TCATS #355 - The State of Choral Singing

A few months ago, I devoted a post to reviewing what was being talked about in the news in regards to choral singing. At that time, the general tone and consensus was quite negative. Article after article talked about choral groups being shutdown, professional singers struggling to make ends meet, and a very grim, long-lasting future of singers not being able to do what they love to do for years to come. 

As I watched my son's Fall Jr. High Choral Concert this past week, I was reminded that where there's a will, there's a way.

To be sure, the junior high concert was less than ideal is so many ways. The concert itself was split into two sessions to allow for more effective social distancing. These young kids were spread out to fill the stage, wearing masks, and trying desperately to sing the songs they learned without the advantage of truly hearing their fellow singers right next to them (such a task is challenging for any choral singer, but when you're 13 or 14, in the middle of puberty, and struggling with confidence, it's REALLY hard). Each of the groups performing did just one or two songs and the concert was over almost before it began (30 minutes). 

At any rate, I decided to Google "pandemic choral singing" just to see if the articles that came up had the same dismal tone to them as they did a few months ago. And you know what? The tone had changed! Changed to hope and adaptation. There was a definite statement being made by these articles. A statement that if summed up would say "We acknowledge there's a pandemic and the need to take precautions. But we are NOT going to stand idly by and do nothing. We're going to adapt and make things work and we're going to do what we love because it will not only help us, but it will uplift and inspire others."

Here are a few headlines:

• A Choir Finds a Way to Sing
• We are Going to Stay Safe and Keep Singing
• Slowly and safely, choirs are getting back together
• A choir resumes singing, with masks and after outweighing pandemic risks
• Choirs get creative to make music
• No matter the distance, we can sing together
• Philadelphia choir survives with unique outdoor performances
• They are my family; choir resumes rehearsals 

These all lifted my spirits and I'm grateful that choral groups around the world are not letting the pandemic prevent them from doing what they love to do and bringing others hope during hard times.

As for the Tabernacle Choir, there's really no news to report. Reruns of MSW continue; the Choir's official app was recently refreshed with additional content; the Christmas program from last year is on sale (CD or DVD--or if you prefer high definition, which I think you would, you can stream an HD version from Amazon); and the Choir leadership group is certainly working on what this year's Christmas program will be. 

That's it.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #354 - How it Began

As there isn't much to report today in regards to choir happenings (other than last year's Christmas Concert on CD and DVD has moved from pre-sales, to sales), I thought I'd take the opportunity to document how my calling to the Tabernacle Choir came to be.

Although I joined the Choir in 2014, it was really back in 1993 where it all began. At least, that's how my mind looks at it.

In the summer of 1993, I served in Nauvoo as a musical performing missionary which was one of the highlights of my life. That mission ended only two days before the fall semester at BYU started and as I finally got down to Provo to get settled in my apartment, I found out that auditions for any of the BYU choirs had already come and gone. Undeterred by this setback, I went to Dr. Mack Wilberg's office in the Harris Fine Arts Center and asked if there were any slots left in either the Concert Choir or Men's Chorus. I explained why I hadn't been able to attend auditions and he said that while there weren't a lot of slots left, he'd be willing to have a private audition in his office the next day and see if my singing skills would warrant one of those slots.

So, the next day I entered Mack's office and handed him some sheet music from one of the songs I sang during my time in Nauvoo. He started playing and I started singing and after about 20 seconds, he stopped and asked if we could just do some scales. I, of course, agreed to that and within a few seconds, the scales were going down to some very low notes. He looked at me and said something to the effect of "I know you want to sing tenor, but all of our tenor slots are filled. If you'd be willing to sing Bass 2, you're welcome to join the Concert Choir. We meet Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2pm." 

In my head I was thinking "bass?? I've never sung bass. In high school I sang tenor all three years and as a missionary in Nauvoo, I sang tenor as well." But, if it meant singing with a BYU choir, I was definitely willing to give it a try. 

With a big smile, I gave Dr. Wilberg a warm "Thank you!" and spent the next four years having a marvelous experience singing in the Concert Choir. Along with the concerts, the tours to California and Wyoming, and all of the cherished friendships, there's one thing that happened I need to particularly mention.

In year three, I had a class required for my major that unfortunately met at the same time Concert Choir did. With a very sad heart, I had to drop Concert Choir for that one semester in order to take that class. I visited Dr. Wilberg to let him know and asked if it was at all possible that I could get back into the choir that next winter semester (the class for my major was only for fall semester). He told me that would be tricky because the choir was headed to Wyoming for a concert and all of the music being performed on that concert was being learned during fall semester. 

I left feeling discouraged, but near the end of fall semester, I asked a friend in the choir how things were going and he mentioned that the choir was meeting for a bunch of extra rehearsals for a few days before the semester actually began. This was because they needed time to solidify and perfect all of the songs that were going to be performed at the concert in Wyoming. I decided then and there that I was going to attend all of those rehearsals. And that perhaps by doing so, I'd show Dr. Wilberg that I was willing to put in the work necessary to learn all of the songs and be ready for upcoming tour to Wyoming. So that's what I did. 

It must have worked, because after all of the rehearsals were over, I went up to Dr. Wilberg to see if I could be in Concert Choir next semester and he said yes. He also smiled and said he had seen me at the rehearsals. 

Ok. So, fast forward to the summer of 2011. A good friend of mine had a daughter who played on the same soccer team as the one my daughter played on. We saw each other at one of the games and somehow we got talking about singing and choirs and how we missed our choir days at BYU (he had sung in BYU's Men's Chorus). He asked if I had ever thought of trying out for the Tabernacle Choir. I said I had thought about it and that my wife was encouraging me to do it but that I just didn't quite feel like the time was right. We made it a goal, though, to tentatively try out for the choir that next year and just see how things went.

The next year came and I either got cold feet or just didn't feel it was time yet. My friend on the other hand, decided to go ahead and go for it. And after all of his hard work, it paid off and he was accepted. I heard of the great news and congratulated him and with my wife's encouraging support, I decided that I'd tryout the following year. I asked my friend all about the details of the audition process and tried to get my mind ready for actually going through with it.

Part of the preparation involved joining a local choir to get my voice back in shape. So I took a place with a choir called Utah Voices and had a really great time rehearsing and performing with them for a little over a year.  I even met a friend there who was also planning to audition for the Tabernacle Choir at the same time I was--even though neither of us knew that until much later as the audition process progressed.

June of 2013 arrived and I started working on the audition requirements. First up was to record a CD of me singing--which was Phase 1 of 3 of the process. The CD was to include me singing some scales in a certain way, some intervals, and then my choice of one of the hymns that was listed on the list of requirements. So, I practiced and practiced and took several recordings of each item and finally was satisfied I had done my best. I then burned the audio tracks to a CD and sent it off in the mail--with a prayer. The audition cycle officially closed a few weeks later, and I knew it would take some time for Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy to go through all of the CDs they had received. So I waited and waited until one day, a thick letter came in the mail. 

I went to my wife with the letter, opened it up, and a big smile came across my face as the letter informed me that I had made it past phase 1 and was to prepare for phase 2. Phase 2 seemed the most daunting of the three phases. It was a music theory and listening exam. While I had played piano in my youth, and sung in choirs from high school to college, I still was definitely no expert in music theory. Thankfully, those in charge of the audition process told us of a study book we could use in our preparation. So I got the book and went through all of the suggested chapters during the new few weeks, taking an hour or two each night to do so. 

Soon, the day of the test dawned. The night before though, I was so nervous I couldn't sleep. At 1:00 am I started panicking, thinking that if I didn't get some sleep, my mind would be a jumbled mess and I wouldn't have any hope of passing. So I took half of a sleeping pill to try and take the edge off and kept praying I would drift into slumber. But no such luck. The only thing the sleeping pill made me was drowsy. My mind was like mud and as I drove into the Tabernacle, I thought for sure I had no hope of recalling the information I had tried so diligently to learn.

The test was more grueling than I had thought. I pushed through the theory exam with a prayer in my heart and did all I could. Then they started the listening exam where I was to identify various scales, various keys, and lots of other stuff I can't quite remember. I was hoping my adrenaline would help me last the duration of the test, but I felt it give out half way through. When the exam was over, I walked out, looked up at the sky, and told God I was thankful for the opportunity but that there was no way I had passed both exams with over an 80% grade (which was the cutoff). 

The weeks went by and I convinced myself the journey was over. I thought of my friend who had made it and was sad I wouldn't be able to join him--or any of the other great singers who were currently in the choir. Then one day the letter came and as I took it inside, I went to my wife and I opened it. With another smile on my face, I announced that I was onto phase 3! There was no doubt in my mind that I had just witnessed a miracle. I still look at it as a miracle to this day.

The other miracle came as I pondered phase 3. This was the phase where I was to go into the Tabernacle and perform a live audition in front of Mack and Ryan. As nerve-wracking as that might seem to others, I felt a very peaceful calm come over me. Maybe it was partly because of my Concert Choir days with Dr. Wilberg (and Ryan, too, who was actually the accompanist at the time)--I don't know. But I knew that I would pass phase 3 and get the opportunity to sing with the Tabernacle Choir. It was a bit strange to feel that at that point in time, but I did. I just knew. 

The time came for my in-person audition. I got to the Tabernacle and waited outside in a hallway letting Sis. Margetts know what song I was singing and in what key. Then, before I knew it, I walked through a doorway and was greeted with two smiles from both Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy. They asked how I was and how I had been and after a quick reply I took my place and sang the hymn I had rehearsed. It went well. The second part which was sight-reading something I had never seen before didn't go well. But I took comfort in the peace I had felt earlier and just did my best. 

I remember walking out of the Tabernacle, looking up in the dark cold sky feeling warm and grateful. 

The waiting game began again. And I'm not sure how long I waited for that last letter to come. But come it did. My wife was with me as I opened it up and read the good news. I was in! We then told our kids and went and got some doughnuts to have that evening in celebration. I also remember texting my parents who were serving as mission presidents in West Virginia. They were both very happy of course and I think my mom in particular (having been raised with a musical mom and who appreciated the fine arts) was especially pleased. 

I remember afterwards taking some time to think through everything. And it was then that God helped me connect the dots as to how I had been prepared for this opportunity. Yes, I had gone through the audition process just as all of the other applicants had. But perhaps to some small degree, it certainly helped that Mack knew who I was.  I had sang under his direction for four years, 20 years prior to my Tabernacle Choir audition.  Mack also knew my level of commitment. He knew I was willing to work hard. He knew I was willing to go the extra mile. And perhaps knowing all of that helped just a little bit in his willingness to give me a chance. 

And I'll forever be grateful.

TCATS #353 - Performing Again

During my college days, I had the great opportunity to sing with BYU's Concert Choir. No, it wasn't BYU's famous Men's Chorus known for their fun arrangements and crowd-pleasing selections. And no, it wasn't BYU's Vocal Point either--known for their stylish, popular, and extremely talented a cappella.  Rather, there were (and still are) two other performing vocal groups. Concert Choir and BYU Singers. And it's the BYU Singers I'd like to focus on for a couple of minutes. 

As most are aware, it's been near impossible for larger choral groups to come together and do any sort of rehearsing or performing these days. But for choral groups that are smaller, like the BYU Singers, they've found ways to make it work, even amidst the pandemic restrictions imposed upon them. 

Recently, they released THIS on their Facebook group. (I'd encourage you to watch it--only 2 1/2 minutes--as the rest of this blog entry will reference it)

 

Some impressions about that video.

First, it was beautiful. Heavenly even. And for me, it brought back memories of singing in that very rehearsal hall. 

Second, they were complying with the pandemic restrictions. Nothing about such compliance was ideal--singing with masks and being so far apart from each other. But they made it work. The individuals who are a part of this talented group were able to do what they love to do--sing and lift others through such singing.

Third, it got me thinking about whether or not the Tabernacle Choir could pull something off like this. Granted, there's a huge difference between the size of BYU Singers and the size of the Tabernacle Choir. But picture this: the Tabernacle Choir, split into four groups of roughly 90-95 members each, and each group taking turns spreading out across the balcony of the Tabernacle, wearing masks and finally getting to FULFILL THEIR CALLING. As my wife and I were talking, they could then film each of the four groups singing separately and with a little bit of behind-the-scenes technical magic, combine all four by showing different recordings throughout the piece being performed. Would it be a big undertaking? To be sure. But the Tabernacle Choir has taken on huge projects before with great success. And think what message it would send to the world: we're not going to let the pandemic stop us--the actual members of the choir (not the organization itself)--from fulfilling our mission.

Fourth, (building upon the third point above) as mentioned before, the Tabernacle Choir organization can continue fulfilling its mission even without live performances because of the vast amount of past performances to draw upon. But, wouldn't it make a bigger difference if the world saw a live performance again--one in which the world would know by looking into our eyes that we know what they're currently going through. We know how hard the trials have been for them because we, ourselves, right now, are going through those same trials too. I've got to believe that a huge connection would be made. A dominant message of hope would be instilled. One that couldn't and can't be established by airing reruns in quite the same way.

But alas, taking from an exceptional song from Finding Neverland:

When your feet don't touch the ground,
When your voice won't make a sound.
Here, it's safe, in this place, up off the clouds.

Perhaps I'll just stay in the clouds and dream about these things--for now. And maybe, just maybe, things will be different and better when my feet finally do touch the ground again.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #352 - Music for the 190th Semi-annual Conference

As Tuesday rolled around this past week, I launched the Facebook app from my phone as I normally do a couple of times a day. Going through my feed, I saw a couple of entries from Choir members who reminded me that normally we'd all be participating in the typical pre-conference extra rehearsal that evening. The Tuesday rehearsal followed by the Thursday rehearsal before conference are always especially important ones as we try to really "lock-in" and musically prepare the very best we can. Although the weekly Music & the Spoken Word program, numbers-wise, is probably seen by the more people, in 2nd place would be the sessions of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Preparing for conference is different, though, than preparing for Music & the Spoken Word. Yes, we hope to inspire and uplift those who hear and see us (as is always the goal in everything we do), but we also have the responsibility to help inspire and uplift those who speak and pray at the Conference. One could argue that all the talks given are prepared in advance--so how would our music really change what's being said? Well, maybe it doesn't change what is said. But rather how it is said and in what spirit it's said with.

That all said, because of the continuing response to COVID-19, we did not go to the Tuesday rehearsal or the Thursday one and did not sing at any of the Conference sessions. Instead, the music was chosen from various past General Conference Choir performances. You can read more about that, HERE.

One interesting thing of note. The Church estimated that the Music & the Spoken Word episode that aired right before the Sunday morning session of Conference was likely the MOST watched episode, ever. This is because all of the various broadcasting corporations that the Church works with really came together to allow the Church additional air-time and allowed them to cast a much wider "net" to reach more people. From the Deseret News: "The conference will be broadcast on TV and radio stations in 50 countries, at least a 233% increase over the October 2019 general conference. Church officials worked with governments and stations around the world to expand the number of broadcasts because the pandemic precludes members from gathering in churches to watch a satellite feed, especially in countries that do not have access to streaming video."  Because of all of these efforts, it's estimated that nearly 1.4 BILLION people watched Music & the Spoken Word.   To put that in perspective, most Super Bowls have an viewership of only 115 million. Wow. As for the episode itself, it was actually a rebroadcast from the Oct 2017 General Conference, with a few added graphical changes, including the choir's new logo and new closing credits.

As I watched the sessions and listened to the music, I of course wished I could be singing live. But I had had plenty of time to prepare this go around for the fact that that would not be the case. So I was OK with it. I enjoyed the spirit of the music surrounded by my wife and kids,  and also enjoyed seeing choir friends I haven't seen in quite some time now, up on the TV screen. I reached out to a few of them via text letting them know I was thinking about them and I received a few of such texts as well. So it was all good.

It's hard to say at this point if the Choir will be back together for April 2021 Conference. But as seems to be the predominant way of thinking and feeling these days--one can only hope!

Until next time, God be with you.

PS: if there was a song that perhaps personified my feelings the last couple of days, it'd be this one.