Emily's Exploits

Today was the day my family joined me! So great to have them visiting for my second Carnegie Hall performance and to see some really neat things! We stopped by Grand Central Station to look around before heading to the Neue Galerie on 5th Avenue. We saw art by Gustav Klimt!! Namely his Woman In Gold painting. But I was taken back in time for a bit when we went there because of my time in Vienna! A couple other artists that had work displayed were  Natalia Goncharova and  Vasily Kandinsky. Natalia's painting "Sunflowers" and her landscape "Spring" were my favorites of hers. I love being from a family who enjoys visiting art galleries. I love beautiful artwork and discovering nice After visiting the Galerie we went to Central Park to ride bikes! Ryan, Preston and I rode around the upper half of Central Park as we enjoyed the scenery.   I love my honey!! I've only been married five months but it's weird to me to be without him. I am so gratefu...

This Tuesday was a completely free day for us to explore NYC! I had a blast. And for the record, it looks like most of the tours that the choir participates in have much less free time for sight seeing as I've had. So I feel so grateful that on this trip I can not only enjoy performing but also enjoy the wonderful areas that I find myself in. I am very excited to see Boston  once we get there. My morning was spent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Shipley Munson showed us the highlights of the museum as it relates to events from scriptures and prophets modern and ancient. Because he grew up here and because he has a degree from Harvard in folklore, his knowledge of the stories of the bible is vast and fascinating.  I know that friends and family are going to read this entry, but this entry is mostly for me so I don't forget all the amazing things I learned from Shipley on the tour. You might learn some interesting things about Mormonism or Christianity in this post! I...

On Wednesday June 1, 2015 I set foot for the first time in Carnegie Hall for our sound check and performance. How grateful I am for the chance to perform there! The sound check helped us see how squished we would be on stage. Carnegie Hall does have a deep stage but it doesn't come close to the space we have at home in our spaces in Utah. I forget how spoiled we are. Our choreography for Betelehemu was a little difficult but other than that the space was wonderful.  The most fun part of everything is how great the sound comes together in the space. It felt like magic during the first half of our concert- the audience listening with rapt attention to our pieces and waiting to applaud til the end. Especially the Requiem Aeternam which Mack wrote and was premiered in Carnegie. Such a perfect place for that piece. I had some very sacred experiences that are too special to share here but I can tell you that angels were with us in that hall. 

Saratoga Springs New York!! ...not to be confused with Saratoga Springs Utah where I work. Haha.  We spent a lot of time on the bus today: I sat by Lauren Tuft and we talked about our missions, life and choir the whole ride up! It was great!  Here is the performing venue. Perfect weather and beautiful serene setting.  On the bus rides they will play videos where current or former members of the choir share insights from their lives-- during this leg of driving they featured me talking about being a missionary on Temple Square and my spiritual experiences with the choir. So when I got to Saratoga, Anne Marie found me and told me she ALSO was a temple square sister! So cool!! The sisterhood at temple square is strong!  Musical notes in the decoration! Listening to President Jarrett's announcements before sound check. Me and the back row 2nd soprano ladies before sound check: Janet, Janine, Me, Karen.  Then th...