MTC Week #41 - Cheering Beams of Hope

We sang some very beautiful music this morning including a piece called "Thou Lovely Source of True Delight" which is one of those majestic pieces with grand orchestration to bring the text to life. There was a verse in particular that spoke to me:

Tis here, whenev’er my comforts droop 
And sin and sorrow rise 
Thy love with cheering beams of hope 
My fainting heart supplies, 
But ah! Too soon the pleasing scene 
Is clouded o’er with pain 
My gloomy fears rise dark between 

And I again complain

Don't we all go through such an up and down cycle? We have a hard time, we mess up, and then we feel God's love sustain us and help us and give us hope. Only to have something hard come again and we can't help but complain about the lot we've been given, or the weaknesses we have to overcome, or the trial that doesn't seem very fair. 

It reminds me of some verses from a prophet Nephi, in The Book of Mormon:

And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?  Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.  O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.

Hopefully, you, and I, can trust that our trials are for a purpose and the Lord is in control and as such, we'll be OK if we just keep going forward. Hold on to those cheering beams of hope! 

Switching topics, Thursday night we received more details about the upcoming 2015 tour and were given some handouts going over the itinerary, costs for guests, physician signoff, etc.  There was an audible gasp over the price to bring a guest ($3500). But then again, it is to New York and staying there is not cheap. Especially when it's for two full weeks. At any rate, it should be a very fun and exciting opportunity. 

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC Week #40 - 184th Semi-Annual General Conference

I was grateful to be a part of conference this weekend. The Choir worked hard to perfect nearly every note sung and our conductors were pleased with the result. Aside from the technical aspects of how we sounded, there were many songs that really did touch my heart and inspire me to be a better person. I hope that those who listened around the world felt the same way.

There's much I could say about this event but I thought I'd do a "top ten" to mark this event.

I enjoyed...

10) rehearsing in the Conference Center when all the 22,000 seats were empty and then seeing all of those seats get filled up with anxious individuals ready to listen to the prophet speak (and us sing of course)

9) sitting at the end of the 2nd to the top row (in the corner) which allowed me to peer over the edge and watch the prophet and the apostles enter and leave the podium area (and see them wave to the audience--including younger kids whose faces showed light and happiness)

8) munching on some snacks being passed around the bass section while we were listening to the speakers and waiting to sing (thanks to whoever provided the stay-alert goodies :)

7) getting to talk to fellow choir members during the breaks (since, as I've mentioned before, some opportunities are fairly rare)

6) seeing all of the MANY people who contributed the conference experience. There were hundreds of volunteers doing everything from ushering, setting up teleprompters, cleaning the seats, doing the floral arrangements, coordinating the broadcasting aspects, feeding us lunch between sessions, and, well, I'm sure I've just scratched the surface.

5) having bathrooms nearby (this may sound funny, but until just recently, the nearest bathrooms for the men were 5 min away)

4) walking right past David Archuleta, who must have been back stage to be escorted to some place where he could enjoy conference without getting accosted (I should have told him thanks for his latest song but I was so taken back by him actually being there, I was at a loss for words)

3) hearing all of the speakers give their messages (and, in particular, those who delivered them in their native tongue)

2) singing so many wonderful songs. Some of the ones I enjoyed the most were "Praise to the Man", "Softly and Tenderly", "How Firm a Foundation", and "Lo, the Mighty God Appearing". 

1) feeling inspired, warm, comforted, and wanting to follow the counsel given by modern day prophets and apostles. Also, having a prayer in my heart for those I know need particular peace and guidance in their lives.

Until next time, God be with you! (and enjoy some pics below)

Conference Center - Empty

Conference Center - Full

The basses in the corner section.

Bass Section

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 #38 - From the Halls of Montezuma

The Choir had the honor of performing today with the “The President’s Own”
United States Marine Band, directed by Lieutenant Colonel Jason K. Fettig. As you can probably guess, our repertoire included several patriotic pieces--some of which we knew very well and others that we had to spend considerable time learning and memorizing. In fact, on that point, even many of those who have sung with the choir for years had to dust off their memorization skills for this performance. 

Lt. Col. Jason Fettig

One of the pieces was a collection of the theme songs for each branch of the United States military. Some of those lyrics are familiar to almost everyone, most notably the Air Force theme (c'mon now...here we go..."Off we go, into the wild blue yonder, climbing high into the sun.") Anyhow, I mention this collection in particular because it marks the first time since I joined the choir that everyone around me was scrambling a bit to remember all of the words. It was rather comforting!

Aside from the fact that I had all of the songs-to-be-memorized running through my head 24x7 for the past week (and I'm afraid it'll take several days to remove them from my mind's auto playlist), today's performance was a great tribute to our veterans and it was neat to hear this band play (they sounded near-perfect). As was mentioned on the broadcast: Every generation has the opportunity to be as great as the one that preceded it. We measure the value of a veteran’s service not by the length or the location of the conflict but by the heart and character of the soldiers. Every time brave soldiers respond to the call of duty, they have the opportunity to leave a legacy of honor for those who follow.

May that legacy of honor continue!

For me, amidst all of the great singing and performing, the thing that impacted me the most was when we sang "God Be With You" at the end as we normally do. This time though, I turned slightly and picked out one of the band members to focus on (I always like to single out an individual). Midway through the piece, he brought his hand up to wipe away some tears. While there are many in today's world who would like to separate God from this great nation, it cannot be done. And I think that band member (with many others hopefully) felt the Spirit in remembering that.

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #37 - Birthday Gift

So it's my birthday today. Normally I don't go around letting others know that, but I mention it because one of the nicest gifts of today was getting to sing with the Choir and associate with the many people I've gotten to know over the past nine months. I picked up Ben this morning (carpooling buddy) and he wished me happy birthday. I got to choir and Ryan Withers came over and gave me some happy birthday wishes. Siope Kinikini shared a big smile with some congratulatory words, and later during one of our breaks Ryan Bateman put his arm around me and gave me a "happy birthday" as well. How great to be so loved :)

The broadcast itself went very well. I remembered most of the words to the three we sung by memory and put all I had into "They, the Builders of the Nation" because I finally feel like I OWN that song (what a good feeling!). 

L to R: me, Ryan Bateman, Tyler Stoehr, & Siope Kinikini

Two of my favorite lines from that song are "Stepping stones for generations were their deeds of everyday." In other words, their daily deeds made way for generations of good, righteous people to follow. 

My parents gave a talk today during our church service and emphasized that it's all about the little things. A smile, some encouragement, a pat on the back, being friendly, and being loving & interested. If what we know makes us happy, share it by your everyday deeds!

Thanks to everyone for a great day. Hats off to my wife and kids who, once I was home from choir, made the rest of the day a happy and special one. I love them very much.

Until next time, God be with you!

MTC #36 - Richfield!

This past Friday, the Choir had the opportunity to perform in the quaint little town of Richfield, UT. Apparently the city was celebrating 150 years since it's founding by the Mormon pioneers and we were all happy to go down and put on a performance for them. 

Friday afternoon around 12:30, the choir and orchestra members boarded several buses and by 1:00 we were off for the journey. As this was my first performance outside of Temple Square, I wasn't sure what to expect but was excited to be a part of it all. I sat next to a choir member I hadn't met before, on the way down (I still don't know a lot of the tenors). His name is Earl Whitmore and he was fun to talk to. We spoke of our music background, families, work, and other mutual interests. We then took a little break to review some of the music we'd be performing at the concert since it was all to be memorized. :)  

When we arrived, we went right into rehearsal mode as Mack and Ryan wanted

Where we performed

to run through as many of the pieces as we had time for. The venue's acoustics took some getting used to, but our directors were confident that we'd sound well with a few minor adjustments. It was fun rehearsing but I had to laugh because as has happened in the past, the ones I really needed to practice were the ones we only glossed over. 

Getting ready to rehearse

From there, the ladies went to a different building to eat some dinner while the men changed into their performance attire. Nothing like cramming 200 men into some small locker rooms! We then sat in the auditorium awaiting our dinner turn. I was glad for the time to just converse with other choir members! Such moments are rare. We certainly don't get them at rehearsals so tours like this are prime time to get to know others.

Dinner was pretty good. I was sad to see some choir members sitting all by themselves though and thought how interesting that was. Several of us "newbies" sat together in the middle table and enjoyed our social time.

From there, it was a quick back to the auditorium and lining up for the concert. While waiting, I was able to get this photo taken, again, of some of us who just joined the choir this year. Fun times!

The performance itself went well. There was a fairly large crowd (for Richfield) and they seemed to enjoy our music selections which included some pioneer-related songs, some popular ones from Oscar and Hammerstein, and some pieces from the early 20th century. While I didn't have the words down perfect

for some of these (despite many hours at home practicing) I enjoyed a concert without holding music. Some of the lyrics really resonated with me as I thought about their messages. A friend in the choir (Ryan Bateman) reminded me that music can be like scripture. We get different things out of it each time we sing it. The Lord can help remind us of things we need to know through both the notes we sing, and the words we sing.

I was grateful to stand by a new friend Paul McGuire who helped me stay on the right rhythm and harmony. I think it goes for all of us (depending on our tenure in the choir and the song we're singing) that we rely on each other for this musical cue or that musical cue and I'm grateful for that!

The bus ride back seemed a little longer than the one down. I sat by someone new--an orchestra member--and we had some good conversation. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone has something interesting to say. 

I'm grateful again for such an opportunity. Thankful to my wife and kids who support me in this and cheer me on from the family sidelines. And thankful to be part of a group that inspires and brings peace and happiness to others. When I think of the many people who are uplifted by these types of performances, it makes me happy.

Until next time, God be with you.

[9/15 update: Here's an article from the Richfield newspaper reporting on the event]

MTC Week #35 - Just Thankful

This experience is just plain great! I can't imagine my Sunday mornings being any better than praising God through song and helping others come unto Christ. Sometimes I wonder if this will ever become "old" or something I'm so used to that I don't cherish it any longer. I pray that day won't come. I asked a friend of mine in the choir who's been in it for 15 years now how he's been able to keep that excitement and perspective and this is what he said:

The time has gone so incredibly fast, and keeps getting faster. I've been part of so many incredible things the choir has done. And I'm sure they'll keep doing more after I get out. I think it seems more routine and could get stale those second through seventh years after the newness and excitement wore off. But now it's totally a routine part of my life and a part of me. It's just what I do! But I look forward to the spiritual uplift I get from it a few times each week. I look forward to the peace I feel there--it's a very safe place. I love being around people more like me. I love being around people who are mostly kind, caring, loving, fun, and not too judgmental. It's a great family to be part of. While we keep doing the same songs and the same concerts year after year, they all are a little different. It's great when we can work on a totally new piece. It's great to have new guest or record a new album. There's always something fresh and new on the horizon, even if the current broadcast might feel very familiar. So I'm always looking forward. And when we are in the moment during a concert or something, I try to remind myself how blessed/lucky I am to be there. I think of the thousands of people who come to hear us and how truly unique/special/famous the choir is and how many people who do do anything to have my seat. It's really been one of the richest blessings of my life and carried me through some difficult times over the past 15 years. I honestly don't know where I'd be without the choir. Sure, it takes a lot of time, and sometimes I'm jealous of others who seem to have more time to play or do what they want, but then I remember how few get to be in the choir and I really wouldn't trade it for anything else. There will be another season for something else after the choir; but for now, I'm going to drink it all in.

So there you have it. I think the key therefore is looking forward, treasuring the new, and remembering. And that is exactly what I plan to do!

And speaking of looking forward, this week we have a concert over in Richfield, UT. The good people there are looking forward to our visit and the music we'll bring them. I'm eager to be a part of it and have plenty of music to to memorize (mostly re-memorize) this week. Just like cramming for an exam, you can cram for a performance but the downside of doing that, is when you're asked to sing the song you've crammed for, again, later on, you find that you need to refresh those musical neural pathways!

I leave you with a recent quote on gratitude that I have come to love:

"When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace.


We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

Until next time, God be with you!