What is it like? Chorale

What is Chorale like? It's like going to kindergarten only better.

Chorale is a mandatory part of the Choir School. It is training for potential first year members. It is a refresher course for second year choir members. It runs in conjunction with choir school and begins in January and ends with a final concert in mid April. After successful completion of choir school and participation in chorale one is invited to become an official member of the choir. 100% attendance is required for choir school and chorale. Chorale is held underneath the Tabernacle in a recording room. I have included a picture of the recording room above.

Choir school helps new members learn the expectations and logistics of being in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Chorale is where all those lessons are put to practice.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
"I fear I am writing a requiem for myself."

This is my second year in Chorale and we are now working on Mozart's Requiem in D minor (K 6.26) under the gifted hand of Dr. Ryan Murphy. I really should devote some time to write about Ryan because he truly is a gifted musician and a hilarious teacher. He and I share the same type of humor. He can be random and sometimes irreverent without actually being irreverent. For example, he can hear a melody and immediately find a similar rock, soul, classic, song similar in chord progression and remix them. If he were not a Choral Conductor he would be an awesome DJ. I know he could mash and remix songs like nobody's business. I wonder if he would do a choral mashup of choir hits. Hmmm. That is a million dollar idea right there. You are welcome. I digress. 

Dr. Ryan Murphy. Associate Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Chorale is a place for learning, application and for experimentation. It is like a sandbox of sorts for us as we are allowed to explore the texture of our own voices within the fabric of the group. Chorale is very different than being in the loft. Here are some of the differences:

• We are asked to provide feedback on what we are hearing during rehearsal and to share it with the group.
• We are asked to try different approaches to singing. (For example, we are singing this piece louder than we would sing anything in the loft.)
• People can stop the rehearsal to ask questions.

In the loft (upstairs in the Tabernacle) these things would undermine the rehearsal process especially with 360 people in the choir and additional people in the orchestra. It would be impractical to stop rehearsal for every little concern or question. Can you imagine how long rehearsals would run if this happened? Of course, there is a way to have questions answered in the loft. For example, if I had a question about anything I could ask one of two section leaders. They know just about everything and if they didn't know they could find out quickly without interrupting the rehearsal process. It is really an efficient use of time.

Chorale is held on Tuesday evenings with an occasional Saturday. Regular choir rehearsals are held on Thursday. So for the first two years of membership in the choir it is required to attend Tuesday, Thursday, some Saturdays and Sunday morning for the Broadcast. What I cannot emphasize enough to people who want to join the choir is the time commitment. You can't be a world class choir with minimal practice. Anything of excellence takes time. This includes time in rehearsal and time at home on your own. Everyone does preparation at home too. It is all part of the deal.

So what is Chorale like? It is like going to kindergarten. We have time to learn basics, we have time to play around with what we are learning and we also have cookies. (During our Saturday rehearsals we often bring cookies to share with each other after rehearsal.)

After a Saturday rehearsal eating cookies.