S N A R R B L O G: Choir Retire

Sometimes you feel impressed to do things without really knowing why. There is no real discernable reason, and there is nothing pushing you to action other than a subtle whisper from the Holy Ghost. That still small voice is something that I try my best not only to hear but to heed. In doing so, I’ve felt impressed to retire from my service in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the end of December 2016. I don’t really need to do this. My kids don’t want me to do retire. So many people have come up to me in the last two weeks and shared how much they enjoy looking for me on television broadcasts. I don’t want to retire and I have reasons I'd like to stay… but I’m afraid of what I’ll miss if I don’t heed this prompting. If I stay in, I can look forward to what I’ve enjoyed so much over the last 9 years in broadcasts, rehearsals, recordings, concerts, and so on. But if I stay in, I’ll never know what I’m needing to accomplish right now outside of this calling. It’s time. I keep thinking of the tenor that gets to replace me as T-068 and all of the great things they will soon get to experience. When I think about that tenor, when I think about my growing kids, and when I think about my sweet wife, it makes it easier for me to do this. I’ll not only be leaving the weekly routine of a choir member, but I’ll be leaving some of the greatest friends that I’ve ever made. I’ll be leaving the greatest music that I’ve ever made. I’m tempted to think that I’ll be less satisfied with my church involvement and in my life’s work if I stop. My faith tells me this is not the case. I’m determined to not be too sad to retire, but instead to be so grateful that this has happened to me. My faith tells me there is so much life to experience back in my home ward, within my family and community, and maintaining good relationships that I’ve built over this past decade. For this I’m so grateful. Today marked the beginning of my last 10 weeks in the choir. With that being said I decided to brainstorm 10 favorite memories from my choir experience. Enjoy:

10.) THE WINK: That one time that Mack called me out by name in the choir for not knowing the words to a memorized song in the broadcast runthrough. Since I knew the phrase I’d botched, I knew when I’d be on camera for the actual broadcast. I couldn’t help but produce a sly wink to Mack signaling to him that I’d memorized my lines well.

LINK: https://snarrblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/where-everybody-knows-your-name.html

9.) THE BIKINI ELEVATOR RIDE: I rarely take the elevator in hotels when on tour with the choir. The first time that I did, several bikini-clad gymnasts from the U of U, on their way back to their rooms from the hotel pool, decided to share the space with a bunch of us choir folks. All of the choir members got off on their respective floors as we ascended leaving me (rooming on the top floor) alone for the rest of my elevator ride with the very visibly ripped and toned gymnasts (rooming on the second to top floor).

LINK: https://snarrblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/az-motab-gymnasts-elevators-and-bikinis.html

8.) CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONAL EATS: Each December we perform an evening Christmas Devotional. Rather than travel back home from Salt Lake just to have to quickly return again, I have great memories of spending time with friends and enjoying a sacrament meeting and a meal with them. There was the one time when some friends and I lunched, went to a baby blessing, and then were invited to a Peruvian restaurant for dinner before we made it back to perform the Devotional, and more recently the time a small group and I went to enjoy a relaxing brunch at the Little America before heading back to perform in the evening.

7.) CONFERENCE SKETCHES: I discovered the best way to get the most out of general conference was to sketch while I wasn’t singing. Sharing these sketches with friends has become a fun tradition, and one that caught the attention of the Mormon Buzzz blog.

LINK:http://mormonbuzzz.com/this-choir-member-sketches-during-conference-and-the-results-are-stunning/

6.) CONCERT FAVORITES: I couldn’t believe I was actually singing with music legend James Taylor during the Tanner Gift of Music concert. Hearing him perform ‘You’ve got a Friend’ live was a real treat. The audience lit up the conference center with their cell phones in a way that I’ve never before seen. The Christmas concerts are quite famous for their production value, and the Candy Bomber concert not only had incredible candy parachutes coming from the ceiling but a touching and inspiring true story to go along with it that still brings tears to my eyes. The Sesame Street Muppets were a dream guest artist for me. I’d like to think some of my graphic art propaganda featuring muppets had something to do with its inspiration. The message during their concert was joyful, loving, encompassing and simple. It was beautiful and enjoyed by all ages.

5.) TOUR RUNNING: Running on tour (or variations of healthy exercise) has been the source of so many cool memories and great relationships. I think my highest mile total in any one day was close to 13 miles, and I figure that I put in about 60 miles across the duration of our 3 week Europe tour. It has taken dedication and some really early mornings, but I don’t regret any of it for a second. Along with the running I was introduced to Soul Cycle in New York City which is an hour long spin class that made me sweat harder than I ever had for a workout. It was awesome. There was the time in Frankfurt when I rented a bike with friends and we rode out of the city about 25 miles, had a picnic lunch, found some ice cream and rode back. I discovered that when you run past a petting zoo you just have to stop and visit the animals, and I also discovered in Amsterdam after my very first hot yoga class that some people feel comfortable stripping down to their nothings in front of strangers to change out of their yoga clothes.

4.) TAMARA: Normally when guest artists come perform with the choir, there isn’t very much interaction with the individuals in the choir. That changed for me each time my sister-in-law Tammy Mumford came to work with the choir. Not only is she absolutely beautiful, she draws people near to her with her delightful personality. I could see how envious the rest of the choir was each time she would wait for me after our rehearsals to chat. The best was when she came up into the choir loft and sat down next to me and chatted with all of us in the upper tenor section.

3.) MARATHON RECORDING: There are several people that I know in the choir that have run marathons before, but even so, it’s a tiny fraction of the overall membership of the group. I like to consider myself accomplished in that not only did I run full marathons on Saturdays and faithfully show up each time in a sore state ready to perform broadcasts on Sunday morning, but I also (along with another dear friend) run a Saturday morning marathon and booked it down to SLC afterward to catch the second half of a CD recording session. Now that my friends is a marathon week.

LINK: https://snarrblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/another-marathon-in-books.html

2.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT MONSON: I participated in the birthday committee for about 5 years and the best part of this involvement is getting to wish members of the first presidency a Happy Birthday. I’ll never forget the first time we visited with President Monson. He had so much energy and he pleasantly greeted us all and shook our hands. The funniest thing he shared with us was a question that he and the brethren in the quorum of the 12 apostles were quizzing one another about. He asked us the same question: “See the child with the goat in the bottom right corner of the painting ‘Christ with the Children’ [by Harry Anderson]? Is that a little girl or a little boy?” This painting is perhaps the most famous and familiar painting for me since I’ve seen it in church ever since I was little. I’d never thought about this question and the fact that the Lord’s prophet was asking our opinion was hilarious. He thought it must be a little girl since if it was a boy he’d be throwing rocks or something at the goat.

1.) GORDON B. HINCKLEY VIEWING: President Hinckley died shortly after I started the Temple Square Chorale in preparation to becoming a member of the Tabernacle Choir. I had a desire to go to his viewing in the Conference Center, but with a busy schedule and with lines so long it didn’t seem like I was going to get much time. We were excited to hear at rehearsal that same week that we’d be ending early and going up with the active members of the full Mormon Tabernacle Choir and paying our respects in a private viewing. President Hinckley loved the choir, so it was a joy to sing to him surrounded by the choir for the very first time under the direction of Craig Jessop. My experience couldn’t have been sweeter since my older sister, who has always been an amazing example and friend, was there singing by my side. It was perhaps the sweetest memory I have in the choir and I got to enjoy it in my very first couple of weeks in the calling.

If that top 10 list wasn't enough, I thought I'd add 10 of my favorite choir themed graphic designs and 10 of my favorite often sung songs with the choir.

10.) Central States Tour Graphic and Activity Book Cover

9.) Schmoozing with the Stars Themed Birthday Gift for Ron Gunnell

8.) Guess Who Featuring Mack Wilberg and Choir Member Friends

7.) Arizona Centennial Concert Poster

6.) Women's Wardrobe 2016 Calendar, Men's Wardrobe 2015 Calendar

5.) Mack Wilberg Illustration

4.) Rexburg Sticker Graphic. Version 1 is on the left. Version 2 developed after we learned there was a shortage of buses in SLC and the ultimate solution was to use a Wendover 'Fun' Bus to carry all the choir members to our Rexburg performance. As you can see the transition from V1 to V2 was so simple I couldn't help myself even though we were instructed not to talk about the fun bus or draw attention to it.

3.) Conference Sketches. Each session of general conference I'd prepare paper, and 2-3 sharpened red pencils in order to sketch during the 6 hours of conference I would attend. I'd get about 19 sketches over the weekend. Some drawings turned out much better than others, and it is now fun to compare sketches of the same person from different years.

2.) Till We Meet At Sesame Street. This illustration is very special to me. I was so excited to perform with the Sesame Street muppets. The whole concert came and went so quickly. Our tradition is to sing to our guest artists, 'God Be With You Till We Meet Again' after the concert weekend ends. This image captures that scene and the spirit and the light we felt and created during our performance is uplifting us all in the picture.

1.) This is one of the first illustrations I put together in the choir and still one of my favorites. The juxtaposition of the choir subject within the tattoo style on some dude's back. It features Mack Wilberg, Lloyd Newell, and my friend (fellow tenor) Dale Bowman. I recently showed this picture to Lloyd Newell and he loved it.