noticing the Other Person
I recently returned from a vacation to Jamaica which was absolutely wonderful. It did, however, cause me to miss two Thursday night rehearsals, plus a Sunday performance/rehearsal. As such, I was again in "observing mode" today. Thankfully, my friend Ryan was also in observing mode so we observed together--enjoying five great pieces that the choir performed for Music & the Spoken Word. My favorite of the bunch was Standing on the Promises. That song never gets old and never disappoints. There's so much of life that takes a toll on your faith and distracts you from what's most important. And this song always reminds me that things will be OK (actually, more than OK) if we stand on the promises that God has given us. And by standing, I mean living each day relying on those promises to be delivered as we strive to follow Christ.
As I was contemplating what to write about today, my wife gave me a good idea--so I'm going to go with it. :) During the past six years I've been in the choir, my wife and I will find ourselves at family events or going out with friends. And inevitably, the topic of conversation will either start with, or gravitate to, the Tabernacle Choir. The questions might be directed to me ("Ryan, so how's the choir going?") or when my wife is without me, she'll get the questions ("So how is Ryan enjoying the choir?"). When I get the questions, my good wife patiently smiles and listens--sometimes contributing experiences or insights. And when she gets the questions, she is obviously nice and answers those questions the best she can.
I am, of course, grateful for the interest people have about the choir and I recognize it's an easy and obvious topic to ask about. Their sincere desire to learn more is something I appreciate. However, I often feel bad that my wife repeatedly gets the short end of the stick. How I've wished that at least some of the time, people would come up to us and ask how she's doing. Or, at the very least, ask "So Jenn, how is it supporting Ryan in the choir? What are some of the highs and the lows you've been through?"
Like I said, people mean well and neither my wife nor I hold any sort of grudge towards anyone asking about the choir. It just illustrates an important principle that we all need to be aware of more often: sometimes it's the other person who could use the attention.
So, next time you're in a situation where you have the opportunity to talk to the less-noticed person--the one who may not, for example, be singing with a world-renowned choir that travels the the globe and sings to millions each week--take it! I guarantee that the person will be very grateful. And then, afterwards, when the conversation is needing a new direction, the obvious topic at hand is always one you can turn to.
Until next time, God be with you.
As I was contemplating what to write about today, my wife gave me a good idea--so I'm going to go with it. :) During the past six years I've been in the choir, my wife and I will find ourselves at family events or going out with friends. And inevitably, the topic of conversation will either start with, or gravitate to, the Tabernacle Choir. The questions might be directed to me ("Ryan, so how's the choir going?") or when my wife is without me, she'll get the questions ("So how is Ryan enjoying the choir?"). When I get the questions, my good wife patiently smiles and listens--sometimes contributing experiences or insights. And when she gets the questions, she is obviously nice and answers those questions the best she can.
I am, of course, grateful for the interest people have about the choir and I recognize it's an easy and obvious topic to ask about. Their sincere desire to learn more is something I appreciate. However, I often feel bad that my wife repeatedly gets the short end of the stick. How I've wished that at least some of the time, people would come up to us and ask how she's doing. Or, at the very least, ask "So Jenn, how is it supporting Ryan in the choir? What are some of the highs and the lows you've been through?"
Like I said, people mean well and neither my wife nor I hold any sort of grudge towards anyone asking about the choir. It just illustrates an important principle that we all need to be aware of more often: sometimes it's the other person who could use the attention.
So, next time you're in a situation where you have the opportunity to talk to the less-noticed person--the one who may not, for example, be singing with a world-renowned choir that travels the the globe and sings to millions each week--take it! I guarantee that the person will be very grateful. And then, afterwards, when the conversation is needing a new direction, the obvious topic at hand is always one you can turn to.
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
TCATS #304 - Players on a Stage
I missed rehearsal for the week, so I was on the sidelines to watch the broadcast today. Sometimes when this happens, I actually get a little sad that I'm not singing. But today I was content to just sit and watch, next to my good friend Jason-- who was also content to just enjoy the observation experience.
There were a few moments when I just looked around and noticed all of the "players" in this Tabernacle Choir experience. And as I did so, I thought about the famous words that Shakespeare once penned: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances."
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will continue moving forward year after year as it's always done since 1847 (1929 began Music & the Spoken Word). The singers, the choir leadership, even the conductors will play their part for a time and then they will make their exit. Their replacements will then make their entrance. Those new players will contribute what they can, enjoy the marvelous experience it is, enrich others' lives, and then move on to something else.
On the one hand, such an observation makes me feel rather unimportant. After all, one day some other individual will join the choir as a new addition to the bass section and he will inherit "my" number: B-108. All of my music markings--especially all of those arrows I drew pointing upward to help encourage me to sing just a little higher--will be his now. He might even sit where I sat, adding his voice to the voices of many others.
On the other hand, because I know that at some point that day will come, it's important not to minimize anything in "the now." No one understands this more right now than my friend Ryan, who only has six months left in the choir (having served all of his allotted 20)! He's been experiencing several last moments for months now and each time we have a concert or some other performance, it's usually the last of that type, for him. Who can even count all of the hours put into 20 years of service? It's unbelievable. And it definitely means something. He has been but one player on the stage. But all of those hours have helped to change him--and to change so many others. That's what consecrated service does to the giver and receiver. It changes them for the better.
So, far be it from me to change Shakespeare's quote. But if I did, I would substitute the word "merely" for "vitally important".
For truly, everyone is.
Until next time, God be with you.
There were a few moments when I just looked around and noticed all of the "players" in this Tabernacle Choir experience. And as I did so, I thought about the famous words that Shakespeare once penned: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances."
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will continue moving forward year after year as it's always done since 1847 (1929 began Music & the Spoken Word). The singers, the choir leadership, even the conductors will play their part for a time and then they will make their exit. Their replacements will then make their entrance. Those new players will contribute what they can, enjoy the marvelous experience it is, enrich others' lives, and then move on to something else.
On the one hand, such an observation makes me feel rather unimportant. After all, one day some other individual will join the choir as a new addition to the bass section and he will inherit "my" number: B-108. All of my music markings--especially all of those arrows I drew pointing upward to help encourage me to sing just a little higher--will be his now. He might even sit where I sat, adding his voice to the voices of many others.
On the other hand, because I know that at some point that day will come, it's important not to minimize anything in "the now." No one understands this more right now than my friend Ryan, who only has six months left in the choir (having served all of his allotted 20)! He's been experiencing several last moments for months now and each time we have a concert or some other performance, it's usually the last of that type, for him. Who can even count all of the hours put into 20 years of service? It's unbelievable. And it definitely means something. He has been but one player on the stage. But all of those hours have helped to change him--and to change so many others. That's what consecrated service does to the giver and receiver. It changes them for the better.
So, far be it from me to change Shakespeare's quote. But if I did, I would substitute the word "merely" for "vitally important".
For truly, everyone is.
Until next time, God be with you.
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