TCATS #492 - Specials No More

 At Thursday night's rehearsal this past week, things were going exactly as they usually go. We rehearsed each piece, cleaned it up, and tape & timed it for the upcoming broadcast. The last piece we rehearsed was the piece that gave us a Grammy award back in the 1950s: Battle Hymn of the Republic.

As we rehearsed that one, Mack, at one point, said something to the effect that "Even though we don't do specials anymore, with it being Memorial Day weekend, I thought I'd add this one to the program. There are those who will get why, and for everyone else, they'll just think it's a nice song."

It was the first time that I had officially heard we don't do specials anymore. 

That said, it's been evident that we haven't been doing specials for nearly a year now (or longer?) I remember last July when we did Music & the Spoken Word right before the upcoming Independence Day holiday here in the US. I was anticipating the program to be full of patriotic music like has been the case in the past. But it was not. And for all of the holidays that followed (minus Christmas & Easter), such as Thanksgiving, Veteran's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc., the songs we sang were not catered to celebrate those special occasions. 

Just today, one of the Choir members made the comment "I miss patriotic music broadcasts". And there were others who chimed in with "Me too". I don't know that I personally miss them too much, but I recognize that there is some really fun and inspiring patriotic music which does do a very successful job at initiating a sense of wonder and appreciation for the good parts of our country and for those who have sacrificed to preserve freedoms.

As I was pondering this discontinuation of specials topic, I was reminded of an opportunity Choir members were given back in 2022 to provide feedback to the Choir presidency. Up until that time, feedback and suggestions were discouraged and flat out unwanted. Now that they were actually asking for it, I decided to capitalize on the opportunity and provide seven suggestions. One of them was this:

"Along with efforts to provide Music & the Spoken Word in Spanish and Portuguese, I hope there will be some consideration on discontinuing or modifying the US-centric broadcasts that highlight US holidays. I fully realize that there is a lot of great music that is sung and played at these, but can we not focus on themes, principles, and messages that apply to all countries and people? For example, this past Veterans Day broadcast could include songs that speak of freedom, sacrifice, and patriotism while at the same time leaving out specific references to the United States or America."

I don't mean to imply, at all, that my suggestion had anything to do with the Choir Presidency's decision to discontinue Specials. They were probably already talking about it given that one of their directives was to be more internationally focused. Evidences of that have included inviting individuals from all over the world to join the Choir for General Conference twice a year, broadcasting Music & the Spoken Word in Spanish (and Portuguese soon), and embarking on a multi-year effort to tour other countries. 

Anyway, just an observation. Sorry for writing so much about it!

I wish there was more to report, but honestly the Choir just continues to do the weekly broadcast and not much else. It will do so for two more months before something extra will be added: having additional rehearsals for our upcoming tour to Florida/Georgia. 

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #491 - Carpool +1

My Tabernacle Choir experience began with carpooling to Temple Square with Ben back in 2014. A few years later, 2017, we added Willy and Alan. Since then, our carpool has remained unchanged....until today.

Willy connected the dots that one of the new members of the Choir who joined just this year, lives in West Bountiful--and literally less than a mile from our carpool meeting spot (shout out to the restaurant Ramblin' Roads, whose parking lot we've utilized for over ten years now!). So he extended the invitation to him to join us and lo and behold, he did.

So, with a warm welcome we say hello to Dan! And from our conversations with Dan today, we learned he is a 2nd Tenor, he's originally from Arizona, he's a food research scientist specializing in formulating cookies (which recipes are then purchased by entities in the food business), and he sang in BYU Men's Chorus from 2009 to 2015. Dan is an extremely friendly guy and adds an excitement to our carpool that we're all grateful for. 

In other news, the Choir shifted early from the Tabernacle to the Conference Center today because apparently some work on the organ needed to be performed sooner than later. I'm not a big fan of singing in the Conference Center. I feel very small and disconnected from those who come to watch us. (And when I'm in row 6, add "squished" to the "very small" comment) However, it's all out of necessity to accommodate the larger number of people who visit Temple Square during the summer months.

Lastly for today, this year marks the first year since I started singing with the Choir that extra rehearsals won't outnumber regular rehearsals. It's an oddly quiet year. Normally we're always preparing for some next event outside of our weekly broadcast. But unless our leaders alter the current calendar (which is certainly a possibility), we really have nothing until our tour to Georgia/Florida in September. Even the traditional summer concert that the Choir has been putting on for years and years, has been canceled this year. 

I don't know...
It's all a bit strange...

That's it for this week!
Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #490 - To God Be the Glory

There isn't a lot to comment on regarding this week's choir experience. I was absent Thursday night (celebrating my ex-wife's 50th birthday) which meant that today I had the opportunity to observe the rehearsal and broadcast from the designated balcony seats. Unfortunately, I didn't really feel a lot--which makes it hard to figure out what to write about today. But I thought I'd highlight one of the songs the Choir sang today which is a lovely new piece that Ryan Murphy arranged. It's called "To God Be the Glory". 

This particular song (words by Fanny Crosby, music by William Doane) became a popular hymn after it was programmed in Billy Graham’s Crusades of the 1950s--though it was first published in the year 1875. As the popularity of the song grew, it began to be included in most Christian churches' hymnbooks (though of course, it wasn't included in ours). 

I thought it was interesting that in Ryan's arrangement, some words were added/altered. Particularly, all of verse 2 has been replaced with lyrics from another song called "We Praise Thee, We Bless Thee". Interestingly enough, the lyrics for that song also come from Fanny Crosby.

While this is purely speculation on my part, I would guess that verse 2 was replaced because gospel doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not teach that a person, from the very moment they believe in Christ, will automatically receive forgiveness. Belief in Christ needs to be coupled with good works, and the work of repentance must be undertaken before that forgiveness is given.

Verse 2 does have some things to be appreciated though. Christ's atonement is a perfect redemption. The promises of God are real. Christ loves all who believe in Him. And those who do believe, regardless of what they've done, can absolutely tap into Christ's grace--from that very first moment of belief, throughout their ensuing journey.

If I got the opportunity to make some edits myself, I'd change what I've highlighted in red. Because, after all, we do believe in a Heavenly Mother and I have absolutely no doubt that She has, with our Father, done many great things for each of us.

Verse 1
To God be the glory, great things He hath They have done;
So loved He They the world that He They gave us His Their Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Refrain
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father our Parents, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him Them the glory, great things He hath They have done.

Verse 2
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

All honor and praise to Thy excellent name.
Thy love is unchanging, forever the same.
We bless and adore Thee our Heavenly King.
With joy and thanksgiving Thy mercies we sing.

Verse 3
Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our rapture transport, when Jesus we see.
 

 Until next time, God be with you.