Showing posts with label DMCO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DMCO. Show all posts

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Behind the Scenes

There were some really fun, really crazy, and really amazing things that happened last week both before AND after the DMCO concert that I didn't mention in my previous post.  But I don't want to forget a single thing about that experience, so here are a couple of glimpses behind the scenes.

So...you know how stuff finds me?  

Well, it does.  

It's always the greatest stuff, but it's also the most obscure stuff...like playing the part of a Lamanite mother in the Book of Mormon pageant, or being an adult leader for a youth mini mission, or playing the organ for Stake Conference (that was a total disaster, but such a great experience.)  Anyway, somehow Heavenly Father knows just the right people to whisper my name to so that I get to have the best experiences in my life.  Obscure, and totally unexpected, but oh so amazing experiences.

A couple of weeks ago, the DMCO Grand Chorus Manager, who I love and admire and just really really think is awesome, sent me an email and asked if I would be willing to head up the Decorating Committee for the concert.  That job description included: receiving the shipment of decorations that was being sent from EVMCO in Mesa, AZ; transporting it all to the Meyerson on the Thursday before the concert; and being in charge of getting everything set up in the concert hall.  I told her that I would be happy to receive and transport everything, but that I had no innate decorating ability and pitiful leadership skills.  She was undeterred and I was officially named Decorating Chair.  On Wednesday evening four very large boxes arrived at my house with more patriotic stuff than I've ever seen in my life, all of it on loan from the City of Mesa.  Craig and his dad skillfully loaded all of it into the van, along with all four of us, and we made the trek in ridiculously heavy traffic, down to the Meyerson Concert Hall to start decorating on Thursday afternoon.  


Three hours later when we started our final rehearsal, it looked like this...
Oh, I can't even tell you how fun it was to climb all over the balcony boxes in the Meyerson and to become intimately acquainted with that gorgeous building.  I had an awesome committee of very talented, helpful women, and we had a great time transforming the place into Americana Extraordinaire!  

After all the decorating, we started a speed run through rehearsal that lasted until 10:00pm...which wasn't actually very speedy.  But it was fulfilling and exciting and made me want to hurry up and get through the next 48 hours so we could just sing in that concert already!


On Saturday night, there were more memorable things that happened...
In that picture up there, I am the blue dress third from center in the very front row.  There were a handful of times during the concert when the entire choir left the loft and either exited to wait in the mezzanine lobby so the kids' choirs could sing, or we exited to run downstairs and sing in the middle of the aisles in the audience.  Can you see the stairs on either side of the choir loft?  Those were our exit and entrance routes...across the front row, and all the way to those far stairs.  They're not steep, but they are heavily lacquered, and in the dark, a little difficult to navigate.  (OK, fine, they probably aren't at all difficult to navigate but I can't see a thing in the dark.)  

I purposely wore flats on Saturday night because I knew there would be a lot of motion and a lot of standing throughout the evening.  On our first exit, I made it swiftly out of the choir loft, out to the lobby, down the marble staircase and into the aisles to sing To Be American with all the kids' choirs.  It was spectacular, and I kept thinking how grateful I was to be included in that beautiful song with those amazing kids.  

After the song, we had to make our way back up the stairs, through the lobby, and back into the choir loft...quickly!  As I got to the shellac-ed wooden stairs in the loft, I held onto the rail, and visualized myself gracefully walking all the way down and to the center of the front row.  But, somehow, I missed the second to the last step, and even though I saved myself from going right over the rail, or falling down completely and holding up the rest of the women coming in behind me, I twisted my ankle a little on the way down.  I heard a crunching sound that my ankle has made only once before when I signed up for a 6 week Boot Camp class and ran through a giant tire course.  And holy cow, did it hurt!  I hobbled to my spot, and then the room started to spin, and my head felt all fuzzy, and my ankle ached every time I put my weight on it.  I could see Glenn Beck moving around, but I missed everything he said.  I was mostly just trying to stay in an upright position and not pass out and distract anyone from the concert.  I prayed silently to keep it together, to keep standing, and for Glenn to hurry up and finish so I could sit down.  He didn't hurry.  And then there was a song...I'm not sure which one, but I made myself sing something just to remain coherent.  And right in the middle of it, I started to sway a little too much.  I had no choice but to grab the hand of the sweet older lady who sings quietly next to me and rarely says a word to anyone.  I've only talked to her a few times so I'm sure she was shocked that I was clutching her hand so tightly in the middle of a song that wasn't even one of the emotional ones.  But she kept holding onto my hand, and together we managed to keep me from falling into the percussion section, and for that I was very, very grateful.  We sat down after that song.  She smiled a concerned smile at me.  And eventually the room stopped spinning.  

I talked to that sweet lady (whose name I don't even know) just briefly after the concert and she was so kind and so concerned about me.  She stayed pretty close to me while I made my way through the bowels of the concert hall and found my way to Craig.  When I told him about my ordeal, he reached into his coat pocket and handed me two Naproxen...don't even ask me why he happened to have those with him.  I made it through the entire second concert and the take down afterward with no ankle problems.  None.  Miraculous, indeed.  When the Boot Camp incident happened in 2010, my ankle was bandaged, swollen and bruised for over a week.  

So here are the handful of things I learned from those (and a couple of other) choir experiences over the weekend:

Perspective.  Prior to the concert, I was really, really, really (you can add about 12 more reallys) stressed out about the one choreographed song we were singing.  Oh Susanna.  I hadn't once gotten the clapping and the words to come together in a rehearsal for me.  And all I could see in my head when I tried to visualize the music was the big giant word EMOTE that I had scribbled in pencil over the top of the whole song!  That's not my strongest skill.  I worried about that song all Friday night and all day Saturday.  Until I had the little ankle problem.  After that, I didn't care one bit about looking silly or messing up the words or the clapping sequence.  Once I made it to the Oh, Susanna part of the program, I only felt complete relief and gratitude that I was still standing in that choir loft.  Isn't it amazing how one little thing can shift your entire perspective in an instant?

Being Part of Something Big.  I loved helping with those patriotic decorations.  Not one person said, "Oh wow.  What beautiful decorating!"  Not one of the directors commented on the decorations at all.  I didn't hear a single person in the lobby after the concert talking about the spectacular decorations.  But I knew that I had contributed to the overall effect of the evening, both in the choir and on that little decorating committee.  As I was climbing around the balcony, I felt like one of those little mice in Cinderella...unobtrusively making things beautiful while everyone else was busy contributing in other ways.  And to look out on all those pretty stars and stripes out there while I sang made me infinitely happy and fulfilled.  That's the thing about MCO...it isn't about being a soloist or being seen.  There is no part greater than any other.  Every single voice, every instrument, and every behind-the-scenes organizer is necessary and essential.  

We Can't Do This Alone.  More and more often lately, I have experiences that remind me in very big ways that we are not intended to do things on our own in this life.  We were not sent to this earth to be independent and self contained.  We need committees.  We need companions.  We need friends.  And we need helpers.  I tried hard during that little ankle mishap to say positive things in my head, to think happy thoughts, and to will myself to keep standing when all I really wanted to do was let myself fall down.  And that worked for a little while.  But eventually, my individual strength and determination wasn't enough, and I had to reach for someone else's hand, and then hold onto it really tightly.  There are people standing by waiting to be that hand when we don't have enough strength to do it on our own.  I hope to have the opportunity to be one of those helpers the way that lovely woman helped me on Saturday night. 

I'm so grateful for the tiny little things sprinkled among the grand and the ordinary days in my life that remind me of a loving Heavenly Father.  I'm so grateful for all the experiences I have had with this choir so far, and for the many that will come in the future.  What an amazing thing to be part of something extraordinary and meaningful.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

DMCO

Thursday nights are DMCO rehearsals for us.  

Have I mentioned how much I love this choir?  

Well, in case I haven't quite convinced you, here's proof.  We're singing this in April...

It's just a folk song, right?  No big deal.  Well, it's not in my comfort zone, for sure.  I sing sacred, Broadway, and ballads…that's pretty much it.  But look at page four!  Those little x's are NOT the percussion line.  That's us…the choir is clapping for half a page!  And not just any old claps…these are the knee slapping kind.  And they're FAST.  Can I just tell you that I seriously almost curled up into a tiny little ball when they introduced this a couple of weeks ago?  And I've been in denial ever since.  

I have some very high standards about what I'm willing to do publicly.  

  • I don't sing solos.  (Fine, I may have sung a couple of solos, but I don't like it.)
  • I don't act.  (Well, unless it's for a Stake Book of Mormon pageant and I'm one of four women in the stake who looks like a Lamanite.) 
  • I don't participate in stage productions.  (OK, I did do a few of those in high school, but I would NEVER do that again.)  
  • I don't sing karaoke.  (Unless it's with the Rodriguez's…or the Thunell's…or maybe on a cruise ship…but that's it!)
  • I don't play charades.  (EVER)
  • And I don't sing with choreography, especially if it's the clapping kind and it requires coordination…and especially not if I'm standing on the FRONT ROW!

I have quit choirs before just because we had to SWAY.  It's true.  This whole clapping thing is an extremely big deal.  I cannot even visualize what I'm going to look like doing this.  It may be an epic disaster.  But fortunately there are 150 other people to look at and maybe no one will notice me.  OR…maybe the tubas will be big enough to hide me from the audience during this song...  

So, despite the nights I've laid awake planning escape routes, and even though I have less than zero confidence about my knee-slapping abilities, I'm staying in the choir.  That's how much I love it.  I will force myself to learn how to clap just so that I can sing How Great Thou Art at the end of this concert.  ugh…the things we do for art

Let me just say, though, that I think it's pretty sneaky that those Stewarts got us all hooked on the choir with the first semester of sacred, beautiful music before they chose to spring this little choreography surprise on us.  Very very sneaky… 

Friday, January 31, 2014

Passion

I read a blog post about this a few weeks ago...  

And then I saw this on Instagram yesterday…

I don't know why I'm always surprised when those repetitions happen in my life.  They happen all the time.  I should be used to them by now.  That's how Heavenly Father gets my attention, by putting things in my line of sight multiple times so that I cannot possibly ignore them.  I love this one.  Seeing it twice in just the past few weeks has made me more aware of the passions in my life.  

Do you know what I'm passionate about?  Music.  I love it.  I have always loved listening to it.   I don't have a favorite genre or style.  I just like anything that reaches me.  You know, the kind that makes you stop and listen, that makes you remember something, or that inspires you to do something.  Sometimes it's the lyrics.  Sometimes it's the voice.  Sometimes it's the instrument.  I hear music everywhere.  Even when it's completely silent, there's always a song in my head.  Always.  (Right now, it's that "Say Something I'm Giving Up on You."  Oh, I love that song.)

But as much as I love listening to music, that's not the real passion for me.  My passion is making music.  I love to play the piano and I love to sing.  

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a singer.  Specifically, Marie Osmond or Karen Carpenter.  I sang at the top of my lungs, all by myself in my room with the door closed.  In a family where musical talent was abundant and effortless, you would have thought that any natural talent I had would have thrived, but I didn't let it.  I was intimidated by my parents' beautiful voices and in awe at the way extended family members could come over and pick up ukuleles and guitars and burst into song.  Everyone in my family sang.  Even my sweet, humble, inauspicious 80 year old grandmother, had the most beautiful alto voice I've ever heard.  And when the mood struck her, she added harmony and layers to the music that stunned us all.  There was always singing at my house, but I rarely, if ever, participated in it.  I loved sitting in the middle of it, but never could bring myself to contribute.  Somehow, I talked myself into thinking that I wasn't in the same league as all those great singers in my family, so I never tried singing with them.  Somehow, I convinced myself that the risk was too great.  What if I was terrible?  Then what?  

My current family sings as naturally and beautifully as the family I grew up in.  In fact, Craig and I met in our high school choir and I was instantly drawn to his deep, bass voice.  But even as the matriarch of this family, and even though I know that I must be at least partially responsible for their musical talent, I still have a hard time mustering up enough confidence to sing so that I can be heard.  I'm much happier tucked safely into a small group, or better yet, a massive choir, like DMCO.  As long as I'm not the only one singing a part and my voice is never completely identifiable, I'll sing until the cows come home.  

Someone told me years ago that I needed to stop worrying about what other people think and just sing.  (OK, a few million people may have told me that same thing.)  I know that my greatest challenge with this particular talent I've been blessed with is having the confidence to use it.  

This passion isn't random.  It's been around my entire life.  And it isn't without purpose.  I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to do something with it.  And I'm pretty sure that if I've been given the passion, I've also been given the ability.  

DMCO started again last night.  The music is more challenging this time.  There are more choir members.  The directors have higher expectations.  And yet, I can sit through a two hour intense rehearsal of mostly sight reading, and not even notice that the time has gone by.  I could have stayed for another two hours last night.  I am invigorated and energized in the time I spend there.  I leave those rehearsals wanting to turn the music up in the car and sing all the way home. 

After two-hour rehearsals week after week for months, and then signing up to do it all over again, I have more confidence in my talent.  My sight reading is better.  My range has increased.  And my voice is just a little bit better than it was before.  That happens when you practice a thing, or exercise a body part, or use a talent…things magnify and you can't help but be better at them.  I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with this passion.  Maybe DMCO is it.  I most certainly love it there, and I love being numbered among that giant group of musicians who can move heaven and earth with it's amazing sound.   Maybe a solo career like Marie Osmond's isn't in my future, but just being an integral part of a really great choir? Maybe I'm just supposed to have enough confidence to sing so that my kids remember hearing my voice?  Whatever it is, I'm grateful for yet another opportunity to take a few more steps toward this passion and magnify this talent.  

Listen to this incredible arrangement of How Great Thou Art that we're singing this season…it's in the background until the end, but what the directors are saying is pretty amazing, too.  

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Overwhelmed and Fulfilled

I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful and successful our concert was last night.   It probably would just be easier to list the sweet tender mercies throughout the day and remind myself of the way Heavenly Father's hand gently guides everything we do.  
  • Savannah had to check herself out of school at 1:00pm with just the handwritten note I sent with her.  Her office secretary (or House Elf as we lovingly refer to her around here) is a bit skeptical and suspicious sometimes and tends to interrogate the kids when they leave school in the middle of the day (I'm sure that's the nature of the job when you work in a high school.)  But yesterday when Savannah handed her the note, the secretary asked where she was going and when Savannah said she was going to the Meyerson to play the part of Mary in a Christmas concert, that secretary's heart instantly softened and she let Savannah leave right on time.  
  • Even though we left later than we intended, and even though there was traffic, we made it to the Meyerson right at 2:30 for Savannah's dress call.  
  • I didn't have anything to do from 2:30 when we got Savannah into her rehearsal and 4:00 when the choir needed to be assembled in the concert hall.  But the choir president was roaming around the lobby looking slightly frazzled and happened to come and ask me if I would please sit at the desk and check people in.  Of course I could do that!  That is my all time favorite job!  I met so many nice people that I had not met in the three months we've been singing together.  And I finally put names to a few of the faces I've been talking to all this time.  It was a great way to spend that 90 minutes.  
  • Rehearsal lasted from 4:00 - 7:00.  Holy cow!  Intense, but amazing to see all the pieces fitting together.  The first rehearsal for us in two weeks!  Four different directors.  A complete orchestra who had never played through some of that music as a group before.  All the children.  Seating and reseating logistics.  Phew!  
  • My very prepared husabnd had thought ahead and picked up something for us to eat during our 20 minute break before the concert began.  We scooped up Savannah in her Mary attire and had a quick snack before going out there to perform.
  • A SOLD OUT symphony hall!  Imagine this place filled to capacity!  Absolutely unbelievable...
  • Memorized music.  I'm pretty sure I missed every single first cue of every single song.  But when I finally did come in on the second or third syllable of the second or third word, I knew every word and every note after that!  
  • Perfection.  Have you ever participated in a production where the final run through was a complete disaster and you wondered how it was ever going to come together?  Well, our final run through wasn't a disaster at all, but there were A LOT of little variables that could have become potential disasters in the concert…like the 4 - 6 year old children's choir that sang.  Like moving children and adults up and down out of that choir loft.  Like a million other things that I probably didn't even think about.  But every note of that performance last night was flawless.  All the little things that the kids did during the rehearsal, magically vanished during the performance.  It was like smoothing out the sheets and having not a single wrinkle left on the bed.  After each of the children's numbers, the choir was totally silent and in awe for a few seconds before we remembered to applaud.  
And this is by far the most amazing little miracle that happened last night…

Savannah and her Joseph counterpart, Tyler, had a REAL BABY to carry last night.  They rehearsed it ONE TIME with him before the choir and orchestra were even assembled, and then every other time after that, they used a doll.  Near the end of the performance, the lights dimmed on the choir and a tiny little light lit up that aisle just left of the center row of seats in the audience.  Joseph walked in front of Mary, carrying baby Jesus.  She followed him all the way toward the stage, completely in character, as the choir sang the most beautiful arrangement of O Little Town of Bethlehem that I have ever heard.  Joseph climbed the stairs up to the stage first, still holding a very silent little bundle that I assumed was the doll that they had had to substitute for a fussy backstage baby.   And then he reached out his hand to help Mary up the stairs and handed her the little bundle when she safely got to the top.  They continued to walk all the way to the other side of the stage where the manger and a little chair were set for them.  Mary carefully put the baby in the manger and then Joseph helped her sit down.  And that's when I knew it wasn't the doll!  Savannah was SO careful and SO deliberate when she laid that little bundle in the manger that I knew she was worried about waking an actual baby.  She's a good little actress, but she's also my daughter and I know her.  She sat and tended the little baby while Joseph stood watch over both of them through the end of O LIttle Town…and for the entire next song.  And that's where the miracle continued…the next song was O Come All Ye Faithful and starts with the most jubilant, majestic, and LOUD organ introduction ever…on that spectacular pipe organ right behind the choir loft.  The organist (who had been flown in from California just for this performance) played the grand entrance, the choir matched its majesty, and we filled that concert hall with the musical declaration of the Savior's birth and an invitation to Come Unto Him.  It was our final number to end the show, so it was BIG.  The crowd roared with enthusiasm and jumped to their feet for a standing ovation when we finished.  And then Mary picked up that little bundle out of the manger, and he was still…sound...asleep.  That was my favorite part of the night, I think…  singing that beautiful song, which happens to be my favorite, and watching my almost grown up daughter being very motherly with that sweet little Baby Jesus.  

The whole night was overwhelming and completely fulfilling.  

I wish that everyone I have ever known could have been at that concert.  It was the most spirit filled thing I have ever been a part of.  I cannot wait for rehearsals to start again in January and to see where this choir is going to go next!

We are so grateful for our dear friends who came to hear us last night.  Love these people!



Meanwhile…on a smaller stage…this little mermaid sister did a fantastic job!  And thank you to my other sweet friends who covered our absence at her opening night and made her feel like the star that she was.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Overwhelmed and Excited

My head is spinning and I feel a little like my brain has been replaced with oatmeal.  

The Little Mermaid opens tonight, so we took one very excited, very peppy mer-sister to the middle school at 7:00am for her backstage call.  She's not enjoying putting on all that make up, but she does love the end result.  There are lots of sparkles on those cute mer-faces!  I wish I could sneak back there with a camera, but since their filming the show, they aren't allowing any pictures of even the costumes.  

Since Craig and I will be at our DMCO concert tonight, we snuck in to the school to see the Little Mermaid at 9:00am.  That show was their final full dress rehearsal, and all the 6th graders from the surrounding elementary schools were invited to come.  Craig and I look nothing like 6th graders, but they let us sit in the back and watch anyway.  What an awesome show!  I am loving this experience for Emma.  She looked so confident and outgoing up there on that stage.  It's kind of thrilling to see your kids excel at something they've worked really hard for.

As soon as LM ended, Craig dropped me off to get my hair done for tonight's concert, and he ran to the grocery store to stock up on bread, milk, and propane tanks for the winter storm that is supposedly headed our way.  Isn't Texas weather the craziest, most fickle thing on the planet??  It's difficult to prepare for 10 degrees and icy when it's 72 and sunny right now.  For heaven's sake, Craig and McKay played golf yesterday afternoon!  

We are home for a very brief lunch and then as soon as Savannah gets home at 1:15, we're off to the Meyerson Symphony Center.  Savannah's call time is at 2:30.  Did I mention she's going to portray Mary tonight as the choir sings O, Little Town of Bethlehem?  She and her Joseph counterpart will be wearing authentic Bethlehem costuming and will be met by an acting coach to help them for their 5 minute segment of the concert.  She's even carrying a REAL baby!  I am so grateful for and in awe of that mother who let her child be Baby Jesus in this production.  Savannah is so excited.  These directors seriously have left NOTHING to chance.  Every breath of this performance will be planned, rehearsed, and expected.  What an amazing experience.  
And this is where we will be singing.  Can you even imagine?  I have only ever been a member of the audience in this gorgeous venue.  I can't even tell you what it will be like to sing for a sold out symphony hall.  Have I said "amazing" too many times?? 

OK, time to orchestrate the carpooling and food for three other children, make ten more phone calls, and get dressed for this thing.  I'm sure I will be exhausted tonight, but I will definitely post tomorrow about how everything goes.  

I am so grateful for the people who make use of the handful of talents my little family possesses.  I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in the presence of excellence.  And I hope that the people who attend tonight will feel the same powerful spirit that we have felt each time we've sung this beautiful music.