A few weeks ago, I published a rather vulnerable post about how the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square doesn't need its members (in the short term) to fulfill its mission. This was a personal opinion post based on my own thoughts, with conclusions derived from my own perspective and observations. While I still stand by what I said in that post, I do want to take the opportunity to expand on it a little bit.
First, I think it's important to define the mission of the Choir. From the Choir's own website, we read: "The Tabernacle Choir is dedicated to the universal language of music that has the power to bring joy, peace, and healing to its listeners. This unique music organization transcends cultural and generational boundaries and brings together people from around the world through stirring music."
From the handbook that Choir members receive, we read a more succinct statement: "The mission of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is to serve as goodwill ambassadors for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and through music prepare the hearts of members and non-members throughout the world to actively follow the teachings of Jesus Christ."
As I mentioned in my prior post, during this reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Choir continues to fulfill this mission by utilizing its vast archive of past performances. Each week, people around the world can watch and/or listen to Music & the Spoken Word, can tap into the Choir's albums found on music streaming services, can utilize the Choir's own streaming mobile app, and can rewatch their DVDs of past concerts. They can also go onto the Church's website and access a very large number of past General Conference performances. Those who choose to do these things can have their hearts prepared and can be uplifted with joy, peace, and healing. The countless hours and sacrifice that Choir members, directors, and staff have put into each of these songs and performances continues to pay dividends; and listeners around the world continue to be inspired.
So if the Choir's mission is largely being fulfilled on its own right now, what can I do, as a Choir member, to still be part of that mission fulfillment process? Should I still play an active roll, and if so, how exactly?
These questions really made me think.
After some pondering and introspection, I came up with a few things that made sense to me personally. First, I can encourage others to listen to the Choir's music through any of the various means available. Second, within that encouraging, I can include personal feelings of how the music has uplifted and helped me. Third, as I pray for people and pray for the world at large during this time when so many are suffering in so many different ways, I can include a plea that they will find (or be led to) the Choir's music. And once the music is found, it will play an important part of that person's individual journey of finding peace and hope. Fourth, I can be a strength to other choir members--not just because I want to be a friend, but because at some point, we WILL sing together again and we'll need our testimonies of Jesus Christ strong and vibrant and ready to be fused with our music. And lastly, I can be open to any other "fulfilling the mission" ways that might come into my head and heart in the days to come.
While thinking about all of this, I just wanted to invite you to consider what missions you're a part of right now--especially missions that you may feel are on auto-pilot. Are you on a mission to be a better parent, a better sibling, or a better friend? What could you do to better fulfill that mission? Are you part of a mission associated with a company or organization that could use more of your creativity and best efforts? When you're out and about in public, maybe on a mini-mission to pick up things you need at a local grocery store or retail outlet, what can you do to fulfill that mission in a way that not only accomplishes your end goal, but at the same time exhibits kindness and respect to others?
Regardless, I hope we can all be an active part of fulfilling the missions we're a part of. Doing so will undoubtedly bless our lives and the lives of others--and may give us just the boost we need.
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Sunday, June 21, 2020
TCATS #337 - Random Tidbits + New Organ Performance
Hello dear readers. And for you fathers out there, happy Fathers Day. :)
It's been over three months now since we've been able to meet and sing together. And per last week's post, we likely have many more months of "choir break" to come. I thought today I'd just include everything I can think of that's still going on with the choir. Some of you might find interesting, some of you might not. But here goes...
*The deadline for the men of the choir to speak up and say they want to purchase their creme coat for $10 was this past Friday. All coats that aren't spoken for can be purchased by other choir members. Exciting, exciting. (Farewell my creme coat...may you enjoy your new owner!)
*Final venue arrangements were made for next year's 2021 tour as announced HERE. The choir is hoping, of course, that COVID-19 doesn't claim the 2021 tour as it did the 2020 tour.
*Speaking of tour, the deadline to sign-up for going is coming up soon (July 1) and those who's passport has an expiration date of Jan 2022 or earlier need to get started right away in getting a new one. From what I understand, the passport process has turned into a bit of nightmare given staff reductions and whatnot.
*All choir members who still have music at home have been asked to return it to the Tabernacle so that the choir librarians can do what they need to do and prepare for the day when we will get to sing again. I'll be taking in the music from my carpool people some time this week. It'll be interesting to do that as it's been a long time since I was in the Tabernacle.
*Some choir members are posting accounts of choir-related dreams they are having, on Facebook. Some are actually quite humorous to read through. Others epitomize the sadness that several are feeling during this extended break of not singing.
*And some choir members are reading through some recent letters that came in from individuals who wanted to share how much our music has helped them during these trying times.
So this past week, the Tabernacle Choir organists put on a performance entitled PIPING UP! This performance actually launched a series of performances that the public can stream every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can find this first kick-off performance HERE. At the time of this post, we're up to 32K views. Go organists! I'm sincerely glad that you get to continue showcasing your talent and inspire so many. (And if you don't have time to watch the whole first performance, catch the ending of it HERE where all five organists unite to give us a really cool visual and listening experience)
That's about all I have. I've been thinking less about choir during each week for the past few weeks, so that's been good for me. Sometimes I have a tendency to want to include my choir friends in that distancing just so I'm not reminded of the current reality of not being able to sing together. But hopefully I can get better at not doing that. We all need each other. And on a general level, friendships are more important now than they ever have been. I don't know...some days I feel very messed up and not sure how to process everything going on in the world, let alone navigating the choir void. But all I can do is my best.
Until next time, God be with you.
It's been over three months now since we've been able to meet and sing together. And per last week's post, we likely have many more months of "choir break" to come. I thought today I'd just include everything I can think of that's still going on with the choir. Some of you might find interesting, some of you might not. But here goes...
*The deadline for the men of the choir to speak up and say they want to purchase their creme coat for $10 was this past Friday. All coats that aren't spoken for can be purchased by other choir members. Exciting, exciting. (Farewell my creme coat...may you enjoy your new owner!)
*Final venue arrangements were made for next year's 2021 tour as announced HERE. The choir is hoping, of course, that COVID-19 doesn't claim the 2021 tour as it did the 2020 tour.
*Speaking of tour, the deadline to sign-up for going is coming up soon (July 1) and those who's passport has an expiration date of Jan 2022 or earlier need to get started right away in getting a new one. From what I understand, the passport process has turned into a bit of nightmare given staff reductions and whatnot.
*All choir members who still have music at home have been asked to return it to the Tabernacle so that the choir librarians can do what they need to do and prepare for the day when we will get to sing again. I'll be taking in the music from my carpool people some time this week. It'll be interesting to do that as it's been a long time since I was in the Tabernacle.
*Some choir members are posting accounts of choir-related dreams they are having, on Facebook. Some are actually quite humorous to read through. Others epitomize the sadness that several are feeling during this extended break of not singing.
*And some choir members are reading through some recent letters that came in from individuals who wanted to share how much our music has helped them during these trying times.
So this past week, the Tabernacle Choir organists put on a performance entitled PIPING UP! This performance actually launched a series of performances that the public can stream every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can find this first kick-off performance HERE. At the time of this post, we're up to 32K views. Go organists! I'm sincerely glad that you get to continue showcasing your talent and inspire so many. (And if you don't have time to watch the whole first performance, catch the ending of it HERE where all five organists unite to give us a really cool visual and listening experience)
That's about all I have. I've been thinking less about choir during each week for the past few weeks, so that's been good for me. Sometimes I have a tendency to want to include my choir friends in that distancing just so I'm not reminded of the current reality of not being able to sing together. But hopefully I can get better at not doing that. We all need each other. And on a general level, friendships are more important now than they ever have been. I don't know...some days I feel very messed up and not sure how to process everything going on in the world, let alone navigating the choir void. But all I can do is my best.
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
TCATS #336 - What the News Headlines Say
In my daily perusal of the news, I often keep my eye open for coronavirus stories related to choirs. Along with wanting to stay educated on how this pandemic has affected choral groups around the world, I am also interested in knowing when it will be safe to hope again.
If you were to do a Google search with the keywords "coronavirus choirs", you'd see these headlines:
Hmmmm...Probably not safe to hope, yet.
Unlike the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, some members of other choirs and orchestras face losing their jobs over not being able to sing and play together for audiences and as such, are deciding to go the virtual route--for now. The choral group Albany Pro Musica, for example, decided to do just that for their upcoming performance season. In reading through the article, I thought the following paragraphs helped put in perspective some of the considerations regarding choral singing in this present reality:
"Among [the sobering facts] is the description of singers as “super spreaders” likely to transmit the virus well past the reach of normal social distancing. As PAMA president Dr. Lucinda Halsteadone phrased it: "You would need a football stadium to space apart the Westminster Choir [which only has 40 members].”
“Our deep breathing and loud sound produced during a rehearsal projects disease particles into the air at a significantly higher rate than talking,” explains a post addressing the summit on barbershop.org. “This is why we keep hearing horror stories of entire choirs falling ill from one rehearsal. . . . Even if 6 feet of physical distance is observed, singing mitigates that by filling a room with virus particles quickly.”
"For the virtual season, [director of the choir] Flores-Caraballo said, the chorus will weigh different configurations in different places -- perhaps with smaller groups of APM singers, as the full ensemble won't be able to gather in a close space. 'It will be a totally innovative, new concert series. . . It will not be the typical concert experience that people are used to. It will be different, and details on that is what we’ll unveil a month from now. Everything that we’re doing is in a way reinventing APM for the next year at least. . . . The downside of all this is that there’s nothing that can compare to the energy that people feel in a live performance.' But the present reality is prompting the ensemble to explore technology in new ways, and he expects that to continue into the post-COVID future."
And I'll end today's post with the last paragraph of the article, to which I certainly can empathize with: “This is a personal loss for everyone involved. . . . It’s huge. It’s huge. Because even when we’ll find ways to communicate virtually with our audience, we will still miss being together. Being together as a group,” he said, “and being together with our audience.”
Until next time, God be with you.
If you were to do a Google search with the keywords "coronavirus choirs", you'd see these headlines:
- When Will it Be Safe to Sing Again? (NY Times)
- How Coronavirus Spread from One Member to 87% of the Singers at a Washington Choir Practice (CNN)
- Two Years Until We Have a Live Choir? (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- The Pandemic Shut Down Choirs. We're Finding New Ways to Sing Together (Washington Post)
- Scientists to Choirs: Group Singing Can Spread Cornavirus (LA Times)
- When and How Can Choirs Sing Again Without Becoming "Superspreaders" (ABC News)
- Paging Dr. Hamblin: When Will it Be Safe To Sing Together? (The Atlantic)
- COVID-19 Creates Grim Outlook for Choirs Singing in Group (KTUU News)
- Church-goers Aren't Able to Lift Every Voice and Sing During the Pandemic (The Conversation US)
- Superspreader Events (like Choir Singing) May be Responsible for 80% of COVID Infections (Voice of America)
- German Choirs Go Silent As Singing Branded Virus Risk
Hmmmm...Probably not safe to hope, yet.
Unlike the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, some members of other choirs and orchestras face losing their jobs over not being able to sing and play together for audiences and as such, are deciding to go the virtual route--for now. The choral group Albany Pro Musica, for example, decided to do just that for their upcoming performance season. In reading through the article, I thought the following paragraphs helped put in perspective some of the considerations regarding choral singing in this present reality:
"Among [the sobering facts] is the description of singers as “super spreaders” likely to transmit the virus well past the reach of normal social distancing. As PAMA president Dr. Lucinda Halsteadone phrased it: "You would need a football stadium to space apart the Westminster Choir [which only has 40 members].”
“Our deep breathing and loud sound produced during a rehearsal projects disease particles into the air at a significantly higher rate than talking,” explains a post addressing the summit on barbershop.org. “This is why we keep hearing horror stories of entire choirs falling ill from one rehearsal. . . . Even if 6 feet of physical distance is observed, singing mitigates that by filling a room with virus particles quickly.”
"For the virtual season, [director of the choir] Flores-Caraballo said, the chorus will weigh different configurations in different places -- perhaps with smaller groups of APM singers, as the full ensemble won't be able to gather in a close space. 'It will be a totally innovative, new concert series. . . It will not be the typical concert experience that people are used to. It will be different, and details on that is what we’ll unveil a month from now. Everything that we’re doing is in a way reinventing APM for the next year at least. . . . The downside of all this is that there’s nothing that can compare to the energy that people feel in a live performance.' But the present reality is prompting the ensemble to explore technology in new ways, and he expects that to continue into the post-COVID future."
And I'll end today's post with the last paragraph of the article, to which I certainly can empathize with: “This is a personal loss for everyone involved. . . . It’s huge. It’s huge. Because even when we’ll find ways to communicate virtually with our audience, we will still miss being together. Being together as a group,” he said, “and being together with our audience.”
Until next time, God be with you.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
TCATS #335 - It's About the Mission--Not Me
I really need to write this post--for me.
And ironically, the theme of this post is that it's really not about me.
Over the past 80+ days, as the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has ceased normal operations, I've been on a journey. A journey filled with the process of grieving and of trying to adjust to my new no-choir reality. And I won't lie. It's been hard. I've gone through a wide range of emotions that has included sadness, disbelief, anger, resentment, and finally, a welcome bit of humility.
As I was on yet another walk the other night, I thought about all of this and I realized some things. Most notably, that singing regularly with the Tabernacle Choir isn't as needful or important as I thought it was. And that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can get along just fine without its choir members for months and even years to come if needed. The necessity of having a living, breathing, performing-every-week choir is actually not a necessity in the short term.
Consider that the bread and butter of the choir is the weekly Music & Spoken Word (MSW) broadcasts. It's what we spend most of our time preparing for and most of our time performing. In fact, if there was a pie chart to look at that showed the breakdown of how the choir uses its time, MSW would easily be the largest slice of the pie. Why is this exactly? It's because MSW is the best way for us to fulfill our mission of sharing testimony and inspiring others by the truths we sing and the truths Lloyd Newell speaks. Every Sunday we are reminded how far and wide the net of this weekly broadcast is spread: 2000+ TV and radio stations. And these stations carry the program to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, across the world.
The other performances we do that fall into this bread and butter category are the songs we sing for the Church's General Conference twice a year. To say that the choir gets "the most bang for its buck" participating in these conferences is an understatement since, when it's all said and done, millions of latter-day saints throughout the world are influenced and uplifted by the music we share at conference.
It's true the Choir does lots of other things. We have our concerts and sometimes we have local events we sing at. And sometimes we even go on tour to places in the United States or to other countries around the world. But, it's my personal opinion that as great as these other things are, the live performances of these events don't have the reach that MSW and General Conference does.
So why do I bring all of this up? It's because I realized that it doesn't take a live performance to fulfill the mission of the choir! As much as I and my fellow choir members miss choir right now, we are currently dispensable. Look at last General Conference. It featured past performances of the choir that were just as spiritually effective in promoting truth and love and encouragement as a live performance would have been. Each week at 9:30 AM MT, past performances of MSW are broadcast. And those past performances contain music and words that are just as equally effective in uplifting people's lives as the live or current performances are.
The bottom line is, with so many past performances to draw from, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square could fulfill its mission just fine for years to come without a living, breathing, active choir. Sure, at some point, there'd come a time when that wouldn't be sustainable any more. But for years, it'd be OK.
So....it's time for me to let the choir go. It's time to be done grieving for the loss. It's time to fill the choir "hole" with other meaningful things. It's time to let the Lord show me what valuable things I can do while I wait upon Him. And it's time to really, truly be grateful that the choir is still able to fulfill its mission quite successfully even if the choir members themselves are no longer involved.
Until next time, God be with you.
And ironically, the theme of this post is that it's really not about me.
Over the past 80+ days, as the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has ceased normal operations, I've been on a journey. A journey filled with the process of grieving and of trying to adjust to my new no-choir reality. And I won't lie. It's been hard. I've gone through a wide range of emotions that has included sadness, disbelief, anger, resentment, and finally, a welcome bit of humility.
As I was on yet another walk the other night, I thought about all of this and I realized some things. Most notably, that singing regularly with the Tabernacle Choir isn't as needful or important as I thought it was. And that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can get along just fine without its choir members for months and even years to come if needed. The necessity of having a living, breathing, performing-every-week choir is actually not a necessity in the short term.
Consider that the bread and butter of the choir is the weekly Music & Spoken Word (MSW) broadcasts. It's what we spend most of our time preparing for and most of our time performing. In fact, if there was a pie chart to look at that showed the breakdown of how the choir uses its time, MSW would easily be the largest slice of the pie. Why is this exactly? It's because MSW is the best way for us to fulfill our mission of sharing testimony and inspiring others by the truths we sing and the truths Lloyd Newell speaks. Every Sunday we are reminded how far and wide the net of this weekly broadcast is spread: 2000+ TV and radio stations. And these stations carry the program to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, across the world.
The other performances we do that fall into this bread and butter category are the songs we sing for the Church's General Conference twice a year. To say that the choir gets "the most bang for its buck" participating in these conferences is an understatement since, when it's all said and done, millions of latter-day saints throughout the world are influenced and uplifted by the music we share at conference.
It's true the Choir does lots of other things. We have our concerts and sometimes we have local events we sing at. And sometimes we even go on tour to places in the United States or to other countries around the world. But, it's my personal opinion that as great as these other things are, the live performances of these events don't have the reach that MSW and General Conference does.
So why do I bring all of this up? It's because I realized that it doesn't take a live performance to fulfill the mission of the choir! As much as I and my fellow choir members miss choir right now, we are currently dispensable. Look at last General Conference. It featured past performances of the choir that were just as spiritually effective in promoting truth and love and encouragement as a live performance would have been. Each week at 9:30 AM MT, past performances of MSW are broadcast. And those past performances contain music and words that are just as equally effective in uplifting people's lives as the live or current performances are.
The bottom line is, with so many past performances to draw from, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square could fulfill its mission just fine for years to come without a living, breathing, active choir. Sure, at some point, there'd come a time when that wouldn't be sustainable any more. But for years, it'd be OK.
With this realization that we choir members aren't really needed (for a time, at least), I've come to receive that dose of humility I spoke of earlier--humility to put into perspective the accolades from family, friends, and associates about how wonderful it is that we sing in the choir and how great it is that we get to use our talents in such a grand, unique way. Such comments may lead some of us to believe that what we do is irreplaceably important. And while that's true from a general perspective, it's not true right now. And it may not be true for months and months to come. Coming to terms with this, I've also struggled with feeling entitled to get more support from the choir leadership--like regular video updates from our directors or the opportunity to participate in a virtual production or being granted access to read through more fan letters and emails (as a way to kind of boost our morale when it needs boosting the most). It's like I want the leadership to reach out to us and say, "Oh, you poor things, not being able to sing for a time! Let me do this, and this, and this for you so that you can get through this trial you're going through!" Haha. But they don't need to do that because it's not about me or the other choir members. Yes, we're important just like everyone is important in God's eyes, but what's more important? It's fulfilling the mission of the choir (even while on rerun auto-pilot)--a continuing mission to reach millions with messages of hope and love and inspiration. Especially during these difficult and volatile times.
Until next time, God be with you.
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