General Conference (My 5th)

Just a week after Messiah we provided music for three sessions of General Conference. Only those in the choir organization understand what I mean when I say, "Choir life is busy life. Busy life is blessed life." I feel very blessed to be a part of General Conference and to share my experiences about this time of my life.

We finished Messiah the week earlier and began rehearsals for General Conference the following Tuesday and Thursday.  The choir sings for the opening session of Conference (Saturday morning) and for both sessions on Sunday. There is a lot of music to learn and some to memorize.

My assigned seat was right on the edge of the choir. I'm grateful to have a seat.

Power of music during General Conference

The last hymn sung during the morning session was Mack Wilberg's arrangement of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" a hallmark of the choir. I don't remember ever hearing it sung in General Conference before. I found out later how powerful the message was for those listening around the world through social media. Watch it.

The gentleman weeping during the musical number is my friend, C. David Belt. He is a writer. He is a very kind and generous man. He demonstrated outwardly what we were all feeling inwardly. I was asked later how I keep from crying or weeping during songs. The reality? I do cry. I never want a close up on "Come, Come Ye Saints" because I have no shame and it's the ugly cry. Anyway, there are also other things we are focused on as well during the music: posture, breathe, vowel positioning, volume, blend, listening, directions from the conductor, memorization of the lyrics, dynamics, etc. What seems like "just singing" for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir actually incorporates a lot of inner discipline and focus. That's the reality. Yet, even with all of that going on in our brains the music, power and majesty of the hymns we sing can still move us to tears. It is a beautiful moment when everyone and everything comes together in one unified voice.

What kind of people are in the choir?

During a short break on Sunday morning before Music and the Spoken Word the men were treated to some donuts as a refreshment. I ate a powdered donut and had some on my lips. I decided to walk around and see how many people would tell me I had powered sugar on my face. Guess what? Everyone told me. Every single person. Why? Because these people look out for each other. It is an amazing group of people.

The new choir members also joined us. Unfortunately there are too many choir members right now so they were unable to participate in the Saturday morning and Sunday morning sessions. I looked out at the new members and felt so much love and enthusiasm from them. Their time will come.

I looked in the loft and recognized my now good friends who are going to be retiring this month and I felt sorrow. I love these people. We have experienced so much just in the past year together. ACDA, Tour, Christmas, Pioneer Day Concert, various performances and Broadcasts every week. We become friends. We learn about each other. We know of each others struggles. It will be a very sad day when it is time for them to leave.

Observations from the Square and Loft

Because I am at Conference all day Sunday we (as a family) decided to stay in a hotel downtown. It would be easier to rest and commute. It was a great way to spend conference together. I awoke on Sunday morning and walked to Temple Square. The streets were empty. It was a pleasant walk. When I arrived at the Tabernacle there was already large line of people in the stand-by line. I looked at them and smiled and thought of how wonderful to see so many people eager to receive the word of God. I prayed they would get into the session in my heart.

There are various things I can observe from the loft that people do not get to see. During the closing session of conference Elder Patrick Kearon spoke about refugees and our mission, as disciples of Christ, to love them and serve them. After he spoke President Uchtdorf introduced the intermediary hymn and you could tell from President Uchtdorf's voice he was moved by Elder Kearon's remarks. Probably because he was a refugee when he was a child in Germany. It was a tender moment and changed my perception about this issue.

I shared the following with some of my choir friends the day after Conference.

Conference is such a wonderful time for the church, the world and especially as a member in the choir. Joining our testimonies through music with the testimonies of the prophet and apostles is a rare and beautiful experience.

How it this my life? I'm so grateful.