C. David Belt's Blog, page 21

MTC Tour Day 11: Better Than Carnegie Hall!

How do you top Carnegie Hall?  How about spending Independence Day at WEST POINT??!!!  That’s right!  We sang in a concert at the United States Military Academy at West Point.  We performed with the West Point Army Band.

Today’s event was a closely guarded secret.  Even the Choir and Orchestra didn’t know where we were going until we got on the busses this morning.  The reason for the cloak-and-dagger confidentiality was that the outdoor venue known as Trophy Point can’t accommodate a very large audience, even though the event was open to the public.  The Army didn’t want to let the public know that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would be performing as it might have drawn a massive crowd.

As it was, our performance was a wonderful surprise treat for the audience and the Army cadets.  And it was an unexpected treat for us as well.  We were privileged to hear some wonderful performances from military musicians.

And the fireworks were spectacular!

I especially enjoyed touring the memorials of that historic location.  At Trophy Point, we saw many cannons that were captured in various wars, from the Revolutionary War to the Spanish-American war.  Confederate cannons from the Civil War were buried barrel-down, symbolically representing that they would never again be fired against the United States.

We heard the story of Benedict Arnold’s treachery when he plotted to deliver West Point to the British.  Although nothing remains of the original fortress, we got to see and handle part of the massive chain that was stretched across the Hudson River to deny passage to the English Navy.

Today, West Point United States Military Academy represents the polar opposite of Benedict Arnold’s treason: honor and service.  What a wonderful way to spend the 4th!

I love this country.  More importantly, I love what she represents: freedom, honor, and the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  I pray God that we will return and embrace and defend the principles of our Heaven-inspired Constitution.

America is unique among the nations of the world.  Our might comes not from our Army, but from our God.  Our freedom and rights come not from our government or our president, our congress, or our courts.  They come from God.

We must return to Him if we wish to truly be free.

MTC Tour Day 10: Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Take me out to the ballgame!

We sang a medley of George M. Cohan songs and then “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Rays game tonight.  To avoid traffic, we had to arrive almost two hours early.  By the time we sang, changed clothes, and I bought a couple of hot dogs and cheese fries, I had been standing for nearly three hours (and had missed almost all of the first four innings of the game).  I was exhausted and in pain.  (I injured my knee back in November, and the healing has been slow.)  However, we had a great time.  We had to leave after the tenth inning, because we have to be up at 5 or so tomorrow morning.

However, due to the magic of smartphones and mlb.com, I was able to keep everyone updated on our bus.  Just before we reached our hotel, the game ended with the Yankees winning 7-5 in the twelfth inning.  That was very cool.

My wife and all the other spouses and guests who attended the game with us received free NY Yankees ball caps.  And that was cool too.  However, on the back of each cap is very clearly emblazoned one word:  Budweiser.

Ah, well…

Still, it was a fun time.

Tomorrow is Independence Day and we have something very special planned.  Details tomorrow!

MTC Tour Day 9: Carnegie Hall with Friends!

Our second and last night in Carnegie Hall, and it was magnificent and fun!  Even better, we sang to friends of the Choir.  Santino Fontana (Prince Hans from Frozen and our guest artist at the Pioneer Day and Christmas concerts last year), Laura Osnes (our guest this year at the Pioneer Day concert later this month), Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Abby Cadabby and Rosita from the Sesame Street Muppets (minus the actual Muppets) were there cheering us on.  Before the concert, as the men of the Choir were lined up outside, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (Abby Cadabby) walked by us making her “fairy wings” gesture and wished us all fairy wings for the concert.

At the end of the concert, as is our custom on tour, we had a guest conductor for our final encore.  Tonight it was our good friend Santino Fontana.  He did a great job (which was no surprise).

It’s nice to sing to our fans, even when we don’t know them personally.  But it’s a real treat to sing to our friends.

Also, on a personal note, as I was leaving Carnegie Hall, a man came up to me, grabbed my hand, and said, “I just love watching you sing!  You sing with such great expression!”  And as I was walking home, a lady told me how much she loved my book.  That was the icing on the cake of a great night.

Tomorrow, it’s Yankee Stadium, where we’ll be singing “Cohan’s Big Three” and the National Anthem!

MTC Tour Day 8: Carnegie Hall!

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would one day perform in Carnegie Hall.  I am so grateful for the opportunities that membership in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir affords me.  I won’t tell you how much the tickets cost for tonight’s performance, but it was a LOT.  It’s a very humbling experience to be on that stage and sing with three hundred of my best friends.

But it’s not just the Choir.  There are one hundred orchestra musicians, three organists, two conductors, numerous stage hands, sound crew, lighting crew, staff, security, and many other unsung (no pun intended) heroes that make this possible.  We couldn’t have had this marvelous (and for me, once-in-a-lifetime—OK, twice-in-a-lifetime, since we are performing there again tomorrow night) experience, without these wonderful people.  Saying, “Thank you,” isn’t enough, but I say it now.

Thank you.

MTC Tour Day 7: Amazing Grace!

Today was NOT a Choir day.  Today was a rest and recovery day after our concert and long bus ride last night.  (We got back to the hotel at 1:45 AM.)  Our rest and recovery consisted of meeting our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter in Central Park.  We went to the Central Park Zoo.  And it was WONDERFUL.  Not the zoo, but spending time with our family.  My granddaughter, who is not quite two, has been very standoffish.  My son and his family visited us a month ago and my granddaughter wanted nothing to do with Cindy or me.  It was hard at the time, but we understood and did not push her.

However, at the zoo, she let me hold her and carry her and walk with her for more than an hour.  It was such a special time for us.  (Actually, it was heavenly!)  OK, OK, it was nice to see my son and daughter-in-law as well…  (We love you, Bryan and Jessie!)

After our visit, Cindy and I went back to the hotel and rested and recovered for a bit.  Then it was off to dinner, a visit to Carlo’s Bake Shop (you know, the Cake Boss guy—not his Hoboken bakery, but a franchise), and a Broadway show.

What a Broadway show!  Move over Les Miserables!  Amazing Grace is truly amazing!  I bawled my face off.  (Actually, I’m still bawling my face off.) The CD won’t be out for another three months.  I can’t wait!  What a wonderful story!  So well done.  Such amazing voices.  Such wonderful music.  The Holy Spirit’s power washed over me.  What makes this one so special is that it is a TRUE story.  Now I want to go home and watch the Ioan Gruffudd movie again.

God lives!  He is there.  The Savior atoned for my sins and yours.  Turn to Him.  He will heal you and guide you to the path of redemption.  He will welcome you back.  And that welcome will be glorious!  In the words of John Newton:

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we first begun.

 

MTC Tour Day 6: Wise Choices

The concert tonight at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center at Saratoga Springs was completely sold out, and there were at least 200 people watching from the lawn outside the pavilion.  The audience was great, and the concert went well.

Before the concert, while the Choir and Orchestra rehearsed, my sweet wife went on a tour of the park.  There are four springs at Saratoga Springs, each with different qualities, flavors, and health benefits.  One of them has a laxative benefit.  That was NOT a typo.  It has a laxative benefit.

My wife chose not to partake of that particular spring.

On a lighter note, after the concert, as I was walking wearily up the hill toward the buses that would whisk us away for the 4.5 hour bus ride back to New York City, I was singing:

Shall we stagger to the busses?

The beautiful, the beautiful busses? 

Shall we stagger to the busses

That’ll take us to our nice, comfy beds? 

I was also looking for my dear Cindy, who I knew would be waiting for me near the busses.  I thought I saw her standing with a group of other women.  However, it was quite dark, and couldn’t be certain.  So I walked up to the woman I believed to be my wife, touched her gently on the shoulder, and said, “Hi.”

She turned around and smiled.  I had chosen wisely.

I then said, “I’m so glad it was you.  I was about to grab your butt!”

The other women broke into peals of laughter.

As we walked away, Cindy said, “Well, you just made their night!”

So, I guess my work here is done!  Goodnight, Saratoga Springs!

MTC Tour Day 5: Sabbath Day on Tour With the Choir

Sundays while touring with the Choir are… unique.  For one thing, we have the BEST sacrament meetings.  I had the great privilege to help pass the sacrament.  There were eighteen of us serving in the deacon’s office, and nine serving as priests.  Three ballrooms were combined to house our sacrament meeting of six hundred people.

After passing the sacrament, I sat next to Ryan Murphy, our associate director.  I was terrified I might sing a wrong note on the unfamiliar closing hymn, and then I’d be out of the Choir!  Actually, he’s a really nice guy, and I don’t think he’d kick me out of the Choir for one wrong note…  (Maybe for three…)

Another unusual aspect of our sacrament meetings is that they are SILENT.  There are no children to make noise.  No crying babies.  No toddler shouting “I’m hungry!” or “He’s touching me!”  (Sounds eerily reminiscent of a family road trip…)  No five year-old saying, “I can’t find my pet tarantula!”  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I love children.  (Especially with Tabasco sauce.)  I’m just saying sacrament meeting is a different experience when there are no children involved.  (Now with just adults, you MIGHT get the occasional snore…)

We had two great speakers: Elder Wilson of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife.  Both their talks were wonderful, but I especially enjoyed Sister Wilson’s address.

After sacrament meeting, we were on our own for the rest of the day.  And that meant, that unless we chose to fast for the rest of the day, we had to eat out on the Sabbath day.  My wife and I decided to take a walk down Broadway.  We had three goals:

To eat dinner;
To find the theatre where the two of us will be attending a Broadway show later this week;
To perhaps go to the Empire State Building.

We had dinner at a Korean restaurant (which was NOT as good as Sam Hawk in Provo).  We located the Nederlander Theatre with no difficulties.  However, when we attempted to reach the Empire State Building, we found our way blocked by a Gay Pride parade.  We eventually managed to get past that obstacle and were able to get the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building.  We saw many wonderful sights from up there, but the highlight, at least for me, was seeing the “Ghostbusters building” (the building used in the climactic scene with Zule and the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man).  I have many, many fond memories of watching that movie, its sequel, and the Saturday morning cartoon show with my two oldest boys—and I’m pretty sure that at one time we owned every Ghostbuster toy ever made).  We saw many buildings that we could identify from movies and TV shows, which was very cool.

However, I was VERY disappointed that we did not see King Kong.  Perhaps we were simply there at the wrong time, but…  Well, I’ll just come out and say it.  I’m beginning to doubt the veracity of Peter Jackson’s documentary.  Is it possible there are no hobbits either?  Perish the thought!

I also ate an authentic New York hot dog.  And honestly, it wasn’t all that great.  My wife had an authentic New York pretzel, which actually turned out to be awful.  Ah, well.  We didn’t come to New York for the food—we came to sing.  And when I told the guide at the Empire State Building that we were going to be singing at Carnegie Hall later this week, he got really excited.  He asked if there were still tickets available.  Of course, I had no idea and told him so.  He said he’d try to get to the concert.  He was a really nice fellow, and very helpful.  Not everybody we’ve met in this city have been friendly, but there are some real gems here.

On to Saratoga Springs tomorrow!

MTC Tour Day 4: Woodstock!

Woodstock!  What can I say?  Actually, a lot.

It rained all day, and Bethel Woods (Woodstock) is an outdoor venue.  It’s a covered pavilion, and while that kept the rain off the Choir and Orchestra, the audience was treated to cold winds and a constant fine mist.  They were cold!

We had a large US flag on the stage, just to stage-right of the organ, and that flag was frequently flying stiffly in the breeze.  The Orchestra and the conductors had music and hair flying everywhere.  The Choir?  For once, it was pleasantly cool for us.  (Although, we could see our breath as we sang!)

During the rehearsal and sound check, while the Choir and Orchestra were busy, my wife and most of the other spouses and guests went to the Woodstock Museum.  One of the other Choir spouses said concerning the exhibits, “I’m glad that era in our history is past.”  While I can sympathize with the sentiment, I’m not so sure the spirit of that era is completely in the past.

However you feel about the original Woodstock Festival, those souls who braved the foul weather to hear us were treated to Rossini and Gounod, Rogers & Hammerstein and Irving Berlin, folk hymns and spirituals, Ah, El Novio and Betelehemu, and Come, Come, Ye Saints and The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  And when they were invited to sing the final chorus of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, they rose to their feet and joined us.  As Lloyd Newell says from time to time, they can now go home and tell their friends that they “too have sung with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.”

Our featured soloist, my good friend Alex Boyé, was very sick today.  He awoke completely unable to speak.  Our voice coach put him on “voice rest” and put a sign around his neck informing us that he was not allowed to try to speak.  However, that wasn’t sufficient to heal his voice.  Just before the concert, he was still unable to sing.  One of my good friends gave him a priesthood blessing and then went on stage with the rest of the Choir.  When it came time for Alex to sing, he did not appear.  We waited for nearly 30 seconds in awkward silence.  Then Alex walked on stage and sang.  He sang beautifully.  He sang miraculously.

We are not alone.  And when we are faithfully on the Lord’s errand, He will help us.

Woodstock?  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

MTC Tour Day 3: Castle Lies

The Choir arrived in New York City tonight.  It is an incredible place, but I have learned one thing in the short time I’ve been here:  Castle lies.

Castle (and every other cop show ever set in New York) lies.  There is no way a police car can get through midtown Manhattan in a hurry.  It took us nearly an HOUR to get from the Lincoln Tunnel to our hotel near Times Square!  We arrived two and a half hours after our scheduled arrival.  The traffic here is ridiculous!  I will never complain about the traffic at Point of the Mountain in Utah again!

Tomorrow, we perform at Woodstock.  Yes, you read that right:  Woodstock. It’s going to be fun!

MTC Tour Day 4: Castle Lies

The Choir arrived in New York City tonight.  It is an incredible place, but I have learned one thing in the short time I’ve been here:  Castle lies.

Castle (and every other cop show ever set in New York) lies.  There is no way a police car can get through midtown Manhattan in a hurry.  It took us nearly an HOUR to get from the Lincoln Tunnel to our hotel near Times Square!  We arrived two and a half hours after our scheduled arrival.  The traffic here is ridiculous!  I will never complain about the traffic at Point of the Mountain in Utah again!

Tomorrow, we perform at Woodstock.  Yes, you read that right:  Woodstock. It’s going to be fun!