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.
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| 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.
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| a look at our risers |
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| everyone has to take pictures! (my carpool buddies) |
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| our catering crew |
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| one of MANY lines we stood in during the week |
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| feeding 581 people is no small task |
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| 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.
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