TCATS #316 - Remembering

If I'm honest (and I truly strive to be), I'd have to say that Choir has been a struggle for me for the past few weeks. 

It's been difficult to find the excitement. 

It's been easy to become cynical. 

It's been challenging to bring life and light into some of the songs we're singing.

It's been hard not to let out a long sigh in anticipation of going through yet another rehearsal full of the exact same feedback we get week after week. 

It's hard not to let the little things bother me and become annoyed at various things that are usually a part of every choir experience. Sometimes I even look at my watch Thursday nights and think "What? We have over an hour to go?" 

Yes, I know what you're thinking. Or at least what some of you are thinking. That I need to take a deep breath, readjust my perspective, and truly realize how many people would absolutely LOVE to take my spot in the Choir. But you know what? Sometimes it just doesn't work. I try and try and try and I don't make much headway. 

I still feel, in my heart, and when I pray about it, that I should stay in this truly grand calling for the unforeseeable future. I still have a work to do. I still have people to influence. Basically, God's not done with me being in the Choir....yet. So because I know and feel these things, I'm left with the task of trying even harder to get the love of this calling back. I've had that love for years and years, only occasionally needing to stave off the complexities of complacency. But now as I start year 7, the complacency battle has reached a new level. I need to attack it from multiple angles and it's going to take a lot of work. 

I've come to realize that the one thing that helps me the most in this battle is REMEMBERING. Remembering how I felt in year #1. Remembering the magic of each song and how I felt when I sang each of them for the first time. Remembering that people around the world are counting on me (which I believe is true). Remembering that there is growth and there are opportunities to improve with repetition. Remembering that I am far, far from perfect and to apply constructive criticism from my directors directly to me. Remembering those times that certain songs have touched me so deeply that I can't imagine my life or my testimony without them. Remembering that at least half of a good attitude is tied to gratitude. 

So. That is my plan. To remember. And if anyone would like to join me on my "Remembering Journey", I'd love to have you along.

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #315 - It's the Little Things

In preparing for today's broadcast, I was reminded of how important simple words or small phrases of words can be. This was because even though many of the songs we sung contained several verses and choruses of repetition, remembering the first few words of each of those verses were key in singing the songs accurately. For example, in the first piece, "Down by the Riverside", the key phrases were "Lay down my sword and shield", "Put on my travelin' shoes", "Put on my long white robe", and "Put on my starry crown." If you remembered those, you were almost set with the singing the rest of the song. For "Peace Like a River", it was just "faith", "hope", and "love". ("I've got faith like a river, I've got faith like a river...."  switching to "I've got hope like a river, I've got hope like a river...", etc). For "I'm Runnin' On", the phrases were "Ain't you glad," "Pressin' on", and "Won't turn back." 

The point is, singing these songs by memory became much easier (at least for me) as I just focused on remembering the small and simple "key words". Which illustrates an important principle in life: it's often the little things that mean the most!

From a religious point of view, this can easily be seen by faithful church followers reading the scriptures for a few minutes every day, or taking just a couple of hours to go to church each week, or taking a few minutes to ponder and pray each day. Those who do these things can testify that they make a big difference in being able to resist temptation and adhere to the way of life they are trying hard to live. 

From a simple humanity point of view, a smile, a "hello", sending an unexpected text of appreciation, holding the door open for someone, or simply treating each other with kindness and respect can go a long way in lifting the level of happiness in people. Much of life is filled with routines of repetition--like the songs we sang today. But what can make all the difference in more easily going about that day of routine is to interject the "little things". Little things that will inspire, uplift, and bring greater satisfaction for all involved.

My hope is that we don't discount the little things and have faith they'll make a difference.

Because indeed they will.

Until next time, God be with you. 

TCATS #314 - Calm Before the Storm

January is traditionally a "down" time for the Tabernacle Choir, and January 2020 has been no different. It's nice, really, to just go to rehearsal Thursday nights, prepare for Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday, and get to go home a bit early! It's simple. Even today's broadcast would, in my opinion, fall into the "simple" category. The songs we sang really weren't hard to sing (yes, they took practice, but they were all pretty familiar) and the whole experience just seemed to flow like honey.

Of course our director is telling us to really enjoy this time because the rest of the year will be back to normal (i.e. crazy busy) starting in February. And in looking at our calendar, he's absolutely right. There is an event to two I can't announce yet, but the ones that have been announced include an ACDA performance, an Easter Concert (singing "The Messiah" again), a special General Conference as announced by President Nelson, and a tour to get ready for in June. All of these events will take considerable effort to prepare for and extra rehearsals will start up in earnest very soon.

As we were about to sing God Be With You to our audience today, I scanned the individuals who had come to the Conference Center to see us and tried to figure out WHO to sing to. This is sort of my weekly routine I do. It's easier to do it in the Tabernacle because the people are closer and I can see faces and I get more promptings. But I found a guy who was sitting near the back, alone, and felt to sing to him. So I did. It's kind of funny, really, what goes on in my head when I sing to each of these people. I think that one day I'll get to meet them. One day in heaven, maybe, when all is said and done. I'll get to meet this rather large group of people, each one having attended at least one Music & the Spoken Word broadcasts, each one having been sung to. Chances are very high they don't even know they were sung too! But that would be cool, nonetheless.  

Until next time, God be with you. 

TCATS #313 - The Cycle Begins Again

Thursday night as Ben, Willy and I rode into the Conference Center for rehearsal, we planned on a few extra minutes needed to get our music from our music lockers at the Tabernacle. Normally we take the underground tunnel from the two buildings, but we were told that the tunnel would be closed starting Jan 2nd, and we'd need to travel above ground. So we did that. Then at rehearsal, President Jarrett stood and told us that the tunnel was actually still accessible! So we all took the tunnel back after rehearsal was over, glad to be out of the cold of the night. 

As I was getting my music, one of the choir leaders was giving all of the new choir members a tour of the various facilities underneath the Tabernacle. Signs were posted on how to get into their lockers, and instruction was being giving on various other things that they needed to know. As I looked into their eager, excited eyes, I felt very happy for them. And a bit envious too. Envy because I remember how exciting it all WAS! Am I still excited to be a choir member? Absolutely, but it's a different kind of excitement.  The new-ness, the "what's around the corner", the meeting of new people, the figuring out how things work, the realization of millions of people seeing me on camera....all of that is not a big thing anymore. And I genuinely miss it. 

That said, while the new people are starting their Tabernacle Chorale experience in preparation to join the Choir in May, the rest of us did the first broadcast of the year, today, and were told on Thursday about how busy this year would be for us. I had already known it would be busy looking at our advanced calendar for 2020. But as Mack reiterated that fact verbally, I realized more fully just how busy it would all be. Particularly with an ACDA concert and the tour coming up.

Thankful to be part of it all and as I thus begin my 7th year with this organization, I'm excited for the continued adventures I'll get to be a part of. 

Until next time, God be with you.

TCATS #312 - By the Numbers! 2019

Numbers never tell the whole story. There's always so much more behind them. But they do tell one side of the story and each year I like to compile them and see how things turned out. I do this partly because a find it interesting, and partly because my friend Siope (See-oh-pay)--who has become our unofficial choir statistician--produces a pictogram each year to show the numbers in a fun and interesting way and consults with me in doing that. Anyway, without further ado, here's how things ended up. Hope each of you have a fun closing-out of 2019 and are looking forward to the adventures that 2020 will bring. 

Until next time, God be with you!

(Click to enlarge)

Stats below are duplicated above, just in a different format. The above pictogram is more complete.

Broadcasts: 52

Events: 13 (Easter Concert, April Conference, Tanner Gift of Music Concert, Pioneer Day Concert, Sissel Recording Project, Mini-Concert for US Governor's Association, Recording Session #2, Mini-Concert for UN Civil Society, President Nelson's Birthday Concert, October General Conference, Temple President Seminar, First Presidency Devotional, Christmas Concert)

Number of Songs Sung: 384 (multiple instances of concerts only counted once)

Most Sung Song: 7-way tie--> How Firm a Foundation, Love Divine All Loves Excelling, America the Beautiful, America the Dream Goes On, Press Forward Saints, Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah, I Think the World is Glorious (four times each)

Most Worn Tie: Red Snowflake (7 times) and Yellow (7 times)

Least Worn Tie: Hypno (1)

Most Worn Suit: Charcoal, Black and Blue all tied (14 times each)

Least Worn Suit: Blue Blazer (8) (not counting Creme coat or Tux)

Most Worn Dress: Blue (12)

Least Worn Dress: Black (4)

Number of Extra Rehearsals: 40!

Albums Released: 2 (Let Us All Press On, Angels Among Us)

TCATS #311 - Sick

Friday morning, I woke up with a scratchy throat.

The first thought I had (thinking the throat issue would lead to a cold) was "How am I going to sing with my son for our family talent show this coming Monday?"
The second thought I had was "What am I going to do about Sunday morning with the Tabernacle Choir? Should I go and observe the broadcast, staying away from people? Should I go and try and sing if I felt up to it? (sometimes God does miraculous things for singers who are supposed to sing) Or should I just stay home."
My third thought, thinking more long-term, was "What about Christmas and my daughter's wedding next week!"

For my first thought, I pinned down my son after he got home from school and told him we needed to record the song--right then and there. That way, if I really was getting a cold and my voice was shot on Monday, we'd still have something to share at the talent show. Thankfully our recording turned out pretty well ("When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground", from the musical FINDING NEVERLAND), despite my tendency to get emotional--which I always do when I hear or sing that song.

For my second thought, as Saturday night came and I was out with my wife doing a little shopping, the decision became clear given the state of my nose and my voice: I'd need to stay home.

I texted my carpool and a few others and gave them the news. 
Reply texts came back:
"I'll be praying for you!"
"Bummer Ryan! Feel better soon."
"I'll sing extra for you tomorrow."

Then I went to bed hoping a miracle would occur overnight.

Well, that didn't happen. If anything, the cold was worse (the only good part about it being worse was that it validated my decision to stay home). So, after my family left for church, I turned on Music & the Spoken Word and enjoyed the last Christmas episode of the year, bundled up on the couch wishing I was at the Conference Center feeling healthy and singing. But, it WAS sort of nice to be on the couch, and it was definitely fun to feel the Christmas spirit while seeing my fellow choir friends giving their best. 

As for my third thought... well, the jury is still out.  
I'll keep my faith and hope high.

Until next time, God be with you.

PS: tune in next week for some very interesting year-end choir statistics!

TCATS #310 - Christmas Concert 2019

This year's Christmas Concert with guest stars Kelli O'Hara and Richard Thomas

marked the 20th anniversary of when the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra began putting on Christmas concerts in the Conference Center. (There's a great article about that, HERE, if you're interested) After twelve extra rehearsals, various regular rehearsals, and lots of outside memorization time, the choir and orchestra thoroughly enjoyed sharing their talents and testimonies of Christ through music and song for this concert. The guest stars didn't disappoint in the least, and the dancers were the sweet icing on the cake--bringing the music to life!

 

(There's a two-minute video clip of some concert highlights, HERE)

I have a few favorite moments of the concert that I'd like to share.

First, this year the choir did something they've never done before in a Christmas Concert (or any concert for that matter). We began the concert at the back of the Conference Center--a grand processional that included walking to the rhythm of "Star in the East", holding candles, and working our way up to the choir seats. This all took lots of practice as the coordination and timing of the various lines of choir members needed to be precise. When it was all said and done though, I think the audience enjoyed it. And for me personally, I had some sweet moments of feeling like I was bringing my little light (which, to me, represented my personalized devotion) to the baby Christ child that holy night so long ago. For other choir members, they were just happy to see the smiling faces of audience members--which we normally don't get to see since we're so far away from them. At any rate, it was a fun and memorable way to start the concert.

Second, the Tree of Life scene was really touching. We had sung the Tree of Life

before on other concerts and at an official recording session we had a while back. It's a song composed by Mack Wilberg (lyrics by David Warner) that describes what the Tree of Life and its fruit represents: the love of God--and how that love helps us personally and how its meant to be given away to help others. A friend of mine expressed his thoughts about this scene in which several of the dancers were depicting this "love of God" theme. And I completely agreed with his assessment: that even though this wasn't a Christmas song per se, it's what Christmas is all about--feeling the love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and then expressing that love to others.

Third, I loved the story that Richard Thomas (the narrator) shared--about a boy surprising his father on Christmas day by waking up before 3 AM to get the milking done. The story itself was touching, but the part that I liked the most came from these lines: "Milking for once was not a chore. It was something else--a gift to his father, who loved him." I think that whenever we can make the transformation from doing good and important things because we have to or because we're expected to, to doing them because we truly love the person we're doing them for, then we truly have reason to celebrate.

Lastly, because of where I was standing (right by the edge), I was able to see a bunch of young kids come on stage right in front of me and then lift up the lights they were holding as part of a larger presentation going on. The kids were smiling from ear to ear. And as I watched them combine their lights together, holding them up high, I thought about the responsibility we all have to lift up our lights--our goodness, our happiness--and share it with others. When we do that, and when we combine our light with the light of others, it's truly a force for good in this world.

Well, I could go on and on about other elements of the concert (the nativity scene was cool, too), but I'll just end my thoughts by saying once again how grateful I am for the blessing of singing with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. I'm grateful for my family who (especially this past week) has been there to support me during what's normally a busy time anyway. Thanks fam! And I'm also grateful for my close choir friends who's support I both enjoy and rely on.

Merry Christmas everyone! And until next time, God be with you.

PS: As always, the crowd went wild over Richard Elliott's organ piece (which was accompanied by a bluegrass band). Every year we expect an outstanding performance, and this year he continued to live up to that expectation!

 

PPS: Some additional articles HERE and HERE.  

Photos above courtesy of Deseret News.

About to rehearse the Processional

Wes and I had the responsibility of being two of the "line leaders" for the processional

 

The view from where I sat (rehearsal)

Some of my choir buddies!