Tour Day 2

Day 2 found us getting up early and heading to Colonial Williamsburg, where we were to participate in a "flash mob" during one of the reenactments.  At a certain point in the reenactment, 3 men began singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" with the following words:

God bless the Commonwealth,
May it increase in strength, Its foes annoy
That George is now no more king of this fertile shore,
From whence he drew his store, Completes our joy!

God save great Washington,
Virginia's war-like son, And make him brave
Defend him from all the blows of Howe and all his foes
Guard him where'er he goes, Washington save.

Free states attend the song,
Now independent from the British throne
To earth's remotest bound, echoing skies resound,
The sweet melodious sound. Liberty's our own!

The entire choir joined in on the second verse.  We didn't have our nametags on, so most people didn't know what was going on.  Then everyone sang "Yankee Doodle".  At that point, the director thanked everyone and announced that "you just sang with the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir!"  Everyone's reactions were so fun.

We were given a couple of hours of sight-seeing time and so I went to the Governor's Palace.  I could have spent days in the town.  We went and got our lunch and headed back to the buses for our drive to Washington DC, where we would get a night off to rest!

The entire town is a step back in time!

Carpool buddies and me with George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson's mentor.

The Governor's Palace

The entry way, decorated with all manner of weapons to show their strength.

The bed chamber of the 2 daughters

The toilet chair

The bed chamber of the governor

Piano

Carpet in one of the rooms

Organ

More carpet

Our lunch boxes provided by Colonial Williamsburg

On the bus, where I spent many hours!

Tour Day 1

This is a video description of our tour that the church posted on its website.
See if you can find me!!

My First Choir Tour Day 1 Norfolk, Virginia

****Disclaimer****       I ask that you enjoy the following blog, but do not reproduce it or forward anything (pictures or words) to anyone else.  My blog is private---I only share it with family & close friends.  Please keep it that way. 


I am blessed.  I love to sing in a choir.  Singing in a choir is much different than singing a solo.  I like being a part of the mass, the feeling of being a part of a group.  I love the harmonies.  I cherish the opportunity to be a part of a GOOD choir directed by an AMAZING director.

my nametag....had to be worn anytime we were in public

Day 1 started off early   I had to be at the SLC airport at 3:45am.  I was on flight 1 out of 3 chartered flights.  I was excited, but nervous.  I always get nervous when I have to leave home.  I worry that I'll get sick.  There is NOTHING worse than being sick when you are away from home.  It must be all those times I got sick at YW camp that has now instilled this fear within me.

When we arrived in Norfolk, we were herded onto 11 buses to travel to the Scope Arena for lunch and a sound check.

a look at our risers

everyone has to take pictures! (my carpool buddies)

our catering crew

one of MANY lines we stood in during the week

feeding 581 people is no small task

you get sleep whenever you can (my carpool buddy)

While we were waiting to be called to the risers, I realized that the Scope Arena is a hockey arena.  The chairs on the floor were placed on black rubber mats that were covering the ice.  There were places sometimes between the mats that you could reach down and poke the ice with your finger.

Things went well during the rehearsal and I didn't miss any of my bell cues.  I'm a bell-ringer for 2 songs on tour.  I used to play bells about 15 years ago.  I really enjoyed it, so I'm glad I got the opportunity to try my hand at it again.  After rehearsal, we went to the hotel to check in and have dinner.  Ah....the food.  One of the most amazing parts about tour.  I could write an entire blog on just the food.  Maybe I will.  Maybe the rest of my blogs will just be theme-based instead of chronological.  Maybe I'll do a little of both!

Possible topics:   Sights, Smells, Emotions, Food, Lines, Guest Conductors, DC, Testimony, Friends, Sleep (or lack thereof), Dressing Rooms.....

The concert was great.  It is just amazing to me how much people LOVE the choir.  There is so much joy when we sing.  It feels so good to be a part of something much bigger than me.  Because it is much bigger, so much bigger.  A few years ago, President Hinckley (the prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) told the choir directors that there was more the choir could do and even the bar had to be raised for the choir.  And it has.  Our past 4 recordings (Heavensong, Christmas CD with Natalie Cole, The Men of the MTC, & This is the Christ) have all gone #1 on the Billboard charts.  We have 2 more CDs coming out this year (Glory! and Christmas CD with David Archuleta), plus we are filming a special for 9/11.  However, where much is expected, much is given too and I feel soooo blessed.

Our guest conductor was the Governor of Virginia.  The guest conductors always conduct the encore song "This Land is Your Land" and basically they just stand there and wave their arms.  We know the song so well, we just take his cue to start and off we go.  It's very fun to watch them and I know they must be so scared, but they have a great time.

We got back to our hotel at around 10:30pm.