Parking for Rehearsal 9-20-14

I have had lots of phone calls and texts tonight and a few comments here about the parking for tomorrow. You can absolutely park at the Conference Center tomorrow. :) We won't have the general public to compete with when it comes to parking like we will for the following week so you can indeed park there.

For the 27th, the day of the broadcast, you will need to carpool with one of the approved drivers who will have a parking pass as the Conference Center will not be an option. Please start making plans now.

Are you READY?

Our dress rehearsal at the Conference Center snuck up on us super fast! Can you believe it is already tomorrow? :) I wish I could put all of my excitement into a blog post! I just wanted to remind you of a few things for tomorrow:

- 1st: Please come in your approved outfit. This is a dress rehearsal and you will be 'shifting' around in seats so that collectively as a choir you present 100%.

- 2nd: Please please please leave your homes early tomorrow. We need to be at the check-in/registration by 8:30am. The door you need to be at by 8:30am is Door #8 on the West Side of the Conference Center. You will be receiving your credentials for the following week so make sure you are here!

- 3rd: Family members are welcome to attend the dress rehearsal tomorrow. :) Yay!! Please have those coming to support you enter through Doors #15 and #16. Those doors will open at 9am.

- 4th: PLEASE remind those family members that will be in attendance tomorrow that this rehearsal WILL BE recorded so we will ask that best manners and reverence take place.

- 5th: Rehearsal is set to begin promptly at 9am. Please don't be late to check in. If you need a ride or know someone who does, please get in touch with your ward choir manager to get this resolved.

- 6th and Last: Come ready to sing your hearts out. I have spoken with many of you throughout this week and your concerns are completely valid but please know that our Heavenly Father is mindful of you and of your hard work and efforts you have each put into this choir. He is going to buoy you up and His angels will attend. You ladies are incredible and those of us 'behind the scenes' continue to be amazed and taken back at how beautiful you sound.

Looking forward to seeing each of you tomorrow morning.

A Spiritual High

I say this each week. I know I do. But this week there was something very different about you as a choir. This week there was more. There was something about your countenance as you each walked into the cultural hall and checked in. There was a different way about how you found a seat and how you readied yourself during the warmup music. There was a difference this evening that left me walking out of the Stake Center on a spiritual high that I don't know if I want it to end.

Tonight we had the blessed opportunity to have Sister Jean Stevens as our guest who would share a spiritual thought with us. Do you want to know what I loved most about Sister Stevens? Before the rehearsal began she was wandering among you and introducing herself to you. She was asking names and giving hugs. She was smiling and laughing. She showed to us that she too is a Daughter of our Heavenly Father and that she loves us. As I spoke with a Mom about her daughters hair clip that would not work for this particular choir, Sister Stevens leaned down to this young Primary aged girl and with a smile on her face said "But I want you to know that you are beautiful and your hair clip is beautiful too". She then wrapped this young gal in her arms and sent her on her way to find her seat. This incredible woman stood among us this evening and we are blessed to have had such an opportunity.

Sister Stevens spoke about how Magna brought back fond memories for her from when she was a young child as her Father was born here. She stated that she still comes out each year as her Grandparents are buried here as well. She reminded you just how much she loves you and how as she listened to you warm up that she feels connected at the heart with each of you. She spoke of how she was able to look at each of you and that she was grateful to the Lord for allowing her to love you on a level she never knew was possible.

Sister Stevens spoke of sacrifice and how she recognizes that you are each committing your time to this choir. She spoke to the Primary girls and validated that they are right that this is hard! This takes a lot of time. But she also spoke to them (and to the rest of us there) that when we sacrifice and give to the Lord, he doesn't forget that. The Lord has promised that He will reward you and He has taught us that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.

Sister Stevens spoke of our beloved Prophet, President Hinckley. She shared with us a story he told of when he was younger and attended a Priesthood session. During this session they sang "Praise to The Man". He stated that he would never forget the power and the Spirit that was brought forth through that song and the presentation that the choir gave when singing. Sister Stevens said "You are singing of Jesus Christ and His love for you. You are singing of the joyful meeting we will have as we join as Daughters of God." There will be many sisters among us that evening. Not just in the Conference Center but worldwide who are going to be able to hear and more importantly feel the words of the songs in which you are preparing to sing. There may only be one, but there may also be hundreds who will take away an experience that will touch their lives and perhaps commit them to follow the Savior even more. The potential of good that can come from this meeting is phenomenal.

President Packer said "We are able to feel and learn very quickly through the power of music that otherwise we would have learned very slowly". Being a member of this choir is a blessing but more importantly, it is a life changing event...if we allow it to be. The Lord has said He will "be there with you on your right hand and your left. My Spirit shall be in your heart and my angels will be around you."

Sisters, as you finished off the rehearsal this evening with 'I Am a Child of God', I don't know if there was a dry eye in the building. You truly have angels round about and who are singing these pieces along with you. I am so grateful that I was able to listen and to watch as you presented your hard work this evening.

Downloadable "I Am A Child of God"

Yay for little sisters who can make magic! Thanks again to mine who has come to my rescue again! Below you will find the downloadable links to the "I Am A Child of God" pieces.

"I Am A Child of God" High Part

"I Am A Child of God" Middle Part 

"I Am A Child of God" Low Part 

New Music and Special Guest

Okay ladies...we have the final parts up for the Rehearsal Music. :D My sister is working on the downloadable pieces as I type up this post so I will get that loaded as soon as I have it. (Thanks Mary!) If you click on the Rehearsal Music tab up top you will see the "I Am A Child of God" parts at the end of the list. Please be sure you take a listen and start practicing so you are ready for tomorrows rehearsal.

Now...our special visitor tomorrow will be Sister Jean Stevens, First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency.

Is she not so incredibly beautiful?! I love her smile myself because it is genuine and you can see even in a blog post online that she is genuinely happy and genuinely loves the calling in which she is currently serving. Sister Stevens has served in Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary before accepting the calling of First Counselor in the Primary General Board. Sister Stevens and her husband, Mark, are the parents of five children and have nine grandchildren. We are excited to have Sister Stevens join us tomorrow for our rehearsal as we get ready to cross off one of our last few times we will meet before we sing to the world.

See you all tomorrow!

Last Song Update and Do you know these ladies?!

Ladies...blogger is giving me a bit of a headache at the moment and I am trying to work through it but I have your last song to add for rehearsal practice. :) Yay and a huge THANK YOU to Sister Tall for getting it over to me. Fingers crossed I will be able to manipulate blogger soon.

Now...onto some fun 'Get to Know'. You see these two amazing women each week as you are at rehearsal and we have all come to love the both of them. So, sit back and get to know your Choir Director and Choir Manager.

Sister Amy Winder (is going to probably pummel me for putting her on here) is our fearless and fun Choir Manager. You guys, she puts in so much time and effort into this and she is working around the clock to ensure you all have what you need and that this experience is one you won't ever forget. We are all blessed and our lives are going to be better for having her in it.

Here are some of Sister Winder's favorites:
- Favorite Primary Song: "If the Savior Stood Beside Me"
- Favorite Flavor of Jelly Bean: Dr Pepper
- Her favorite season? Summer! She gets to clean out her classroom (can you imagine what 6th graders do to a classroom?!)
- Does she do her homework? She says ALL THE TIME! (red light, in my sleep, etc)
- How many pairs of shoes does she own? 10
- Is her room more clean or messy?: Clean (except for her roommate!)
- Favorite cereal: Honeycomb
- Who does she look up to and why?: Her grandparents. They were all great examples of charity.

And last but certainly not least...our darling Choir Director, Sister Erin Tall. Do you guys love her as well? She is something stellar I tell ya. She came to the first rehearsal more than a little bit under the weather and still maintained her super chipper and happy self. She continues to show up and not only teach and help make you sound like angels singing but she is so positive and is genuinely concerned about each of you and what you will get out of this experience. I love that we get to share a few short hours with this beautiful woman each week.

Some of Sister Tall's favorites are:
- Her favorite Primary Song: "A Child's Prayer"
- Favorite Ice Cream: Rocky Road
- What does she feel is her best feature: Her smile (and I think we can all agree that she has a great smile!)
- Her favorite Season: Fall! She loooooooves the cool weather and leaves
- Favorite color: Red (Go Utes!)
- How many pairs of shoes does she currently own: guessing around 30 pairs
- Is her room more clean or more messy: "My room is NEVER messy. Except for today. and yesterday. and for the last month, I'd say. Ugh. It'll get better right?"
- Who does she look up to and why? Her parents, her husband, and her children are just a few. 'I look up to my maternal grandparents a lot'

We are blessed ladies to have such terrific ladies guiding and directing this choir we get to be a part of. These two are the cream of the crop that is for sure. Thanks for all you do Sister Winder and Sister Tall!

Dress Approval Success and LOTS of Updates

Holy cow you guys! You were AMAZING on Sunday and your apparel was spot on. I was stressing for each and every one of you these last few weeks and I prayed that all would work out and it did! I cannot tell you how beautiful you looked from the front of the chapel. I found myself completely taken back at how powerful you sound with your voices and included this week was just a complete sense of unity as you all blended even more so in your attire. You ladies have created the most beautiful choir and I feel so blessed to be able to continue to be a part of this each and every week.

Thank you for arriving early and for coming in your outfits. Those of you that we have worked with since last night, thank you. I know being told 'no' was not easy but I am grateful for your patience and understanding as we try to get the look just perfect. Please know we are not trying to be picky but rather we are trying to fulfill the wants of our beloved First Presidency and the other Boards that serve.

LOTS of updates took place this week and I want to touch on each of those but first lets talk about how wonderful our Spiritual Thought was that we were able to listen to by Sister Reeves. I loved how she talked about the story in the Ensign on how this Missionary 40 years after serving returned to visit. While he was visiting there was an opportunity to have a talent show. Things were going well until one gentleman took his particular talent on a sideways path. This missionary began having thoughts and offering internal prayers to our Heavenly Father on what he could do to make this a better experience. The thought came to him very clearly that he would share a talent that he continued to pray would change the course in which this was headed. When his turn arrived he began to sing "I Am a Child of God" and before he knew it others were joining him in their own language. The spirit of the meeting was changed with a simple song.

Sister Reeves reminded us again that although this broadcast will be seen around the world, and the words spoken will be translated into the appropriate language, the music will not. When the words that come out of your voices are in English, they will remain in English. You have the power in your countenance and in your voice to change the life of maybe just one person, maybe one hundred, the number could be uncountable. As a music lover myself, I have to tell you that I couldn't agree more with her! You each touch my heart, down to my soul, each week. I cannot imagine the impact you will make as you present these incredible pieces during the Broadcast.

UPDATES:

Dress Rehearsal at the Conference Center: Saturday, September 20th

- You will need to be at Door #8 on the West Side at 8:30am for check in. This is where you will receive your credentials for the following week along with the tickets as promised.
- You will need to be in your Broadcast approved attire.
- Your family members are invited to come join us as we have this rehearsal. Please have those members enter through Doors #15 and #16

Broadcast Performance Day: Saturday, September 27

- Please plan your carpool plans now. There will be limited parking and parking passes available at the Conference Center. Please get with your ward coordinators to make sure you have arranged getting yourself and/or the younger children in your wards in a carpool.

- If you have Primary aged girls who are the only members in their family performing, please get them a 'Choir Buddy' within the choir so they know they have someone to account for them. 

- You will need to arrive at Doors #1 and #3 at 2:00pm. This is for members of the choir only.

- We will be having a light lunch/dinner (linner??!) at the Conference Center. Those of you with any kind of allergy that did not speak with Sister Crockett on Sunday, please please please find her this next week and touch basis with her!

- If your daughter is singing and you are not, you will not be allowed inside the Conference Center when she is dropped off. You will need to be in line and enter with the General Public at 4:30pm.

Rehearsal Request for Younger Girls

It has been brought to Sister Tall's attention that some of our younger Primary aged girls are having a very difficult time seeing Sister Tall during rehearsal. We are asking that from this point forward, if you have Primary aged girls singing that are with you, in your care, are your daughters, etc to please find a place to sit up front with them so this is not a continual problem. If you do not have any of these younger girls we are asking that you allow the front seats to be open for them. We want to give these sweet girls the best opportunity we can and by allowing them to see Sister Tall and follow her direction that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Sardine Friends

Thank you thank you! for squishing in and becoming close sardine friends this week. Sister Winder is absolutely right in that the acoustics in the building are not so fantastic but by your cooperation and willingness to work together, this weeks sounds were even better than they have been. Please continue to file in and get cozy with your fellow choir member.

Wardrobe Needs

We still have a few ladies who are looking for tops so if you have any extras you are willing to loan or donate, please let me know. A call, text, or email works and I will get back to you as quickly as I can. There is a Sister who called me who has a 4x Burgundy top and I have misplaced your phone number. If you still have that top, can you contact me? I have another Sister who could use that if it is still around.

CD's of Rehearsal Music

I have been busy burning CD's of the rehearsal music for those of you who stopped by at the end of practice last night. I ended up with over 50 to burn so rather than try to hand deliver each of these to you, I am happy to arrange a time with you to stop by my home this week or I will also have them at rehearsal on Sunday. If you want to stop by, please call or text and I will make it work to get it picked up.

Phew...I think that is all (for now!). Thank you again for all of your hard work and dedication to this choir. Each and every one of you brings something different to this and that is what continues to make you sound angelic as you sing these beautiful arrangements. We will continue to pray for each of you to be able to learn, memorize, and take to heart each of these pieces as you work throughout the week on them. We love you and are grateful for each and every one of you.