MTC #177 - Of Canada, Teleprompters, and the One

 

This year, Canada is turning 150 years old! And, as you can imagine, our fine friends to the North will be celebrating this milestone with a lot of activities including everything from tree planting, to sporting events, to trying to set a world record in Toronto with the largest rock music performance. As part of all of the celebratory events, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was asked to record a special Music & the Spoken Word, Canadian style. So, we did. Following our normal MSW performance this morning, we had a 10-minute break and then went for round 2. We were already dressed in appropriate colors (red dresses for the women and red ties for the men), but, in addition, the men were given a little Canadian pin to add to their lapel. We sang the Canadian National Anthem, along with a few other songs that were already in our repertoire. And, as an interesting side-note, one of the songs we sang was "This Land is Your Land." You might be saying to yourself, "But wait! That's an American song!" Well, yes, yes it is. However, in 1955, The Travellers took the liberty of altering some of the words to replace the US geographical references with Canadian ones:

This land is your land, This land is my land,

From Bonavista, to Vancouver Island

From the Arctic Circle to the Great Lakes waters,

This land was made for you and me.

Who knew? 

Singing a very well-known song with new lyrics is always challenging as the synaptic pathways in the brain want to travel down a familiar road--not the new one. But obviously with some mental concentration, the switch can occur. Or, if you have a teleprompter, it's really no problem at all! 

Speaking of teleprompters, it's been an interesting past few weeks having that tool available every Sunday. I must confess, it's a bit strange. We rarely, rarely have used the teleprompter in the past during Music & the Spoken Word. We use it during some of our concerts to help with the large number of pieces we have to sing, and to be of help to the guest artists who are performing. But I can't even remember a time we've used one on Sundays. 

Here's the thing though. Since the teleprompter is directly in back of, and slightly above, the director, the prompter really only helps those in the choir who are situated right in front of the director. For the 1st sopranos, and the 2nd basses who are on the extreme sides, there's probably a 30 degree angle issue preventing us from utilizing the prompter. Sure, we can easily move our eyes from the director, to the prompter, and back again. But if we had a camera on us and did that, it would be very obvious. So, I'm left scratching my head as to it's purpose. The only two things I can think of are first, as mentioned, it helps those who have middle seats. Second, if we're singing a song where the men and women switch back and forth (or there's a longer stretch of just the orchestra playing), we can glance up at the prompter for the next set of words  knowing the camera isn't on us yet. Regardless, for most of us, it's probably easier to just memorize the music and reap the benefits that come from doing that. 

Lastly, I want to mention a special experience that happened during the small break we get after rehearsing and before performing. A friend and I were just walking around the Tabernacle, and a woman came up to us and said "One of the songs you're singing today is just for me." We asked her which one. She said "I don't which one, but I flew here knowing that one of them would be just for me today." We thanked her for telling us, and we told her we'd be thinking of her during the performance. 

Thought about her, I did. Could someone be prompted to come to Salt Lake City, to Temple Square, to see a 30 minute performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in hopes that at least one of the songs would be just for that particular person? I thought about the wonder of that, and I offered a prayer that this woman would have the experience that would complete her act of faith. I'll never know the ending to the story, but God is a god of miracles and since He is keenly interested in "the one", I'm confident He helped her feel uplifted and encouraged through "the one" song that she felt was just for her. 

Until next time, God be with you.

 

Dave L. and me, with our Canada flag pins

 

MTC #176 - Goods and Bads

Ready to record! (the blankets on the seats help with sound we're after)

As my family and I sit down to eat dinner on the nights we're all together, we have this tradition of going around the table and each person sharing their "goods and bads" of the day. The rule is that you always have to share at least one good thing that happened--and then, optionally, you can share one bad thing as well. But if you share more than one bad, you have to balance it out with another good. 

I thought I'd take this same approach in reviewing the week that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir just had. Every so often, the Choir and the Orchestra work on recording music for a future CD release. And this past week happened to be one of those times. 

Good: the great thing about recording is that you know that many, many people are going to eventually listen to the recording and hopefully be impacted in a positive way--for years and years to come. So keeping the fact in the back of your mind is definitely helpful.

Bad: coming for four nights in a row, from 6:45p to 10p, to actually do the recording. It takes a lot of time. This one last week was actually shorter than most, since sessions in the past have included all day Saturday. And when we recorded The Messiah a few years ago, I think we came Tues-Sat one week, and then three or four nights the next week. Brutal!

Good: when you hear Ryan Murphy in the sound booth (who is listening to how things are sounding through the mics) finally tell us that we can move on to the next section of the song).

Bad: when, after working on a certain section for the umpteenth time, the basses are told over and over and over again that they aren't singing high enough on a few of the notes. It's terribly exasperating, especially when you feel like you, and the people immediately around you, are singing in tune and would go sharp if we went any higher.

Good: when you feel like a certain section of the song you've been working on is being sung almost as with one voice. I recently read "Boys in the Boat" by Daniel Brown, about a rowing team that went on to win a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics. A quote from there sums this feeling of "one-ness": "All were merged into one smoothly working machine; they were, in fact, a poem of motion, a symphony of swinging blades... What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing."

Bad: the ache in your back that seems to grow as the hours tick by. Occasionally, either the men, or the women, will get lucky and be able to sit for more than a couple of minutes at a time. But for the most part, it's a standing marathon.

Good: hearing or seeing choir members around you say, or do, funny or interesting things to cope with the monotonous stretches of the experience. This helps keep emotions in check and help the minutes go by more quickly.

Bad: when your marking pencil's lead breaks and there are a whole host of last-minute text changes to write in. 

Good: sitting next to the section leader who is prepared with a pencil sharpener!

Bad: not getting to hear the finished product for a year or two later.

Good: taking a step back and recognizing that getting to sing and record with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a grand privilege and worth the occasional sacrifices that must be made to make a recording session successful. :)

Look for a new CD next year, I'm thinking. (I don't know officially, just making a guess) Until then, our recently released "Tabernacle Choir and Friends" CD is available for your listening pleasure.
================

Changing gears, today is Mother's Day of course, and our broadcast this morning was dedicated to singing about mothers. Mack always says that putting together songs for a Mother's Day program is a very challenging process. Mainly because a lot of the songs out there are like lollipops: over-saturated in sweet, sweet, sentiment! I have to admit that even with the songs that were chosen, I, personally, had a hard time thinking about my mother when singing them. There were certainly some of the lyrics that rang true, as they spoke of love and dedication, patience and nurturing. But I don't often go walking in meadows of clover thinking about my mom, or go into gardens and think about her either. ;)  That all said, I felt like many in the audience were touched by today's program. In fact, during our 15 min break between rehearsing and the actual live broadcast, one of the volunteer ushers mentioned that a tour group had just watched the run-through. And as they had left the Tabernacle (needing to board their bus) they left with tears in their eyes from the experience they just had. It was a good reminder that even a rehearsal can impact our listeners, and the songs chosen--all of them--are chosen, in part I believe, because our listeners are diverse, and bring with them a wide variety of experiences and circumstances. Different songs affect different people, and who knows but that several in the audience today did think about their mothers upon hearing lyrics about meadows and flowers and gardens. 

So hats off to Mack and Ryan who come up with songs week after week, that are just what people need to hear.

Lastly, happy Mother's Day to all moms and all women. Thanks for all you have done and continue to do!

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #175 - So Easy to Forget

Rehearsal and the broadcast today were fairly uneventful--in that there was nothing out of the ordinary that occurred. It never ceases to amaze me, though, how many people come to listen to us sing, both on Thursday nights and on Sunday mornings. Some come in quickly, move their way up to the front and immediately take out their cell phones to snap some pictures. Others walk in more slowly, perhaps with a lot on their minds or with heavy hearts. They take their seats and keep their eyes glued on the choir. Then there are some who come in, listen a bit, and leave not long after. I'm grateful for any and all who decide to even spend a minute with us. Hopefully they leave feeling like they got what they came for. 

Today's music had a lot of wonderful lyrics. I could probably write pages on how they all made me feel and what they made me think about. But there's one passage in the first song we sang, that caused me to ponder on the simple but sad fact that we all tend to forget. I'm not talking about forgetting where we put things or forgetting about an event we had scheduled to attend. I'm talking about forgetting about lessons life has taught us. Forgetting about blessings God has given us. Forgetting about things we've learned once upon a time that we felt in our hearts to be true. Forgetting we've received answers to prayers or peace in our hearts during hard times. And then, when more hard times come or we get upset because things don't seem to be going our way (but feel they should), we are quick to complain and slow to remember. 

From the song "Thou Lovely Source of True Delight":

Then even as 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’ver with pain
My gloomy fears arise between
And I again complain.

I've been guilty of forgetting lately and this song helped remind me of that human fallacy. If God, in His great love, has helped me in times past--even when (and especially when) I've been treading in rough waters, then why wouldn't He continue to help me now? It's not in His character to forsake any of His children. WE are HIS work. And God doesn't get distracted or take any detours from giving us what we need. Especially (and particularly) when we are doing our best to REMEMBER HIM.

I, for one, want to hang on to those "cheering beams of hope". 
You are welcome to join me.

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #174 - In With the New

There's a parable found in the Book of Jacob, from the Book of Mormon, that talks about tame and wild olive trees. In the parable, the Lord of the vineyard, along with his servants, are working hard to make sure the olive trees grow well and produce good fruit. Near the end of the story, despite all of the hard work, the Lord of the vineyard laments that the trees have become wild and are producing bitter fruit. His servants convince him, though, that they should graft in branches from a tree producing good fruit, and see if that graft has a positive effect on the ailing tree. 

I thought about this parable at Thursday night's rehearsal as Mack Wilberg officially welcomed all of the new choir members. He made it very clear that the rest of the choir really NEEDED these new members. We needed their enthusiasm, their excitement, and we needed their freshly learned musical skills and best practices. In short, we would be a much better choir because of them.

In going back to the actual parable, I took the liberty of adding a few applicable word substitutions: 

And there began to be [new members] again in the [choir]; and the [existing and new choir members] began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the [bad singing habits & practices] began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the [technical singing aspects] and the [spiritual focus] thereof equal, according to the strength thereof.

And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the [direction of the leaders and directors] of the [choir], even until the [bad singing habits & practices] had been cast away out of the [choir], and the [directors] had preserved unto [themselves] that the [choir members] had become again [to reach their potential]; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal. . . 

After the broadcast was over today, I turned around in my seat to look at two of the new choir members who happened to be sitting directly behind me. They were all smiles, and as I looked into their eyes, I could almost hear the words "Look! We did it! We stood up at the right time, we brought our folders up and down correctly, we remembered the words, and we used our Choir School knowledge to sing our best. Most importantly, we were able to bear testimony through our singing."

Yes, it's good to have them here. And yes, it's good to be influenced by them and become better because of them.

A few other tidbits I wanted to mention:
--I just loved all of the songs today. Particularly "All People That on Earth Do

Dwell" and "Happy and Blest Are They". 
--A new CD is coming out soon. Check out the details here and if you're interested, you can purchase here.
--We're starting work on a new recording which won't be released until next year. I don't think this project has been given an official press release so I should probably wait until that happens to talk about it further. But fans of the choir should be quite happy about it!

Until next time, God be with you.

MTC #173 - Everybody Hurts, Sometimes

Endings.

They are so hard.

They are especially hard for those of us who are emotional, tender-hearted, sentimental, melancholic, and change-averse. (Hmm, sounds like me)

I vividly remember my high school graduation—looking out from the stage at my fellow students realizing I probably wouldn’t see most of them ever again. It was at that moment I wanted to freeze time and scream “this can’t be right. I’m not ready to grow up!” I also remember the last day of college, which moment came as I walked not on a stage (I didn’t attend commencement), but out of the Testing Center having finished my last final exam. While I was grateful to be done with tests, I was a jumble of emotions for what lie ahead—and my heart hurt for the things, experiences, and people I’d miss.

The beginning of a Mormon Tabernacle Choir member is filled with lots of wondrous things. The first time singing on a broadcast; the first time seeing one’s self on TV; the first time participating in each of the various annual concerts; the first time a piece of music is learned and memorized; the first tour experience; the first time singing in General Conference; the first recording session. And the list goes on. The firsts are filled with lots of excitement, anticipation, and humility. But at some point, all members must pass through the “zone of LASTS”.  The last concert, the last tour, the last time singing this song or that one, and the last Music & the Spoken Word broadcast.

So it was for 23 choir members who officially retired today. Either they had reached the age of 60, or they had been in the choir for the maximum 20 years. Whatever the case, these 23 had been going through their “lasts” for quite some time now. And today marked their official exit from the zone of lasts. Following the broadcast, a Retirement Ceremony was held, with Mack Wilberg reading parting thoughts (as written by each retiree), recognizing each with a handshake and/or hug, and presenting them with a beautiful plaque to remember their time in the choir. Those not retiring, sat, looking on, perhaps contemplating how much time they had left. For me, it was that, and also thinking about the experiences and conversations I had had with several of those leaving—particularly my fellow bass brothers. At the end of the retirement service, those retiring stood in a line facing the choir, and we sang "God Be With You" to them. Emotional? Yes.

As I drove home, and as I sit here, now, my heart hurts for those who have left. Who knows though? Maybe they’ll bravely walk through the new door in front of them with optimism and eagerness. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, maybe they’ll wish there was a coping support group they could join! All I know is when it comes time for ME to leave, I’ll probably want that support group! Particularly when I watch the first broadcast post-retirement--knowing I don’t get the privilege of occupying one of those seats in the loft any longer, and all that goes with that occupying privilege.

Thank you David. Thank you Blaine. Thank you Craig. Thank you Jonathan. Thank you Steve. Thank you Scott. And to all of the other 17, thanks for your service as well. Until we meet again, God be with you. 

Pictures from today's broadcast

(click to enlarge)

Blaine

Craig

David

Jonathan

Steve

Scott

MTC #172 - Christ and You

Happy Easter! 

For the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, this past week was akin to Christmas Concert week as we met every evening (minus Monday) to rehearse or perform. It also happened to be a very busy and emotional week at my day job, and the busiest week my wife has ever had. So, you can imagine how glad we were to finally celebrate Easter today, having survived our various taxing responsibilities. As always, I do want to thank my wife and kids for helping all of the complicated moving parts on the homefront to fit together during my absence. It's no small task. I'm so grateful for them. 

Along with regular Thursday rehearsals, the Choir had 10 extra rehearsals (16+ hours) to prepare for the Easter Concert that we performed this past Friday and Saturday night. The Concert consisted of two Easter-themed works: "Christ on the Mount of Olives" by Beethoven; and the world debut of "A Cloud of Witnesses" by Mack Wilberg (w/Lyrics by David Warner). Beethoven's work included several soloists, all of whom did a fantastic job. I was particularly

impressed with the soprano (Celena Shafer) who seemed to be performing with everything she had, emotionally, physically, and mentally. (I might be slightly partial, too, since she's a fellow Viewmont High School alum) While some of the solo numbers seems to be a little lengthy for my taste, there were two things I enjoyed most about performing this. First, the basses, in particular, were given the opportunity to play the part of the soldiers--who, of course, were upset at Christ claiming to be the King, when it was Ceasar who

was rightfully king. At one part, as we (the soldiers) are proclaiming this, our director Mack said to go ahead and just "let loose"--giving our singing all of the emotion and anger and roughness we could muster! "Behold Him, the deceiver! Who dares to say that He, is King instead of Ceasar. Then seize and bind him fast." It was a weird sensation playing the part of the soldiers, representing all of those who were against Christ. It caused me to feel, in some small degree, the prevailing anger that the apostles and followers of Christ, felt, at that time, from those who were determined to crucify the Savior. Second, I loved ending with the piece "Hallelujah!" It was a very powerful contrast in emotions--going from singing the words of the soldiers, to proclaiming the light and glory of Christ.

Regarding "A Cloud of Witnesses", singing this was a very different experience. It was not your typical composition with recurring melodies and standard phrasing. Instead, we all played the parts of those who were involved in the post-crucifixion events: Christ, the apostles, the angels, and the women. Our task was telling the story and often the notes we sang were repetitive and/or didn't have a lot of range. Kind of like we were speaking, but still singing. If that makes any sense. It's hard to describe. And while it took me awhile to really like how different it was, I did end up liking it very much. Perhaps, in part, because it was different and also, because I felt it was effective at conveying not only the story line, but what the individuals and groups of people were feeling. Overall, I was just happy for Mack Wilberg--that he was able to put together such an amazing musical work of art. I can't even imagine writing the score for just one of the musical instruments, let alone all of them! Not to mention all of the choir parts. David Warner, who provided all of the lyrics, visited during one of our pre-concert warm-ups and just said how grateful he was that we were able to perform this. The one thing I most remember him saying is that unlike most songs that have melodies that carry it along and which the audience can identify with, "A Cloud of Witnesses" requires the singers and orchestra members to not only spiritually and emotionally connect with it, but requires them to be living Christ-like lives in order for that connection with the audience to occur and be effective.

Anyway, it was a great concert and once again, I feel so blessed that for almost all of the significant holidays during the year, I get to experience them by not only singing about them, but being immersed in them in a way that only the medium of music can provide.

Today's Music & the Spoken Word was packed with individuals and families who wanted to start off their Easter morning with the sounds of the Choir, the Orchestra, and the Bells on Temple Square. There were more people at our broadcast this morning than there were at our concert last evening. My favorite of all the songs we sang was the first one "Christ the Lord Has Risen Today." It setup the rest of the Easter-themed program perfectly. Of course ending with Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus was just icing on the cake.

Lastly, though it wasn't connected with the concerts this week, I had the opportunity to watch a performance of "Savior of the World" put on my one of my neighboring congregations. Though it was all fantastic, at the end, as everyone came on to sing the final number, my focus rested on a young man who had clearly been impacted by the experience he had just been a part of.  His mouth started quivering as he kept trying to sing, but he was so overcome that he just couldn't hold back his "tears of testimony".  As I sat there watching the tender scene, I thought  "You know what Ryan? This is what it's all about. It's feeling the love of our Savior, personally, and having that impact your life in all you do. It's about Christ and YOU. It's realizing that while the Atonement and the Resurrection are for everyone, there's a "you" included in that everyone."

Until next time, God be with you. 

MTC #170 - Conference Five

With big events like General Conference, there's always the option to write about a lot of generalities or, instead, focus on just a few specifics. And I think for this post, I'll opt for the latter. For some general reviews, you can go HERE, HERE, and HERE. :)

There are five things I'd like to comment on:

1) The choir sang about 20 or so songs during conference (including Music & the Spoken Word songs). There were several I really enjoyed singing, but the one I think I enjoyed the most was "Now Let Us Rejoice". As a bass, this one was actually not very pleasant to sing because the bass part was so very high (definitely in tenor land). But I've always loved this hymn as far back as I can remember. And it took on increased significance when I was a missionary back in Japan. Before leaving that two-year experience, I met with the congregation of Saints and we all sang that song together as I pondered the Japanese people I had grown to love. Runners-up: "How Firm a Foundation" and "His Voice As the Sound". (All conference music can be found HERE.)

2) One of my favorite talks at conference that tied in very nicely with a song the choir sang ("There is Sunshine in My Soul Today") was Elder Jeffrey Holland's talk where he likened all of us to being in a choir and singing various songs and various parts (humorously, he forgot to mention tenors as one of the parts people could sing). Here's a quote from that talk. "If, for a time, you are unable to echo the joyous melodies you hear coming from others, I ask you to hold tenaciously to the line in this hymn that reassures 'Jesus listening can hear the song [you] cannot sing."  AND "You are unique and irreplaceable. The loss of even one voice diminishes every other singer in this great mortal choir of ours, including the loss of those who feel they are on the margins of society or the margins of the Church."

3) April Conference is always an emotional time for the Choir as there are many singing in conference for the last time and many who are singing for the first time. I happened to sit next to one choir member (Craig) who was singing in conference for the last time. He sort of became known as the "Snickers Man" because if you happened to sit next to him (on either side or in back) on Sunday morning or during a concert, this nice guy would pull out a Snickers candy bar and give it to you. Right behind me was another choir member leaving (Blaine) who we will certainly miss as well. He's a professional sound guy and has provided the choir men with bass/baritone/tenor tracks to practice to week in and week out, for years. I have comments I could make about many more of those leaving us, but I'll save those for later.

On the other side of the timeline, while I don't yet know any of the new folks who just joined us this year, I heard one in the dressing room afterwards saying how overcome he had become with tears and emotions as he sang "How Firm a Foundation." These new guys bring such a fresh and exciting spirit to the Choir. It's great. 

2) I noticed, after conference was over, two young men wind their way down the aisles to get to the one particular aisle that all of the apostles pass by on their way out of the Conference Center. They had this eagerness in their eyes, smiles on their faces, and hands poised to wave to any apostle who lifted his hand to wave first (which they do quite often). It was touching to see how much waving to an apostle meant to them.

1) Lastly, I am very grateful for my wife and kids who are always such a support to me as I fulfil this calling and opportunity. Let's face it...before I was accepted into the Choir, Conference weekend twice a year was associated with lots and lots of family time. Sitting around on our couches together, enjoying the talks and music, eating snacks, and making comments to each other about things we were hearing and feeling. But now that I'm in the Choir, the family is incomplete. It's been a transition for all of us. That said, my wife and kids keep a tally of how often they see me on the big screen and new for this year, I pick a song from each session and dedicate it to my wife--so she knows I'm thinking of her while I sing it. I think we'll keep that new tradition going. 

Until next time, God be with you.