MoTab and Me in Mpls

I was invited at the last minute to attend a concert of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2013 Midwestern Tour, which ended yesterday.  The last time I saw them perform live was during their 2001 tour of the Pacific Northwest.  They stopped by for a performance in Pocatello, ID where I was a music undergrad at Idaho State University.  The choir invited the ISU Choirs to perform the last two numbers on the program with them.  (I think we sang their usual "enders" Come Thou Fount and the Battle Hymn.)  It was an incredible concert, of course, and I have always felt very grateful to have had the chance to sing with MoTab.

So, when I was invited to go yesterday, I jumped at the chance.  I arranged babysitting (Thanks, Maggie and Spiff!), and took the afternoon and evening off from being a Mommy to resume my previous occupation as a musician.  It felt like coming home.  I am such an inactive musician these days that this really felt like something from a previous life.  But there I was in the audience with my music hat on, analyzing the program line-up, looking forward to certain favorite composers, arrangers or styles, and reveling in every last perfect note.  So fun!

And seriously, what an amazing group, all singers and instrumentalists.  I am always impressed by Motab's flawless diction.  We, as the audience, can understand every word they sing, which is no small feat for a choir of over 300 members.  I also remembered about all the things that make a choir experience wonderful--the phrasing, the subtle dynamics, technical expertise, the sheer volume they produce, etc.  And I felt quite sad that I will never be able to bring those kinds of experiences to my little ward choir because we just don't have the time to work on anything but note-learning.  Sigh.

Here is my critique of the program (if I can be allowed to critique MoTab):  They sang a fabulous "Music of the Master's" section, which included three numbers by Dvorak, Gretchaninov and Rossini. The judgy-musician-snob in me was severely disappointed when they didn't perform their Gretchaninov number in Russian.  They sang it in English in an effort to be approachable to the public.  I wanted authenticity!  I adore the rich depth of Russian choral music, and singing it in English deleted an entire layer of richness and intensity.  It took me half of the concert to get over that one.

They did a couple of Spirituals, which included a solo appearance from Alex Boyé.  Had it not been for his awesomeness, I'm afraid that I'd have to give a thumbs-down to MoTab singing Spirituals.  Technically, they are perfect; it sounds so good.  But they lack the proper spirit.  It's hard for me to get on board with the idea of all the middle-aged white Mormon men and women, singing popsicle straight to the lyrics of "Rock-a-My Soul."  It should be sung like this.

I was also slightly bored through a lengthy section of highlights from Musicals (White Christmas, State Fair, Fiddler, The Music Man).  I easily lost my interest in those popular and sing-songy songs, especially after they had highlighted their incredible versatility with many more technically difficult and interesting numbers.  Again in the effort to be pleasing to the public, I feel that it was a cop-out.  A beautiful, pleasing, enjoyable cop-out.

The absolute highlight of the whole experience for me was...(drum roll, please)...meeting the principle organist, Richard Elliot!  My friend who took me is old friends of Elliot and his wife.  We met up with them and ate dinner together before the concert!  They are both talented musicians (both studied at Eastman!!!), and I have always been in awe of anyone who can handle playing that 5-manual pipe organ at the Conference Center, and he does it so beautifully.  Oh, and he's super nice, too.  There is probably not a nicer man anywhere.  Who knew that famous musicians could be geniuses and nice?!  My grad school prof didn't get that memo.

Here is an unheard of picture of me on the ol' blog.  I'm so excited to meet him!!!

I am Star Struck.

So, that was my one-day vacation from motherhood.  I returned to a part of myself that I love, thoroughly enjoying and appreciating every moment of my freedom.  Then today, I dove head-first right back into my mommy job.  I babysat a 2-year-old girl all day.  Between Hobbes and her taking off all their clothes (I'm Nakie!), running in separate directions, and spending long and frequent moments in the potty (potty training toddlers!!!), let's just say that it was a long day, and I am very grateful for my little impromptu vacation yesterday.

I heart great music.  Soul rejuvenated.