MTC #146 - Of Peace, Preparedness, & Christmas Concert Tickets

This past Thursday night, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang for a group of newly called temple presidents and their wives. It was a very nice and uplifting experience. Several in the group had tears in their eyes as we ended the "mini-concert" and I hoped that we had been successful in helping them feel peace and love.

The 30 minutes leading up to the concert, though, were anything but peaceful for me. As I arrived at rehearsal around my usual time of 6:40, I entered the long corridor that runs underground from the Conference Center to the Tabernacle and quickly noticed that no one else was in the hallway with me. I tried to think why this could be. A little bit of fear crept into my heart and the longer I walked the empty hallway, the more I realized that I must have forgotten an important detail regarding the night's rehearsal. 

As I got to my music locker, I saw someone else! Finally. Craig looked at me and then he put his hands to his head and said, "Oh no. I forgot!" 

I said "What? What did WE forget?"  

"We were supposed to come early for the mini-concert." 

Ug. He was right! We quickly walked to the dressing room to get the right suit on and I was lucky enough to have had a white shirt handy. I looked around and noticed there were a few others that had forgotten as well who were quickly getting dressed. While it was comforting to know I wasn't alone, I felt like I had been injected into the parable of the Ten Virgins. And I was not one of the five wise ones! 

Thankfully, we got up to the loft of seats and slid into the back row just in time to participate. "At least the (symbolic) door hadn't been locked," I thought.

Needless to say, the whole experience was a wake-up call to me to pay more attention to the Choir's weekly newsletter and to not take things for granted. It also made me think about when Christ comes again and how I don't want to "be late" to that event. I want to feel ready, prepared, and anticipating it. 

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Changing topics, Christmas Concert tickets were made available this week on Saturday, at 10:00am. 90% of the people I knew who tried to get some, weren't successful in doing so. After all, it took less than 10 minutes before all of the tickets for the three nights were gone. The website kept giving messages that requests couldn't be completed and there were enormously long "prove to me that you're not a robot" words to type in that made the whole experience very frustrating. As I analyzed the situation though, I realized that there is not a good way to distribute these tickets, period. Random selection, or first come first served--either way, there will be plenty of people who will be left out. There's just no way that the Choir can perform enough nights to accommodate demand. A sad reality, but one that the Church has to acknowledge and do its best to live with. 

If, by chance, you did not get a ticket, here are two things to keep in mind: 1) if you come early enough and get into the standby line, I feel very confident you'll get in. There have always been many ticket holders who just don't show up for whatever reason and that reality allows for many in the standby line to fill up the empty seats. 2) while we will not be performing the full concert on Sunday, we do perform many of the same songs-- and the guest artist will perform that morning, as well. There are no tickets for Sunday so you are welcome to come and partake of open seating.

From today's broadcast, singing "Simple Gifts"

Lastly, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed today's broadcast. Loved all of the songs and several in my family showed up to listen and watch. The foreign exchange student from Germany living with us for three weeks, Isabel, also came along and loved the whole experience. 

L to R: daughter Rebekah, Isabel, me, son Josh

My beautiful wife Jennifer, and me

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #145 - And Fill the World with Righteousness

Just like many people, I suppose, I've felt very weighed down with all things politics lately. And weighed down, too, with the individuals in this world who promote, encourage, and support evil people and evil causes. "By their fruits, ye shall know them," is a scripture that I've thought a lot about lately, and believe to be true. 

So given all of that, I went to Choir this morning ready to sing songs that promote light, that encourage us to receive light, and support the cause of light. There was a moment when we were singing "Arise, O God, and Shine" that I envisioned the notes and words and sounds of the choir and orchestra spreading across the earth at light speed--filling everyone with light and love--setting things right, that were wrong, and replacing bad with good. It was a good moment that lifted me out of my slump.  Here are a few phrases that got me all teary eyed during that moment: 

Arise, O God, and shine.

Prosper each design to spread thy glorious light.

Let healing streams of mercy flow, that all the earth thy truth may know. 

Fill the world with righteousness.

Govern by thy righteous laws.

Let every people hear. 

Regardless of what happens in this world, both in the short term, and in the long term, I will always be eternally grateful for people who are good, who go about doing good, and who love and serve. Many such people are in my immediate circle of family and friends. Far more are those who I don't know, but who fit into that "life-filled-with-light" category. May light prevail and darkness fail and may we do our part to ensure that happens in all walks of life.

Until next time, God be with you. 

PS: This is the week for you to try and get Christmas Concert tickets, if you're interested! All the details for that are HERE.

MTC #144 - #ldsconf #oct2016conference

I thought it would be kind of fun to see what OTHERS thought about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir this weekend, so I looked up what the Twitter users were tweeting about and included some of those tweets below. 

Before listing those, though, I just want to say how very thankful I was to have musically participated in General Conference this weekend. The songs and the accompanying lyrics the Choir sang were inspirational to me personally, and hopefully to many others around the world.  I think my favorites this time around were "If the Way Be Full of Trial, Weary Not," "Take Time to Be Holy," and "I'll Follow Him in Faith." The "Weary Not" song was particularly helpful to me as one of my dear sisters has been going through some extremely difficult trials and I've been thinking about her a lot lately. The song gave me strength. The great thing about singing so many wonderful songs is that the people who listen to them can pick at least one that resonates with them and the various things going on in their lives. It kind of becomes "their song" as they gain strength, insights, and peace from it.

Here are a few of the lyrics from "my song": 

If misfortunes overtake us, weary not;
Jesus never will forsake us, weary not.
He will leave us never, never;
From his love there’s naught can sever;
Glory to the Lamb forever, weary not.

Do not weary by the way, Whatever be thy lot;
There awaits a brighter day, To all, to all who weary not.

How easy it is to feel weary sometimes! But there are so many great reasons not to be.


That said, as promised, below are a sampling of tweets for your reading pleasure. Until next time, God be with you.

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 Tiana ‏@tianamariec 
Is it just me or is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir extra amazing today???? #ldsconf

LDS Living ‏@LDSLivingMag
Really loving the unique knots on men of the @MormonTabChoir! Here's how to tie it (and 9 others)... #LDSConf #MoTab

The Cultural Hall ‏@TheCulturalHall
MoTab men swapped out ties--apparently the Trinity Knot was too radical. #ldsconf

Emily J Fleming ‏@ejfleming7
I WANT TO SING THIS ARRANGEMENT OF THIS HYMN ONE DAY!!!! I love Motab!!!! #lifegoals #ldsconf

matt whitlock ‏@mattdizwhitlock
I love MoTab but what are these purple pocket squares? Feels like we're at a mob wedding in New Jersey. #ldsconf

This Is My Alaska ‏@jec678
And can't wait for more great work from the #MoTab @MormonTabChoir Such a boost for your soul!  #ldsconf

Eleanor ‏@el_eanor24
Has @MormonTabChoir ever sounded so beautiful?! <3 #ldsconf #letusallpresson

Jeff Brown ‏@jeffbrown40
Wow, what a beautiful arrangement of #LetUsAllPressOn. We're so blessed to have such a talented choir. @MormonTabChoir #ldsconf

Crystal Critchfield ‏@Crystal_Critch 4
Wow. How powerful was that closing hymn and arrangement? I can't stop crying! #LetUsAllPressOn #ldsconf

Breanna Larson Allen ‏@breelarallen
Out of everything in this #ldsconf that final #MoTab song was what my soul needed the most ❤️

Adam Droge ‏@AdamDroge
Hey look! This song goes right along with that last line #PresNelson gave. As if it were planned... #MoTab @MormonTabChoir #LDSconf

Jared Garrett ‏@jaredgarrett
Greatest choir on the planet. #ldsconf #MoTab

John Schneider ‏@Lunar_Motion
Primary songs at General Conference. Yup, love it.
#LDSconf #MoTab

Asa laws ‏@AsaSpadesLaws
The music in conference is truly inspiring #ldsconf #motab

Jared Garrett ‏@jaredgarrett
They're so perfect. So polished. Beautiful. I love being a Mormon partly because of them. #MoTab #ldsconf

Mickey Parkader ‏@kayla13531
#ldsconf loving the purple on @MormonTabChoir 💜

Scott Knudson ‏@ScottTheAmazing
Is it me.. Or did someone last minute just shove a punch of purple construction paper into the men's suits as "pocket squares"

C. Bruce Hilton
Hot take: The MoTab Trinity Knots signal a subtle doctrinal shift. #ldsconf
 
Dee Holt ‏@sopranodee
Lovin the purple ties and cool knot! @MormonTabChoir Thanks for all your hard work for #ldsconf

Jennie Blaser ‏@JennieBlaser
Aaaah! My favorite hymn! Thank you Mormon Tabernacle Choir! #leadkindlylight #ldsconf

 

MTC #143 - Into 4Q We Go

Nothing too out of the ordinary happened this week in regards to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. At least from my own experience. Rehearsals went well (had their normal ups and downs) and the broadcast today was comprised of songs I really enjoyed. The Tabernacle was full of people who had come to partake and who had brought with them their happy faces, their picture-taking smart devices, and their eagerness to hear inspiring music.

Afterwards, we spent the next 90 minutes going over songs to be sung at upcoming General Conference this next weekend. Fortunately, we get a memorization break as there are only three or four that we need to commit to memory. Compared with past conferences, this is quite a treat. It's true that memorizing a song has a lot of benefits I enjoy. But at the same time, there's a part of me that's glad our memorization list is so short.

So looking ahead to fourth quarter, we will finish preparing for, and singing at, conference this first weekend in October. Then we'll have a short break from extra rehearsals before launching into Christmas Concert preparations. Our first extra rehearsal for that concert is on November 6th and there will be seven more that follow (Tuesday nights, in addition to our regular Thursday nights, plus staying after the Sunday broadcasts). It's our craziest time of year.

Who is the special guest this time, you might ask? It's none other than John and

Jane Doe! Ha. Just kidding. Actually, we don't find out any sooner than the general public does. As is tradition, they plan to announce this year's guest artist on the KSL Doug Wright show on Thursday, October 13th--probably around 11:15am or so. I have at least one guess of who it might be. But I won't add to the speculation rumors.

How do you get tickets? Glad you asked. This year, the Church will be doing it different than in years past. From the MoTab's Choir Notes: "On Saturday, October 15 at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain Daylight Time) tickets will become available to the public only online at lds.org/events. There will be no phone requests for tickets, and tickets will not be available in person through the Conference Center Ticket Office. Each patron will be able to request four tickets. Admission is open to those eight years of age and over."  Get those quick keyboard-typing and mouse-clicking fingers ready, my friends, and good luck!

As a side note, I came across this interesting interview done by folks at BYU Radio, with the interviewee being none other than Leslie Odom Jr., one of the stars of the immensely popular musical, HAMILTON. In the interview he referenced the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when he said "Those are not just songs they're singing. That's ministry. It is important work that they (we) do."

Thanks Leslie. And there you have it!

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #142 - Being a Team Player

It's funny how life is so full of irony.

Yesterday morning, I was trying very hard to get my nine year-old excited about his soccer game. He simply didn't want to go, and the harder I tried to convince him, the worse the situation seemed to get. I spoke of his responsibility to the team and how he'd be letting his fellow team members down if he didn't show up and play. I reminded him of all the time he had put into practicing and how he had some real talent in soccer. In a grand desperation attempt, I finally told him that if he didn't go play, he'd have to explain to the coach why he made that decision and why he chose to not be a team player.

Turns out, I needed that counsel just as much as my son did.

This morning was a VERY hard rehearsal for me. I was tired and became quickly annoyed at having to stop seemingly every five notes to try and fix a pitch problem (many of those problems being with the bass section). I love our associate director, Ryan Murphy, and he was doing exactly what he needed to be doing in trying to prepare us for the broadcast. But I was just struggling. And then I just wanted to yell to no one in particular "Why, oh why, do we always have so many problems singing in tune every freakin' week?!" 

As I was wallowing in my frustration and poor attitude, I suddenly remembered the talk with my son the day before. And then I realized that all my talk about being a team player and living up to my commitment to be part of a team, applied directly to me in that moment (and certainly in moments to come). The choir was my team, and Ryan was my coach for the day, and I needed to have an attitude adjustment so that we, as a team, could sing praises to God in a way that would please Him, and inspire the audience. 

So, just as my son eventually got out of the car and joined his team to play (even scoring a goal!), I made the decision to join my choir team--with more patience and faith this morning. 

And that decision made all the difference.

Until next time, God be with you.

My choir "team" today

 

MTC #141 - Seeing People for Who They Really Are

As today commemorates the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, the choir's message in both song and spoken word was one of hope, peace, and rebuilding. The program wasn't specifically a 9/11 "special", but its themes were certainly applicable to the fallout from tragic event, including the songs we sang such as "Hold On", "My Song in the Night", "If the Savior Stood Beside Me", and "Amazing Grace." My favorite of the bunch, musically and lyrically, was "My Song in the Night". Along with 9/11 being a terrifying "night", we all have individual tragedies and hardships that make up our nights. I love the lyrics to this song which speak to getting through the nights:

O Jesus, my Savior, my song in the night
Come to us with Thy tender love, my soul's delight,
Unto Thee, O Lord, in affliction I call,
My comfort by day and my song in the night.
O why should I wander, an alien from Thee,
Or cry in the desert, Thy face to see,
My comfort and joy, my soul's delight,
O Jesus, my Savior, my song in the night

(I just have to add, too, that musically, this song is near perfect in expressing the meaning of the lyrics. My favorite part, musically, is the last 20 seconds or so. For me, it's as if those last 20 seconds represent us going through a trial, finding hope, experiencing fear, but in the end, being filled with peace.)

What I want to say, though, about tragedies, is that even though we desperately wish they never happen, it's always good to note what positive things come from them. I remember after 9/11 feeling like I saw people a little differently. And I remember hearing story after story after story of individuals who also saw their fellow brothers and sisters differently. The stories talked of kindness, service, love, lifting, and sympathizing. It was like people were seeing other people for who they really were. For who they really are. 

I remember having similar feelings after a wind storm hit my town of Centerville back in 2011. Amidst all of the damage incurred by the storm, people were out helping others in the days that followed. Church meetings were even cancelled so that individuals and families could go assist those in need. For a time, normal things that typically comprised daily life, were suspended. And I remember having a good feeling inside that even though a tragedy had occurred, we were all better because of it. Better because we had received a mini wake-up call that helped us to see that the most important thing in this life is how we treat people--how we love people. 

I hope that if there's anything we can take away from remembering 9/11, it's a resolve to look at the people around us as our brothers and sisters and be a little more kind, patient, and loving in our interactions with them. 

God is counting on us to do just that.

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #140 - Odds & Ends #35

No particular theme for this post, just several things I wanted to mention.

First, the men of the choir were given a little rebuke today by our beloved director, Mack. He mentioned that for some time now, the men, in general, have needed to pay more attention to their facial expressions while on camera. What he's seeing doesn't reflect any energy or excitement or any sort of positive emotion that he'd expect to see from a member of this choir. It was a cause for reflection and a personal asking of "Is it I?"  I can't say if every bass and tenor took the invitation to do better, to heart, but I'm hoping so. As Mack also mentioned, "people listen with their eyes." And I can certainly see what he's saying. Eyes, in particular, have a way of letting another person know what you're thinking and feeling. And if we can keep the eyes bright (and the eyebrows a little raised), I think it'll go a long way to expressing how we feel about the heavenly music we're singing. It reminds me of the scripture in Luke which says: "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light."

Second, we had a special guest show up at our rehearsal on Thursday. I probably shouldn't mention who it was because I don't really know what part he will play (if any) in a future performance the Choir will do. Suffice it to say, when my teenage daughter found out, she was all smiles.

Third, we did some recording after the broadcast today, and shoot! I probably can't talk about that either. Man! All the information we have to keep to ourselves before we're given the OK to share... It was a pretty fun recording session though (as much as recording sessions can be fun) given the nature of the piece. Which I'll just say was a little bit DIFFERENT than normal Mormon Tabernacle Choir music. An original arrangement from a musical. And that is about all I can say. :)

Fourth, while we have enjoyed singing in the Conference Center, it's time to go back to our home at the Tabernacle. Starting Thursday, we'll take our places there for rehearsal and will continue to be there until we start dress rehearsals for the Christmas show. Did I mention Christmas? Wow. I guess it isn't THAT far away.

Until next time, God be with you.