A Master Class in Refinement

It probably comes as no surprise that I see every rehearsal with the choir is a Master Class in choral singing. People from around the world would (and do) pay for the expertise of Mack, Ryan, Rebecca and all the staff to teach them in workshops or clinics and I get their instruction every week for free. Seriously, how unfair is that? It's a really rare gift and a huge blessing.

I didn't know the plural of cello was "celli" did you? Yeah, I learned that in choir. Along with a bunch of other stuff that I am not going to share in this blogpost but will probably write somewhere to hand down to my posterity. This is good stuff and I want them to know.

Choir School, Rehearsal and In-service training

So we are trained, trained and the training continues all year, every year. All because we can always improve.

You can tell the difference when you listen to recordings of the choir from years past. Go on, listen to it and then listen to the choir today. Vastly different and much improved. This is not knocking earlier generations of the choir. All I'm saying is that  we are like the church as a whole. It has grown and improved over time. The church organization of 1970 is vastly different than the church of 2016. Nothing against the church of 1970 but we have evolved and improved.

The choir will continue to improve and someday some yahoo bass will write the same thing about our choir group in the future and to be honest I hope he does. It will show that the choir is constantly improving.

To help us continue learning we have multiple training sessions throughout the year.

In addition to rehearsals and choir school we also have inservice trainings every year. During these trainings each section are taught additional skills specific to their part. This year our inservice was taught by Rebecca Wilberg and a voice teacher from BYU and Ryan Murphy. The instruction was so specific and our rehearsal was so focused we were able to pick out problem areas as a section in relation to everyone in the choir. The instruction was stellar. I came back having learned some very useful skills during these inservice rehearsals.

Master Class in Choral singing

Every week I go to choir I am reminded of just how much I have to learn when the conductors work with us to improve our sound.

Rehearsals are focused on some very specific things:
high vowel placement
singing in tune
staying together
using our time wisely

It's been interesting to see our directors help us reach these goals. Despite training us and instructing us we often fall short. Still they are patient enough to work with us and help us improve. Are we getting better? I think so but the overall message from Mack Wilberg is that we can always improve. Always. I have always appreciated this from Mack and Ryan. We are constantly moving forward. The choir, I know, will go places I never imagined once I am no longer a part of the group.

Master Classes and lessons in self-improvement

The lessons I learn in choir are also relevant to my personal life. It can't help but bleed over into my personal life. These lessons have helped me be a better person.

Here are a few lessons I have learned personally from being in the choir that are not singing related.

• There is always some way to improve in everything you do.
• There is always some thing new to learn.
• You are only as good as your last performance.
• Do the best and move on.
• Do your homework and be prepared.
• Don't waste time. Get it done.
• Enjoy it and look like you enjoy it.
• Surround yourself with great people.

I continue to soak up all the information and all the knowledge I can from rehearsals. My hope is to continue to improve as a person and as a member of the choir.