MTC Week #39 - The Standing Ovationist (& Conference Prep!)

So each week as we perform Music & the Spoken Word, the Tabernacle typically fills to capacity. Visitors literally come from far and near to be a part of the program and they often get our their smartphones to take pictures or video of the choir rehearsing before the performance. We have distinguished guests from time to time, general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pastors and ministers from other faiths, and even ward and/or stake groups from across the valley. I'm a bit overwhelmed each week at the sight of it all. 

Among those who attend EACH week, are the Elder and Sister missionaries who have been called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those in this area. And among those, is one elder who is, I dare say, one of our biggest fans.

I don't know his name, but each week he sits on the front row and eagerly takes

in the rehearsing and performing. As we finish singing the last song and the organ plays a short fade-out number (and Lloyd Newell completes his concluding words), this elder enthusiastically jumps to his feet and starts clapping with more vigor than I've seen from anyone else in my entire life. People in the choir give short chuckles of laughter every week upon witnessing this, and of course the rest of the audience follows suit shortly after his unashamed gratitude. While some might say he does this just for fun, I think he does it because he's really showing what he feels. 

Thank you, standing ovationist, for your enthusiasm, courage, and support.

Two other things to mention...

First, my favorite song today was "Love Divine, All Love Excelling" which was arranged by Bro. Wilberg and reminded me of the feeling I get when singing "Come, Thou Fount". My favorite lyrics in "Love Divine..." are

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation

Perfectly restored in Thee;

Lastly, we're spending the week preparing for General Conference this upcoming weekend. I hope you all are planning to tune in. Along with the excellent talks, you'll be able to hear some inspiring music as well. 

Until next time, God be with you!

MTC Week #32 - Surprise Visitor

For those of us in the Choir who were asked not to participate in the Deer Valley Concert this week because of size limitations, it was a rather choir-less week. And I for one kind of missed it! While I certainly enjoyed the extra time with the family (we went to the Ogden Temple open house as a family and my wife and I went on an extra date amongst other things), I missed being with the choir and those who I've come to enjoy seeing and talking to each week. I didn't realize how much I missed it until those who were singing at Deer Valley started posting pictures of the event on Facebook. 

My "freshman" brethren at the concert

President Thomas S. Monson

So I was glad to see them all on Sunday morning as we prepared for our Music & Spoken Word broadcast. I was glad to sing some wonderful hymns. I was glad to talk to my carpooling buddy Ben. And I was glad to see President Thomas S. Monson come into the Conference Center to watch the broadcast. It sounded like not many knew he was coming, but as he entered the auditorium, everyone stood with respect and it was fun to sing through the broadcast knowing he was looking up at us and feeling the spirit of the music and the message (which centered on love and kindness).

As has happened in the past, I was singing one of the songs today during the rehearsal (Brother James' Air) and just looked around at everything and was extremely glad for all of the blessings I've been given--including being a member of this wonderful organization.

Until next time...God be with you!

MTC Week #31 - One Person Can Change the World!

The choir has been singing a lot of Broadway/movie tunes lately, which fact Bro. Wilberg admitted, and which will be coming to an end shortly. Not that there's anything wrong with Broadway tunes. In fact, I've quite enjoyed learning them being a big Broadway musical fan myself. However, Bro. Wilberg will be getting back to a more wide variety here soon now that the Pioneer Day Concert is over and the concert at Deer Valley will be over later this week.

Today on Music & the Spoken Word, we sang a couple of showtunes, one of which was quite catchy and had some fantastic lyrics. The song was "One Person" from the musical "Dear World." This musical starred Angela Lansbury and opened in 1969 (to rather poor reviews). At any rate, our associate conductor Bro. Ryan Murphy came up with a great arrangement of this song which we sang on the broadcast today. Here are the lyrics:

One person can beat a drum
And make enough noise for ten;
One person can blow a horn
And that little boom
And that little blare
Can make a hundreds others care.

And one person can hold a torch
And light up the sky again.
And one little voice that's squeaking a song,
Can make a million voices strong.

If one person can beat a drum,
And one person can blow a horn,
If one person can hold a torch,

Then one person can change the world! 

I just love the message that one person really can make a difference. His or her small acts can affect countless others. So make those actions count!

Two other things about today.... First, I got to sit next to Joseph Ogden for the performance today and I was happy about that as the two of us sang in Concert Choir together nearly 20 years ago. Over the past few years as I watched the choir on TV (and not yet being in the choir) I remember seeing Joseph singing and thinking how great it would be to reconnect. And today that happened :)  Second, there was a really large group of Japanese students in the audience today and I kept praying they'd all have a great experience (having spent two years in Japan myself). 

This week is the Deer Valley concert which I won't be participating in. The venue only holds 250 singers so the choir staff was asking for volunteers to "sit this one out." It promises to be a great event though if any of you locals want a nice evening under the stars with great music.

Until next time...God be with you!

MTC Week #23 - Normal?

June 9, 2014

So is this past week what they'd call a "normal" week with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? I dare say it was. I'm not sure any of us who just joined back in January have ever known a normal week! At any rate, we met for rehearsal Thursday night and, as mentioned in my blog last week, the folks from the ACDA leadership were there in the audience listening and observing. Thankfully the rehearsal itself went "very well" (in the words of Bro. Wilberg) and the only hitch was that the orchestra was missing one of the pieces we'd be performing on Sunday. Thankfully they are a very bright orchestra and picked it up just fine as we rehearsed Sunday morning.

The theme for Sunday's Music & the Spoken Word was "The Root of Good Manners". I thought that was an interesting title and tried to think, offhand, what the root of good manners would actually be. Surely it's more than just being polite or being kind, though I'm sure those would fit in there somewhere.

Bro. Newell, who gives the spoken word each Sunday, said the following about this topic: 

Actor John Rhys-Davies says that it is quite natural to feel shy, to be uncomfortable in a room of strangers. His advice? "Turn it the other way around and think, 'I'm walking into a room full of very shy people, and my job is to make them feel at ease and comfortable in their situation.' That is really the root of good manners: making the people around you feel comfortable."

Some people are so skilled at making others feel comfortable. They're genuinely interested in others; they're kind and thoughtful; they're easy to be around. Instead of focusing on themselves, they choose to be considerate and responsive, and they seem to take sincere joy in making people happy.


It's easy to assume that some people are just naturally outgoing-that it comes easily to them-and the rest of us simply aren't that way. But the fact is that with a little effort and practice, anyone can choose to be open, loving, and warm. That might mean we attentively listen, or we think, "What can I learn from this person?" For others, it might mean we speak up a little more or make the effort to meet someone new.

The skill of good manners is not beyond anyone's reach-at its roots, it's simply a matter of forgetting ourselves and helping others feel comfortable.

My sister-in-law Jenny is an expert at this and my wife and I are amazed at her ability to make others around her feel comfortable. We try ourselves to do this but it doesn't quite come as naturally as she makes it look! What's interesting to think about though, is sure...you can walk into a room of people you may not not know and be content to just "lay low." And I suppose there are times when that's OK. But think about what you're missing out on. There are all of these people, each with a story, each with a personality, and each probably willing to get to know you if you take the initiative. Who knows how your life might be impacted or blessed just because of a conversation? In the eternal sense, we're all God's children so perhaps if we look at it as just getting to know one of your brothers or sisters, that might make it easier.
Go ahead...give it a try!

The song that touched me the most on the broadcast Sunday was the one we always close with:  God Be With You 'Till We Meet Again. For some reason, I felt as though it was really impacting someone in the audience as we sang it. Check out the background of this hymn, and also a wonderful conversion story regarding the Torgersens of Norway. One excerpt from that story: "They concluded the tour in the Tabernacle and were about to leave when a choir recording of “God Be with You Till We Meet Again” began to play. “I sat down and started crying,” recalls Solvor. “I couldn’t stop. Thor attributed my strange behavior to being overcome by beautiful music, but I didn’t tell him what really happened, because I couldn’t speak.”

Until next time, God be with you...