Surfacing...

...from two CD projects, several trips and an ever-insistent Relief Society calling has left me wondering...did we have a summer? I missed it somehow. :)

Allyse's CD project is done, and the sheet music is posted. I really need to do something to convince people that the arrangements on that album are not yet in print or I'm going to spend waaay too much time answering inquiries about them.

James's CD project is close, and the sheet music will be posted in the next week or so. I got a jump on the new year by including a song based on next years youth theme in this project, so that will be part of it.

The trips are over, for the time being.

And last but not least, I am no longer the RS president. Am I sad? Nope. I still have all the women I love-it's not like I'm moving away or something--without the meetings and paperwork to go with it. :) No new calling yet...shhh!... don't tell!!! so I'm trying to put my life back in order before the next adventure starts.

What time is it anyway?

We just returned from two lovely weeks in England, and my sleep schedule is still skewed, so I guess posting about the trip is the thing to do at 2 a.m. :)

This trip was something I've been looking forward to forever, and I finally worked up the nerve to hover over the Atlantic for eight hours with the help of flight anxiety meds. It's amusing that after flying over and back I have seen not one glimpse of the ocean from the air, having slept the entire flight both ways. Hence, the jet lag.

So here's the trip in pictures, since words don't do it justice, especially at this time of night! A word of warning: this is nothing more than a day-by-day account of two weeks spent playing tourist. If you're not into long-winded travelogues... skip this! You've been warned...




We looked at all the usual touristy stuff in London, though this was actually just a whistle-stop sort of tour and we didn't really see much in depth. This picture was taken from the London Eye.




Bath was the next stop. Here's James, Dennis and Fran at the Royal Crescent. All alike. I'd hate to be a seven-year-old trying to find my way home from school. Supposedly Johnny Depp owns one of these, but he missed us. Next time. This was taken on one of two rainy days in two weeks. I'd have felt cheated without a rainy day in Bath.





The Roman baths are huge and fascinating, and the tour is very cool.






The Crown Inn at Bath. Every town seems to have a "Crown Inn." This one was very quaint and begged to have its picture taken, so I obliged.






The little village of Castle Combe was like stepping back in time. It also made us feel like giants--everything but the church was on a very small scale.




Lunch in a genuine English pub in Castle Combe, where I was the recipient of a none-too-friendly look for ordering water. (Well, really... they had only Pepsi products.) Funny, while in England (I should say "whilst" but I can't bring myself to do it), we ate KFC, Indian, Italian, some sort of African-can't-remember-which-country, Japanese, Chinese... all sorts before we finally got around to good old fish and chips.



I did, however, discover these, thanks to Fran. Cornish pasties... mmmmm.... so nice. I'm glad we don't do these in America. I need to go on a serious diet, and these would make it just about impossible.



Here's a look at a wild Cornwall bay, complete with caves, from the climb to Tintagel castle. If you're looking for a picture of me to prove I was actually present on this trip, I'm in this one. ;)




Here's a picture of the pretty little B&B we stayed at in the absurdly charming Cotswold village called Bourton-on-the-Water. It was a rather idyllic place, where we felt like youngsters, relatively speaking.







This meandering waterside walk...








...led to a walking trail along fields like this...









...punctuated with scenes like this. What a place.





Next was Chester where we walked the two-mile length of the Roman wall circling the city center (with only a short detour through a shopping mall). There were various cool things to look at and photograph...







...ranging from this totem pole made of dishes ("Be our guest...be our guest... yes I did sing it... who wouldn't?)...





...to the cathedral. Then we tried to leave and find the motorway, taking a small detour through northern Wales by accident. Driving in England was rather like a two-week version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Who needs Disneyland?



Speaking of driving, there was some interesting signage as we went along... signs on the motorway to "Crapstone" (not great stone, that), and "Antique Chairs" (hmmm), a sign in town to "Evolution" (for those who want to get a jump on the process) and one that said the speed limit was "20 for a good reason!"

The next stop was the newly-painted Temperance Institute in Southport. (No pictures... I think James is posting some on his blog if you're interested.) We attended the United Voice choir practice which was great fun. They sang "Born Is the Light Of the World" for me, which was lovely. (I tried to accompany... without music... on a small keyboard... I was pathetic.)


Friday we visited Lake Windermere, then came back to the Darwen Library Theatre (which has nothing to do with any library... weird name) where James was part of a show, regaling us with ballads, and at one point doing a rather brilliant impersonation of Roy Orbison. ;) Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead. Bah.



Then on Saturday, Lyme Park... the Pemberley of the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. Mr Darcy missed us... next time. I had Dennis stand in for him, though I couldn't convince him to go for a swim. (Funny how many people think that actually happened in the book.)


We stayed Thursday through Monday with the Loynes clan (wonderful people--I wanted to bring them all home with me), and they made sure we tried all the English food we could ask for. Crumpets (no, our English muffins don't compare), clotted cream and scones, fish and chips (I can do without vinegar on my chips, thank you), clotted cream and scones, the full English breakfast (English bacon is ever so much nicer than American bacon... but beans with breakfast?), and did I mention...clotted cream and scones? Heavens, I need to go on a diet!

Sunday night we did a fireside in the Chorley stake center at the Temple complex. James sang... of course... and he was fabulous... of course... stole the whole show. (Literally. He picked up the notes to my talk after his first song and left me looking a bit gormless at the podium, wondering what in the world I had done with it. I'm sure it was accidental. Truly.)

Monday, we visited Chatsworth, the Pemberley of the latest Pride and Prejudice (IMHO, possibly the worst adaptation of the book ever). The house was grand in an over-the-top sort of way--James asked if he needed to repent after looking at some of the murals on the walls and ceiling. Definitely.


The grounds were amazing. Here's the whole lot of us (see, I really was there) in front of the Emperor Fountain--an amazing feat of engineering you can Google and read about if you're interested.

Tuesday we had a short tour of Preston and the Church history sites there, then headed south to Oxford. We really had no time to explore it properly, so we'll save it for next time. Heh. Then I slept all the way home and am now... jet lagged.

Thus endeth the travelogue. The only one left reading at this point is undoubtedly my mum.

California Dreamin...

...though it's not a winter's day. Here in Seaside (where Holly and Kyle and Damien live) it's supposed to be summer, but it's not exactly warm. Kyle is studying at the Defense Language Institute, and they live on beautiful Fort Ord. If you've ever been to Fort Ord, you'll know just how TIC that comment is!

Damien is nearly two, and along with being Terminally Cute, he's practicing for the Terrible Twos. His parents will have to endure that--I just get to enjoy the cute. Grandmothers have it so good. Yesterday before Church he tangled with a PBJ. He eventually won, but the PBJ put up a good fight. This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice.

Let's see... since last time I wrote anything of substance here, I spent a week in Utah with Allyse Smith Taylor, working on her next album. One of the highlights was getting to meet her family and staying with her wonderful grandparents. Grandma makes a mean omlette... Allyse's mom sent in lunch a couple of days... I got to know Kneaders fairly well (mmm... good thing they don't have those in Colorado yet)... Dan Carlisle at Soularium studios keeps a well-stocked candy dish in the control room... in short... the whole week revolved around food, and unfortunately the aftermath is still haunting me.

I was hoping to be of some use in helping Allyse with Snow, but I'm not sure I was worth my board in that respect. It was fun to meet Dan and Jared at Soularium, Sam Payne, April Moriarty, Daron Bradford... fun to reconnect with Marvin Goldstein. Allyse's album should be out shortly, and the tracks really are lovely.

James and Francesca Loynes came over from England so James could do a couple of duets with Allyse, then they came on to Colorado to spend the next month with us. We recorded the tracks for James' next CD, and spent the remainder of the time playing silly games, sightseeing, and planning our trip over to England in September.

One highlight of their visit was July 4... Independence Day... and to honor, er... honour the occasion, they regaled me with our national anthem. It was something quite out of the ordinary to hear "...and the rockets' red glare... the bombs bursting in air..." done in proper British accents by singers costumed for the occasion... a red, white and blue tiara, bow tie, socks... I have pictures, but I think I'll let James decide whether or not to post one lest I leave myself open to retaliation.

They also cooked us up a proper English feast (complete with... goose fat?!) one Sunday--Allyse and Spencer and Snow came down for it. I know the British are accused of doing bland food, but this was marvelous. Taking them back to the airport in July was rather melancholy. That's the problem with visits... they always seem to end somehow, and you have to go back to real life.

Musically, the long and short of all this is... I have a whole fistful of new scores to post, in the unlikely even that I ever get them finished. (Okay, I'll get them finished... but it's taking forever.) I'll probably start adding them one at a time over the next few weeks--makes the updates much easier than doing it all at once.

Poetic Justice

The end... she said... the END... of 15 straight years of Seminary... no more Seminary ever she said.

Guess whose hubby will be teaching Seminary this year?

Okay, yeah, I'm a bit jealous. :)

One Thing At A Time

...is a good rule to follow. My to-do list is baffling my brain... so pick just ONE thing and do it, right? My calendar is making me cry, but I can only live ONE minute at a time, so just go with what's there, right? So, in the face of tiling my downstairs bathroom, cleaning carpets, weeding gardens... I picked ONE thing: "Update Blog." Heh... lazy. :)

Lots of fun miscellany at the moment (well, fun for ME anyway!)... to begin with... *****drum roll******* my grandson is now officially a member of the Primary Nursery! His mommy and daddy might actually get to hear a lesson or two on Sundays. :) Okay, you're dying to see a picture of him, yes?? Here's my beautiful Damien:




Funny, I could have sworn footballs were shaped differently.

Daniel, my youngest, graduates from High School on Friday. His last day of Early Morning Seminary (a before-school scripture study class for which he leaves home around 5:30 a.m.) is Tuesday. This marks the end of an era for the DeFord household--15 straight years of Seminary. Wow. At the Choral department awards night this past week, he received the "Outstanding Senior" award in his a cappella group--an all male ensemble called the "Inflatable Misconceptions." Here's a picture of my Daniel at the zoo awhile back:



A bit blurry, but sooo in character.


In the music world... I spent a couple of days last week with Allyse Smith Taylor and Marvin Goldstein, working through a dozen or so arrangements for Allyse's next project. Allyse has quickly become one of my favorite people in the world--having her so close (Denver) is a blessing--and her new baby Snow (perfect name for a Rocky Mountain baby!) is just beautiful. We had a good time trying to stay on task. Marvin is great for funny stories, and between us I think we crammed a couple of hours worth of work into two days... ;)

We'll be hitting the studio in June for a week--the CD should be out in August. This is Allyse's project--she's doing all the work, all the funding, calling all the shots... I'm just along for the ride. I'll be posting streaming audio so you can listen to her beautiful renditions when we finish. There will be two brand-spankin-new-never-been-heard-before songs on the album, and I'll post the scores for download when the recordings are ready. (It's going to be interesting trying to convince people that Marvin's piano arrangements don't exist as sheet music... he just takes the music that's available and goes to town with it.)

James Loynes will be singing a couple of duets with her on the album, and after we're done he and Fran will be coming back to my place... I get to keep them for a month this time! Life is good. :)

Smile.

This post has nothing to do with music. (Come to think of it, half of them don't, but hey... it's my blog!)

This YouTube video is long. 16 1/2 minutes long. But honestly, watching it was one of the nicest 16 1/2 minutes ever.



I love things that make me smile. ;)

Cold, Cold, Cold!

You know, here in Colorado Springs we are a spoiled-rotten-as-it-gets bunch. It's always amusing to talk to telephone support people who may be anywhere in the country or world, and hear them say, "Wow... Colorado Springs... you must be freezing!" The weather here is one of the best-kept secrets in the country. Lots of sunshine, bright clear skies most of the time, snow melts in a day or two, and through the winter you can count on half your days being shirt-sleeve weather, with maybe a hoodie thrown in for early morning or late afternoon. So when we get a couple of days in a row of reeeally cold weather, some of us get whiny. Like me. Ah well, they say you should play to your strengths, and whining is one of my specialities. ;)

I'm currently working on a song to support the LDS youth theme for 2009 (it's going to the vocalist today), and I must admit I'm curious about something. The theme is "...be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12) It's a great scripture, and a worthy theme for all of us, old or young.

The thing I wonder is why the first phrase, "Let no man despise thy youth..." was omitted. I'm sure there are good reasons--no quarrels with the theme as it stands, but... I think the pat on the back that phrase offers to our young people is a well-deserved counterbalance to all the flack they get for their driving skills and other perceived vices.

The young people of my ward (translation: local congregation of the LDS church) are wonderful kids. I love to sit next to them in choir, to hear what they're doing and what their concerns are, to let the girls steal my grandbaby when he visits, to see the excitement as young men who grew up too fast wait for their mission calls... Of course, I don't know them all, but if the ones I do know are any indication, they're great people, and are making a superb contribution to the world.

It's amusing that Paul would caution Timothy about youth--it seems funny to me, in our modern world where "young" is good and "old" is somehow less desirable. (The alternative isn't all that appealing, now is it?) At any rate, some of the people I love best are half my age, or half that, and I hope they include themselves in Paul's "no man," and never feel they're too young to make a difference.

Well, honestly.

You know, BYU's football season didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but there's always next year, and the basketball team is doing quite well.

I am not generally a Utah fan. However...

Why in the world is a 13-0 Utah team not even mentioned in the same sentence as "national champion??" The only team left undefeated in the country, solid in every respect, dominates #4 Alabama in the bowl game... and they're not deserving? I wish just a few of the AP voters who think for themselves and aren't in the hip pocket of the BCS would play the maverick and give them a vote.

/rant


***Yes, I am working on a song to support the 2009 youth theme for the year. It will probably be finished about the end of January. Sorry I'm slow... but life keeps getting in the way.***

On Tuesday Evening...

...I nearly cried for joy because... it's o v e r!!!! As a registered unaffiliated voter in Colorado, I unwittingly pasted a target on myself. I was precisely the voter they were looking for, and during the weeks preceding the election we were getting seven to 10 political calls a day--recorded messages for the most part, and all annoying. Thank heaven presidential elections are only held every four years.

Whatever you may think of the outcome of this election, I find it a wonderful thing that our country has progressed to the point where candidates of either sex and any race have a legitimate shot at the White House. I just wish the process didn't foster such rude behavior.

And there you have it... the sum total of my interest in politics.

My Grandbaby and His Mommy Are Coming To Visit!

Holly and Damien will be with me for a week in November and I am over the moon about it. (Kyle has to stay at school, unfortunately.)

I'm sure you're dying to see him, so here's my beautiful grandson:

Is this a future BYU linebacker or what? Holly says he loves to play piano and sing now, and knows two whole notes! A musical linebacker! Oh what a prodigy my grandbaby is!

He'll be turning one soon, so I'm thinking a birthday celebration is definitely on the agenda.

This past weekend we took Daniel off to a "Y Weekend"--a good excuse to attend the BYU/UNM game where my beloved Cougars became bowl-eligible at 6-0. (No, we didn't get that third shutout in a row, but in the last four games they've allowed a whopping 17 total points... not bad.)

Almost done with the new Christmas things... this week for sure... **crosses fingers**

4 and Oh my...

Two shutouts in a row... that's good stuff. BYU 44 WYO 0 (<---zero) . (Last time they had two consecutive shutouts the scores were... ***drum roll*** ...59-0 and 44-0.) I say let's make it three in a row, just for symmetry's sake.

Sorry to afflict you with football posts, but hey, 'tis the season.

'Tis also the season for the general RS broadcast. Elder Uchtdorf was beyond fabulous. My favorite quote: Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you, whether they are voices from without or from within. (No quotation marks... that's my rendition from a faulty memory. Read it when it's posted!)

Still mixing James's Christmas tracks--enjoying myself immensely. They'll be up in a week or so.

Good Times

Ah, fall...

My BYU Cougars are now 3-0 after shellacking UCLA 59-0 (yes you read that correctly) on Saturday, in one of the most amazing games I've ever watched. You know, I'm really a non-violent person... and football is certainly only semi-controlled violence from beginning to end. Why do I love this game?

A couple weeks ago I had a lovely visit from James and Francesca Loynes, from Southport, UK. We spent two and a half days together, and I only reluctantly agreed to let them leave. It wasn't really a proper visit... James and I worked most of the time, though Fran indulged herself in the dangerous sport of shopping. But we didn't see Pike's Peak or the Garden of the Gods, or anything. Next time!

Unlike the week Heather spent with me, we had no bulldozers or backhoes to contend with. Everything was very quiet--and we recorded Christmas music to our hearts' content... a few old things, a few new ones... and oh my, what a voice! I'm mixing tracks over the next couple of weeks, and I'll get them posted sometime around (hopefully!) the first week of October. We'll put them on CD as well, so my mother can have the 50 copies she wants... ;)

In the meantime... Wyoming is up next on the football schedule. Poor dears.

Silence

Remember the old Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence?" (If you do, you're getting old like me. ;) It's a funny thing, but sometimes we seem to be afraid of silence. I wonder why.

We visited my mom's fast and testimony meeting last week. (If you're unfamiliar with the term, "fast and testimony" meeting is a once-a-month worship service to which we come fasting and the time and mic are open to anyone who wishes to come forward and share their spiritual feelings with the congregation.) There was a lull for a couple of minutes, no extraordinary occurrence... and some nice man felt obliged to stand up because he "hated to see the time go to waste."

Well, since he was the stake president I didn't argue the point (if he'd been my stake president it might have been different) but... really. It's such a wonderful time to feel the spirit, to ponder in a beautiful, somewhat quiet (depending on the kiddies) setting, and I've never once felt that such silence was wasted time. Ah well... different strokes I guess.

On a related note. My third daughter, Amy, mentioned the other day that one of her favorite times in church is when it takes longer for the priests to break the bread for the sacrament than it takes for the congregation to sing the sacrament hymn. She absolutely loves sitting quietly, listening to the organist play, and just thinking and feeling. I hadn't really thought about it, but she's right. Those are valuable minutes. I hope the organists of the church know what a blessing those minutes are and feel the appreciation Amy and I are sending their way.

Tomorrow I'm visiting my grandbaby! (And his parents, of course. ;)

Tomorrow I head out to Seaside, CA, to see my adorable Damien and his mommy and daddy. I will try my hardest not to be an obnoxious MIL, but I retain the right to be the most obnoxious, partial, prejudiced grandmother in existence.

I'm leaving all my RS responsibilities behind, and for five glorious days I don't intend to look back. Perhaps the world will still turn without me. There's a new song in the wings (I'll use the flight time to proof the scores and the recording), and a new arrangement (more flight time to transcribe the accompaniment, since I recorded it before I wrote it...), and hopefully it will go up a week or so after I get home. Thank goodness for flight anxiety meds. Yes, I'm an airplane wimp.

My baby boy, who turned 17 on Sunday, thinks he can probably fend for himself while I'm gone. I just don't know how he'll cope without me here to need the car and curtail his computer time in favor of homework...

A Lovely Christmas Gift

Yesterday I received a lovely Christmas gift. It came in a plain, padded brown envelope from the Nottingham Stake Choir in England. They gathered themselves together in a church classroom, and sang for me so I could hear "just how good [my] music sounds with an English accent." Indeed. (I sometimes mourn that we Americans don't emulate English diction enough in our choirs, but that's a lecture for a different post.)

The choir performed beautifully--they even had dynamics. Then came the soloist at the end, Emma Boone singing "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day." That was when the tears started. She had a beautiful voice, but that wasn't what inspired the tears. She performed flawlessly... like an angel (a British angel at that), but that wasn't it either.

The thing that made her performance so touching was hearing the words "Peace on earth" sung in an accent other than my own.

The words to "I Heard the Bells..." were written by Longfellow to express the despair and subsequent resurgence of hope felt during the American civil war. And, because poetry is so universally applicable, they might also aptly express the despair and resurgent hope of every people, everywhere who have known war and conflict.

I listened to the words, "Peace on earth... peace on earth..." repeated in her delightful English accent and wished--how I wished!--that I could hear those words sung in every accent that adorns human speech. I wish I could hear them in a German accent, and a Korean accent, and an Arabic accent, and that every nation on earth would sing them together, and laugh together at the cacophony produced by differing vowel shapes, and slap each other on the back and...

How I wish.

Thank you, to Emma and the Nottingham Stake Choir. I wish you all, and everyone, everywhere, in every beautiful accent, peace on earth.

Grandbabies are cuter than the regular kind.

Introducing Damien Glenn Wilson, my first grandbaby. He arrived Monday, November 19, at exactly 8 a.m., and weighed in at... **drum roll** ... 10 lbs. 9 oz. Obviously a future BYU linebacker.

Timing, timing, timing...

Wow. I've been blindsided. The week of my daughter's wedding reception, I was called to be the new ward Relief Society president. Since our former president had been in place for just a year, this was a bit unexpected. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, the Relief Society is the women's organization of the LDS Church. It's responsible for the temporal and spiritual welfare of all the women in our local congregation. Heading up the organization takes basically all your waking hours, all your emotional and spiritual resources, and requires eating a lot of chocolate.)

After the first week in this new calling, one very kind man in our congregation (who obviously understands the learning curve involved) asked me if I felt like I'd been "drinking from a fire hose." Yep. Pretty good analogy. I've spent most of my life working with the children and teenagers, and I have no idea what I'm doing.

How the new responsibilites will affect my songwriting habit remains to be seen. Probably a whole lot more songs about loving and serving others. (I wonder if that's what the Lord had in mind?) At any rate, I'll continue to write the things I feel (it aches when I don't) but please don't count on me for specific offerings for awhile.

The combination of a wedding and this calling have put me dreadfully behind in the e-mail department. If you've written requesting a response, hang on...

Happy Day!

Happy Wedding Day to Holly (my daughter) and Kyle (my new son-in-law).









If I survive, there may be some new things coming in September.

Not a Sparrow falls...

Yesterday was a sad day at our house. Our dog Gloria, who was in her 14th year, had to be euthanized at the vet's office. She was old, and it was time... but oh my. Dennis had to take her, brave man, since I couldn't have done it.

I wonder, is love for a pet a good inspiration for music?

Over the years quite a few people have written requesting songs for funerals. It's not the kind of song I usually write. At my funeral, I don't want anyone singing about crossing bars--though it's a lovely poem. I want people to sing my favorite songs. I want a choir (the Tabernacle Choir if you can get them... okay, nevermind) to sing something glorious and grand, something huge and wonderful that fills the available space and shakes you in your seat. I'll be in the front row, watching your diction and hollering "Blend! Blend!"

Still, I wonder, is love for a pet an acceptable inspiration for music? When we've lost family members or friends, the emotions have been rather too deep for me to express in song. Maybe this gentler loss will be something I can work with.

Bad Blogger! Bad! Bad!

I think maybe I'll name my next dog Blogger just so I can say that to someone other than myself. My mom informed me that my last post here was nearly a year ago... a subtle hint I guess. So for the sake of my mother, here is a rambling, pointless blog entry. I'll try to have something real to talk about next time.

It's hard to believe summer is nearly over. Daniel is back in school, Amy will be home from BYU for two weeks, then back to school for fall term, and I haven't accomplished half what I wanted to get done. Oh well, at least we have tickets to the BYU v. Arizona game on Sept 1.

Heather spent the better part of a week here in July, recording some new tracks. I'm working on the mixes as fast as my ears will allow, but I don't want to hurry through them. It was so fun having her here. We worked morning till night every day, with the exception of Monday the 16th when we took the evening off to see Order of the Phoenix in the IMAX (3D... very cool). Other than that small break, it was work, work, work. The city decided to update our curbs that same weekend, and we found ourselves battling the bulldozers, backhoes, dump trucks... helicopters, supersonic jets, UFOs... well okay, not those, but other than that I think every noise making contraption in the city was having a parade on our block. Thank goodness I have a Bulldozer Filter! (Ha.) Anyhow, it's a sign of just what a wonderful person Heather is that she still likes me after such a grueling week.

In the past month or two I've also met some new singers who will be showing up on the site over time. I'm not going to tell about them yet... I don't want to steal their thunder... but they're terrific.

On the down side, I currently have 15 new recordings waiting to be mixed, and more in the wings. That's a lot of work, and when all is said and done, I really should compose a few new things along the way. Why oh why do I always end up with so many irons in the fire???

The Lowly Ward Choir

A couple of weeks ago I made the mistake of thinking that visiting this year's Parade of Homes would be a fun thing to do. I came home, looked at my surroundings, uttered a hearty "Blech," and started painting. So this morning while the putty dries in a few nail holes seems like a good time to rant on one of my favorite subjects: the ward choir.

IMHO (if any of my opinions are really humble) the purposes of a ward choir don't necessarily include putting on stunning performances. It's a good thing too. Realistically speaking, even the best choir I've ever directed or sung with hasn't come close to the elusive Mormon Tabernacle Choir standard. How could it? We don't audition, we practice once a week if we're lucky, and most of our chapels don't have choir seating for 360. So what's a ward choir really for?

First and foremost, a ward choir should be about bringing participants closer to Jesus Christ. If you're a choir director, go back and read that sentence again. ;) In a choir practice we have the opportunity to pray together for an hour or so, through the song of the heart that is literally a prayer to the Father. If a choir were to practice every week, and never perform, it would be time well spent provided practice time is a time for drawing nearer to the Savior. Everything we do as choir directors needs to be planned with that end in mind.

After that come some wonderful side benefits. A ward choir can be an invaluable tool for helping new members feel welcome. Practicing inspiring music together can help choir members feel and understand the doctrine of Christ in ways they may not have experienced before. And yes, choir members can also improve their musical skills along the way.

Do we still work to present the best possible performance? Absolutely. But I believe that when drawing nearer to the Savior is our number one priority, the rest will follow. With the Spirit's participation, even the simplest performance will uplift and strengthen both the hearers and the choir members, but especially the choir members.

I'm working on a new Christmas song at the moment. It's nearly finished, and I'll post it after I figure out which voicings to include. So far it's just solo and Alto/Tenor duet... we'll see what else materializes.

Personal Preferences

It's August. August means time to divide the iris. It means scout camp and canoe trips. It means school starts in two weeks. It means... BYU football's fall camp starts on Friday. That last one gives me shivers. They just better be good this year.

I realized the other day that I really don't like some of my own music. There are very few songs with which I am satisfied, and even fewer with which I am both satisfied and happy. My music divides itself into three lists in my mind: the "Fine, Not Bad and Serviceable" list (which I shall ignore in this post); the "Blah" list; and the "Wow. Who Wrote That?" list. Unfortunately for me, the "Wow" list is the shorter of the lists by a rather wide margin.

My "Blah" list tends to include songs that are more than a few years old. I guess that's typical isn't it? You change (hopefully for the better), you progress (or regress, as the case may be), and what pleased you once doesn't necessarily please you now. I hesitate to name specific songs, lest I tromp on someone's favorite, but... after all, this is just a blog, and what's my opinion worth anyway? So here are a few from my "Blah" list:

"No Room, No Room." Difficult parts, too high, and it just doesn't sound right to me. Maybe one day I'll revisit it and revamp it. Maybe not.

"If I Have But a Moment." I still like the message, but I don't care for my melody.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem." Blah introduction. The rest is okay. I guess.

Enough of that. It's depressing.

There are actually a few pieces that make me remember who is in charge of the pen when a good song hits the paper. A few from my "Wow. Who Wrote That?" list:

"For Me Alone." I re-read this the other day, and realized it says exactly what I wanted to say. That's a minor miracle, and I'm thankful for it.

"I Have Not Seen, Yet I Believe." Ditto.

"My Grateful Spirit Sings." Okay, ditto again.

I guess that's the real test for me--does the song say exactly what I wanted to say, in both text and music? Of course, these are more recent compositions. They may or may not stand the test of time. We'll see.

One of the things I try to do (with varying success) is to keep from falling into the same old patterns, same old rhythms, same old melodies, same old chords, same old same old... and that should (hopefully) make the songs different enough that, for each individual, some will appeal and some won't. I'm always amazed to get notes from people that say I love everything you've ever written. I assume what they really mean is I love everything you've ever written that I love. That would make much more sense.

Survival

16 more days of school. 16 more days of getting up at 4:15 in the morning. 16 more days of spending hours a day researching and preparing to teach bleary-eyed teenagers. (The best teenagers in the world, but still... it's 5:30 a.m.)

There is a new hymn arrangement languishing on my piano rack.

Maybe in June.

Inspiration on Demand?

Well, it's December, and before the queries start rolling in, let me state for the record: I will try over the holidays to come up with a simple song for the 2006 Mutual theme.

Most of the requests I get refer to the Mutual theme as the "YW Theme." Hmmm. Could it be that our young women's organizations use more music than our young men's organizations do? Naahhhh....

I'll give it my best shot. However, I try to listen to the Spirit when writing music, and sometimes the Lord sends me in a different direction than I expect. Though He is very good to me, inspiration isn't always available on demand.

A couple of years ago the Church music office asked if I would write a song addressing a certain theme. I spent a week struggling with it, and finally came to the realization that this just wasn't my song to write. I felt guilty telling them so--I like to be useful--but they understood perfectly.

I have sometimes worked to address certain themes or phrases, and found them absolutely intractable. After abandoning them for years, I have revisited them with much greater success, which makes me believe that the time simply wasn't right the first time around. One example of this is the recent release, "And His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful." The chorus languished in the "My Documents" file on my M: drive (yes, I have an "M" drive) for years and only this season made itself useful.

Fortunately, though inspiration isn't always available on demand, it has been my experience that it's always available when it should be, and I have never yet had reason to doubt the Lord's timing.

Miscellany:.

--Football: My hubby and I are heading to the Las Vegas Bowl next week to watch BYU play Cal. Hopefully our presence won't jinx the team for a change. I asked my brother, "What is there to do there for non-drinking, non-gambling prudes like me?" He had some good ideas. It's nice to have brothers who are kindred spirits.

--Food: Top Secret Recipes has an amazingly good recipe for a clone of Starbucks Pumpkin Scones. I've never had the original, so I can't compare the two, but the clone is yummy, and easy enough even for me.

--For Local Folks: Our Easter Cantata for 2006 will be a combined venture--CSNS and CSS. Should be fun. We're doing one presentation in the Lexington Chapel and one in the Broadmoor Chapel (which has very bad acoustics and the most horrible old pipe organ--pray for angels!) on Easter weekend. More details available in January.

--For Everyone: I wish you a Christmas filled with happiness, the love of our Heavenly Father and the grace of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Telling My Own Story

Well, it's been awhile since I wrote here... in June I began my latest oddyssey in a new assignment as an early morning Seminary teacher. The advance preparation has been very time-consuming, and the day-to-day preparation will undoubtedly be just as demanding. I'm still chuckling over it... obviously nobody peeled back the covers at 5 a.m. and took a look at me before giving me this assignment!

It's never seemed very important to me to tell how I got started in this musical hobby of mine, or why I chose the internet rather than conventional methods of distribution. However, over the past year or so I've noticed that to fill the void caused by my reluctance to tell my own story, a few others have ventured to do it for me, and to quote Emma Woodhouse "[They] do it very ill."

So for you faithful friends who suffer through the ramblings on this blog, here's the scoop from beginning to end. This will be long. You may want to bail right now.

The first song I ever wrote was horrendous. It was a love-hate ballad aimed at a high-school boyfriend and even my uncritical mother couldn't find much good to say about it. I seemed to sense some hesitation in her "Um... very nice, dear," and destroyed it forthwith. So the boyfriend never got to hear it. Pity.

Over the next few years I dabbled in writing, but always with the curious intention of becoming a rock star. When I wrote a song as a high school senior and a few months later John Denver released a new single with the same melody, I think I began to realize that rock and pop might not be my forte.

Several years later, I began to write again. I had married, had two children, and grown in my love for the gospel, my Heavenly Father and my Savior. These things found their way into lyrics and I began setting them to music.

My first "real" song was "It Was for Me." A friend encouraged me to "send it in." "Send it in where?" was my ungrammatical response. She provided me with an LDS publisher's name and address. The publisher accepted the song, had it typeset, sent it to me for approval, and then... sat on it. It was hard to understand why at the time, but from my later perspective I can see that he was inspired. Eventually I requested that my copyright be returned to me, and the publisher was very kind and accommodating.

Several years went by, and I continued to write. I enjoy the process. Composing is, for me, a combination of therapy, testimony, relaxation, creativity and recreation. In my makeup there was no driving need to share my compositions with the rest of the world, only to write them and occasionally sing them for my mom (usually over the phone). I feel closer to the Lord while writing songs in His praise than at any other time, and that was enough. I was content.

I entered a few Church music competitions and that was fun. Friends and acquaintances seemed to like the music, so a few copies were in circulation, but not many. Imagine my surprise then, when out of the blue one of my musical heroes called to tell me in no uncertain terms that I should and must publish. He had asked a publisher friend to contact me, which subsequently happened. I sent several things to him, and... waited. I heard nothing for what I felt was a very long time. (He tells me that, for publishers, it was not a long time. I still disagree. :) Meanwhile, another publisher had also contacted me (they must have some sort of ESP network or something) and offered to publish the material as well.

So, my dilemma was this: one publisher, it seemed, didn't want the material; I didn't feel right about the other; and yet I had been given direction that the music should and must be published. What to do?

The answer came in the form of my youngest brother. He sent me to look at the website he had designed all by himself. I thought, "If my baby brother can do this, I can do it." Designing a web site myself wasn't something I had considered, but with John's help it was surprisingly easy. The hard part was putting the music into a format that was readable by all internet users. I searched high and low for others who were distributing music online, but I searched in vain, and eventually had to conclude that this was uncharted territory. PDF seemed the most likely, so I experimented with converting the music to that format. (A frustrating experience... Adobe's help desk wondered why in the world anyone would want to do that, and Personal Composer, though intrigued and as helpful as could be, had no clue.)

Eventually it clicked. I posted my original web site to the (gasp... choke...) Geocities server. The idea was to give it a try at no expense and see if the idea would fly. It flew. Within a couple of weeks, I had exchanged e-mail with people from all over the world, helped a couple of others set up similar sites, and felt an overwhelming confirmation that this was the right avenue to follow. It was gratifying to be able to share so easily, and to provide for many choirs and musicians music they were otherwise unable to afford.

My only regrets came a short time later. Publisher #1 called to say he liked the material I had sent him. I gave him my URL. He visited it even as we spoke on the phone, and his comment was "Oh, we can't have that." So here was a decision for me. I could pull down my site and go with the commercial publisher, or abandon the commercial route and continue to distribute online. Well, you know how that decision went. I regretted wasting his time, I regretted disappointing him (he really was very kind through it all), I regretted not being willing or able to give in to his further entreaties over the next month or two, but I have never regretted my decision to do it this way.

Now. Let me clear up a few misconceptions. First, I do not feel that all musicians everywhere should be doing what I do. I fill a need. They fill other needs. This was simply the right method for me, and there's no need to inflict it on anyone else, or to make comparisons. Second, I do not intend to pull a bait and switch on anyone. I have heard it rumored that I intend to make this music available free now, but charge for later materials. Nothing could be further from my mind. If some tragedy struck my family such that extra income was necessary, I would have to reconsider. However, in my current blessed circumstances, the Lord expects me to share, so share I will.

This musical/technological journey has been a great blessing to me and my family. I am so thankful for the wonderful friends I have found through our love of the Lord and music that praises Him. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father has provided me the means to contribute in some small way to His great work.

Stake Easter Program

It's snowing. Easter was Sunday, yesterday it was 70 degrees F., and now it's snowing. I must live in the Rockies.

Our stake's Easter program Sunday evening went well. We performed the brand-spanking-new-never-been-performed "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" cantata. Our choir numbered about 130, counting a couple of no-shows due to illness (missed you guys!), and I must say they outdid themselves. Somehow there's just more focus and intensity during a real performance than during a rehearsal, and that was certainly true Sunday evening. I had joked with them during rehearsals that the soloists and violinist were so good that the choir was really unnecessary. Definitely joking. They were impressive, and conveyed the Spirit as I had hoped they would. One down, one to go, as we are repeating the program this Sunday, April 3, also at 7 p.m.

Speaking of the soloists and violinist... wow. They were fabulous. I worried a bit about our two narrator/soloists--one was recovering from a string of asthma-related illnesses and the other is having a baby in a month. (How's that for stress?) They were superb. Our violinist is a senior in HS this year, but sounds like he's been playing for a lifetime.

I am one blessed director. Happy Easter!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short?

I've always found that old cliche amusing. Heavens! What I wouldn't give to be only a day late!

Three months after I intended to be finished, the scores for the "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" cantata are finally complete. They aren't yet paginated, and they still have to be downloaded individually... there may still be errors I need to fix... but the last little black dot has been scribbled on the page and uploaded.

Never again will I mention that I'm working on a program until it's absolutely, 100% finished. :)

Time to go clean my house. Maybe even read a good book (I have quite a collection in my to-be-read stack) with some nice hot cocoa for company.

*******sigh*********

(...of relief, naturally!)

A Greater Respect for Organists

The organ scores for the "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" cantata are nearly done, and I have developed a greater respect for organists in general. After spending several hours one day sitting on the organ bench, I began to realize that you use muscles in that activity that you don't use in any other... in short, I'm downright sore!

The organ scores are relatively easy. When I do optional organ for these programs I try to keep the difficulty level about the same as standard hymns. There are two reasons for this: first, most Church organists are really pianists pressed into service on the organ who have minimal training to go with the job; and second, I'm a pretty bad organist myself. So they stay easy.

There's just one more organ score to go, "At the Rising of the Sun," and it will probably be the most difficult since there's a lot of motion in the bass line. I should get them posted by Tuesday.

Conducting Tips #3: Notes from "Beyond the Downbeat"

Well, good morning. It's too early to think rationally, but there's more to fill my hours today than there are hours to fill, so I'm starting around 4:30. Ah, for the good old days when I was a young adult and thought I was the busiest person on earth... ;)

I put the new cantata page up yesterday, incomplete as it is. Absolutely terrifying... posting unfinished, untested material! Why do I do this?

Today I'm culling suggestions from a book called "Beyond the Downbeat" by Sandra Willetts.

--Breath control and capacity can be improved with good physical conditioning. Singing is a physical activity much like an athletic event.

--Better diction will produce a better sound quality.

--If your choir needs to improve rhythmic unity, work to intensify consonants.

--"diphthong" is pronounced "diff-thong" not "dip-thong." (Perhaps this doesn't make much practical difference, but you don't want to offend your English majors.)

--Always voice an "r" when it begins a word or appears between two vowels (unless the second is silent as in "here"). Never voice an "r" when it appears at the end of a word, comes before another consonant or appears before a silent vowel. Never roll an "r" except for extreme dramatic effect.

--When singing legato, words should be "linked" (that is, the end consonants abut the following syllable) unless doing so causes new words to be formed that obscure the text. Example: "Gladly the cross I'd bear" should not become "Gladly the cross-eyed bear."

--Many words begin with "be" or "de" (as in "believe" and "deliver") but these are often correctly pronounced using a "bih" or "dih" sound. If unsure, look it up in a dictionary.

--Singers tend to be flat when they are insecure on notes or rythms.

--Singers tend to be flat when repeating a note three or more times. Watch for it and make the singers aware if they're flatting repeated notes.


These are all the suggestions I'm going to distill for now. There are plenty more in these and other books, but I'm using these as a handout for the choir directors I work with and I wanted to keep things short and basic--and not overload them with too much information at once!

One book I picked up at Amazon that I really like is called "Conducting Technique for Beginners and Professionals" by Brock McElheran. It's a bit too technical to offer much in the way of one-liners, but it's one of the best short works I've found for improving conducting technique. He's clear, concise, and everything he says just makes sense. Good stuff.

Conducting Tips #2: Notes from "The Wednesday Workout"

The initial rehearsals of the new cantata went fairly well this weekend, and after two complete read-throughs we didn't find anything glaring. So I'll start concocting a web page for it tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm still going through choral conducting books to find short snippets of good advice for my handouts. Here's the next batch--notes taken from "The Wednesday Workout" by Richard Devinney:

--You should spend a great deal of time studying the text of a hymn or anthem, as the text is usually what gives it a place in the worship service.

--As you study your score, mark it up... but use a pencil so you can change your mind!

-- The size of your arm movements should indicate dynamics, but should also be proportional to the size of your group. Larger arm movements will be required for a congregation than for a 16-voice choir.

--Good sound starts with good posture. The choir is likely to emulate the director's posture.

--A major element of effective conducting is eye contact. Learn your score, and look at your choir. You can't expect them to look at you if you're not looking at them.

--Do not sing while conducting. Listen instead.

--We talk too much and sing too little.

--Humor will be one of your best tools. Laughter relaxes the singer, which makes the sound better.

--When the choir needs to work on learning notes for extended periods of time, break into sections. You'll get twice as much accomplished and avoid boring the idle sections to tears.

--It's impossible to blend voices unless the vowel sounds are sung uniformly by everyone in the group.

--Words should be sung as they are spoken, but we don't all speak them correctly in the first place. The authority on pronunciation is the dictionary.

--Choose music that you love. You will be more successful in directing music you love because you will have more enthusiasm for it.

--Ask choir members to rate their enjoyment of a song after they have presented it. Find out if it is a selection they feel is worth repeating in the future. Note the response for reference.

--To recruit new choir members, an announcement in the bulletin or newsletter will do little more than to let a few people know that you would welcome new members. Personal contact by the director is the best option for recruiting.


Some of these may be duplicates of previous (or future!) entries. I'll weed out duplicates as I combine them for my handouts, and I'll post them in the Reference section of my web site.