Sunday, January 8, 2023

TCATS #453 - A Look Back, A Look Forward

Hello, hello my friends! And welcome to 2023. Members of the Tabernacle Choir had a nice long two-week break but met again for the first time this past Thursday for the first rehearsal of the year. Some of us actually met on Tuesday as that was the first day of Choir School for all of the individuals who just barely (and successfully) went through the audition process. Those joining them were the new folks from 2022. (As mentioned before, if you make it into the Choir, you not only have Chorale rehearsal for your first year, but you have it for the year after, too.) So it's been a busy start to the year for the "second-years" in particular.

Before jumping into how things have gone for 2023 thus far, I did want to include in this post the famous year-end pictogram. Each year, Choir member and friend Siope Kinikini puts together a very cool pictogram that includes all of the highlights of the year. So without anymore introduction, here it is! (zoom in by clicking on it)


As for 2023, there's not too much to report, yet. Rehearsal on Thursday went just fine and it was great to see the new people wandering the halls looking all excited to be there. I wasn't a big fan of hearing the infamous "You'll be disappointed if..." speech (refer HERE for more details) as I don't understand why we need to hear it every year. Plus, there were some quotes added to the speech that I wasn't a fan of, either. But aside from that, the rehearsal was good and the first broadcast of the year today went well too. My favorite song from today was the Alleluia piece. Every time I sing that one, I feel like a warm, majestic blanket of peace has wrapped around me. 

As for the months ahead, what do you have to look forward to? 

February: ELIJAH Concert w/ the Utah Symphony
March: Easter Concert
April: General Conference
April: Retirements
June: Mexico City tour (for any of you who will be in Mexico)
July: Summer Concert
October: General Conference
December: Christmas Concert

Additionally, sometime during 1Q, Music & the Spoken Word will begin to be available in Spanish, with a Portuguese version to follow.

I think my personal goal this year is to extend more grace to the Choir leadership. Like other individuals in  leadership positions within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they are prone to make mistakes and, at times, be less sensitive and inclusive as I feel like they should be. But no one is perfect and I'd like to think they do the best they can. So I need to keep that all in mind as things come up and I'm prone to shake my head and wonder why.

Thanks for your continued support of this blog and for your interest and support of the Tabernacle Choir. I'm looking forward to more blog entries as I journey behind the notes.

Until next time, God be with you.


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