Thursday, January 8, 2015
Christmas Singing Post 2
I got another picture of us actually in the Board Room before we sang...now you can see some of what I was talking of in the first post!
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Christmas Singing
This Christmas season I was invited to do something totally awesome! I was invited to sing with a small choir that sang for the First and Second Quorums of the Seventies at their Christmas Devotional. The Presiding Bishopric was there as well. This devotional was also recorded and sent to the other Seventies serving throughout the world.
The director of this choir is a lady that is super, super talented in the music department. She was in my previous stake, and I have sung a few times with her in stake firesides.
Truth be told, even though everyone says I sing well, I personally have little confidence in my singing abilities. Part of this is because I have never taken lessons or ever sung in a school choir where I feel like I could learn what I need to in order to really be talented. I even tried out for choir in Junior High and didn't make it. So, when this super talented lady invites me to sing, I always feel really intimidated and unsure as to whether I really measure up to her standards.
Because of that, when I got the email inviting me to sing this year I felt like it was kind of a mistake that she asked me. Maybe her regulars couldn't do it and she was desperate. Maybe I was accidentally on the email list from a previous singing thing, but not one who was supposed to be on there this time. But I was going to have the opportunity to sing for leaders of my church, men I consider to be disciples of Christ, so I didn't care where the "mistake" might have been made, I was taking her up on it and I was going to sing!
Often I came home from practices feeling terrible, as I worried as to whether I had what it would take to do what this lady required of us. Anytime she would point out a mistake that had been made with a song, I was sure I was the one who had made it. I so wanted to do this, but I was so insecure about my talent.
In the end, I had a wonderful time. I was so thankful for the chance to sing, and especially to sing for the Seventies. I got to (through song) bear my testimony of the Savior to those men who are called to bear witness of Him throughout the world.
We sang in the board room of the Church Administration building, which I kind of liken to a High Council room…a large room with a big table in the middle. We stood in front of a beautiful fireplace on one side of the table, and the Seventies that were there were all on the other side of the table, lining the other side of the room. There was probably about 30 or so of them there.
The table in the middle of the room was decorated with gold fabric, Christmas village pieces, and wreaths decorated with red roses, white hydrangea, and oranges with cloves stuck in them. There were also lanterns on the table as well. It was such a beautiful setting, not only from the decorations, but from the room itself with it's high ceilings and warm wood wainscoting. The stateliness of the lobby (shown in our picture below) is similar to what it was like in the room we sang in.
Elder Maynes was the narrator of a program written by KBYU people to go along with the songs we were singing. He spoke of a book written by Charles Dickens to his children about Christ, about Handel and The Messiah, about the Savior’s birth.
How Far is it to Bethlehem
Masters in this Hall
What Child Is This?
Who Is This Babe?
An excerpt from the Hallelujah Chorus
O Holy Night
Here We Come a Caroling
The Holly and The Ivy
I Saw Three Ships
The First Noel
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We were accompanied by an incredibly talented piano player, as well as two flutes and a cello on a couple of the songs. We dressed like Old English Carolers.
Afterwards we were able to shake hands with many of them we sang to. I really enjoyed that as well. It was fun to chat with a couple of them for a minute or two, and I was so grateful for the chance to sing there. It was an experience I will treasure forever.
Over the course of this experience I had two instances where the Spirit whispered to me, "This applies to you." It is very tender to me to have felt those two instances, and it helped me put aside those unsure feelings I had been having.
The first was after our dress rehearsal at a Relief Society meeting. That performance was in a gym, where the acoustics were horrible. Our instrumentalists weren't able to be there, and overall as a choir group we felt like we really struggled with our performance as we could barely hear each other, let alone the piano. At one point during the program something happened that caused our director to make an incredibly sour face. After the program was over and we were discussing our performance, some of the singers wanted to know what we had done so horribly wrong to get her to make that face. As they questioned her about it she said something to the effect of, "It's usually NOT the ones that are worried that they aren't doing it right that are the problem. The ones who are worried are usually the ones that are doing ok."
The second experience was when we were having a closing party a few weeks later. The director was saying a few words, and she told us that she felt that we weren't asked to sing because of her talent, but instead felt like we were asked to sing because of our testimonies and ability to feel the Spirit, which was needed to be able to sing the way we did for the Seventy. That is something I desire greatly, to have a strong testimony and to be able to feel the Spirit. When I was talking about that on the way home from the party with Craig he said he also specifically thought of me when she said that.
All in all, it was an incredible opportunity. I was so thankful for the chance to sing of the Savior Jesus Christ at the time we celebrate His birth. I was thankful to sing to the Seventy, those who God has called to lead his church. I was thankful for the Spirit calming my worried heart, and helping me feel that there was a good reason I was asked to sing. I am thankful for music, which touches me so deeply and gives me such joy.
What a wonderful experience!
The director of this choir is a lady that is super, super talented in the music department. She was in my previous stake, and I have sung a few times with her in stake firesides.
Truth be told, even though everyone says I sing well, I personally have little confidence in my singing abilities. Part of this is because I have never taken lessons or ever sung in a school choir where I feel like I could learn what I need to in order to really be talented. I even tried out for choir in Junior High and didn't make it. So, when this super talented lady invites me to sing, I always feel really intimidated and unsure as to whether I really measure up to her standards.
Because of that, when I got the email inviting me to sing this year I felt like it was kind of a mistake that she asked me. Maybe her regulars couldn't do it and she was desperate. Maybe I was accidentally on the email list from a previous singing thing, but not one who was supposed to be on there this time. But I was going to have the opportunity to sing for leaders of my church, men I consider to be disciples of Christ, so I didn't care where the "mistake" might have been made, I was taking her up on it and I was going to sing!
Often I came home from practices feeling terrible, as I worried as to whether I had what it would take to do what this lady required of us. Anytime she would point out a mistake that had been made with a song, I was sure I was the one who had made it. I so wanted to do this, but I was so insecure about my talent.
In the end, I had a wonderful time. I was so thankful for the chance to sing, and especially to sing for the Seventies. I got to (through song) bear my testimony of the Savior to those men who are called to bear witness of Him throughout the world.
We sang in the board room of the Church Administration building, which I kind of liken to a High Council room…a large room with a big table in the middle. We stood in front of a beautiful fireplace on one side of the table, and the Seventies that were there were all on the other side of the table, lining the other side of the room. There was probably about 30 or so of them there.
The table in the middle of the room was decorated with gold fabric, Christmas village pieces, and wreaths decorated with red roses, white hydrangea, and oranges with cloves stuck in them. There were also lanterns on the table as well. It was such a beautiful setting, not only from the decorations, but from the room itself with it's high ceilings and warm wood wainscoting. The stateliness of the lobby (shown in our picture below) is similar to what it was like in the room we sang in.
Elder Maynes was the narrator of a program written by KBYU people to go along with the songs we were singing. He spoke of a book written by Charles Dickens to his children about Christ, about Handel and The Messiah, about the Savior’s birth.
We sang thirteen songs:
Noel Medley
Ding Dong Merrily on HighHow Far is it to Bethlehem
Masters in this Hall
What Child Is This?
Who Is This Babe?
An excerpt from the Hallelujah Chorus
O Holy Night
Here We Come a Caroling
The Holly and The Ivy
I Saw Three Ships
The First Noel
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We were accompanied by an incredibly talented piano player, as well as two flutes and a cello on a couple of the songs. We dressed like Old English Carolers.
Afterwards we were able to shake hands with many of them we sang to. I really enjoyed that as well. It was fun to chat with a couple of them for a minute or two, and I was so grateful for the chance to sing there. It was an experience I will treasure forever.
Over the course of this experience I had two instances where the Spirit whispered to me, "This applies to you." It is very tender to me to have felt those two instances, and it helped me put aside those unsure feelings I had been having.
The first was after our dress rehearsal at a Relief Society meeting. That performance was in a gym, where the acoustics were horrible. Our instrumentalists weren't able to be there, and overall as a choir group we felt like we really struggled with our performance as we could barely hear each other, let alone the piano. At one point during the program something happened that caused our director to make an incredibly sour face. After the program was over and we were discussing our performance, some of the singers wanted to know what we had done so horribly wrong to get her to make that face. As they questioned her about it she said something to the effect of, "It's usually NOT the ones that are worried that they aren't doing it right that are the problem. The ones who are worried are usually the ones that are doing ok."
The second experience was when we were having a closing party a few weeks later. The director was saying a few words, and she told us that she felt that we weren't asked to sing because of her talent, but instead felt like we were asked to sing because of our testimonies and ability to feel the Spirit, which was needed to be able to sing the way we did for the Seventy. That is something I desire greatly, to have a strong testimony and to be able to feel the Spirit. When I was talking about that on the way home from the party with Craig he said he also specifically thought of me when she said that.
All in all, it was an incredible opportunity. I was so thankful for the chance to sing of the Savior Jesus Christ at the time we celebrate His birth. I was thankful to sing to the Seventy, those who God has called to lead his church. I was thankful for the Spirit calming my worried heart, and helping me feel that there was a good reason I was asked to sing. I am thankful for music, which touches me so deeply and gives me such joy.
What a wonderful experience!
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