Emily's Exploits

Close-up at the end of "Love One Another" on my first broadcast. I have been asked by a friend to share how I came to join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir . It's taken me a long time to put this post together. To get the full experience of this blog post, please watch the videos! I hope you'll enjoy listening to the songs. People often ask me, "What made you want to join the choir?" Grandma Bateman gave me  Consider the Lilies  soon after I turned fifteen. Mack Wilberg's grand arrangement of " I Believe in Christ " really caught my attention. I sat on my bed, captivated by the music and filled with the Spirit. The words and music of this hymn burned within my heart. I knew that what the choir sang about was true, and that Jesus was my Savior. I longed to sing with them. I knew then that I needed to join the choir. (Journal entry April 11, 2004, age 15) Happy Easter! It is my dream to become a part of the Mor...

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...

On Sunday we got to sleep in and then attend lunch and Sacrament Meeting in our hotel. It was a very special spiritual experience. And hymn singing was the very best!  Around 2 pm we were given the freedom to roam the city and do as we pleased-- I ended up making a new set of friends! Headed up by Shipley Munson who grew up here in New York City, I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge! It was a beautiful and overcast day so we were not too hot.  After our momentous crossing, we came to the 9/11 memorial and Saint Paul's Church. My last time here in 2006, the memorial was simply a big pit under construction. The ladies from Valhalla Vox also sang an impromptu performance of Dona Nobis Pacem. I can't remember the name of the composer of that particular text setting but it was a special experience for me. It was nice to be back.  It was a nice visit. On both the Brooklyn Bridge and also at the Memorial we sang "America the Beautiful" ...

First day in New York! Today we had a relaxing morning and time to get breakfast in Times Square, upon which Alison and I ran into George Cohan, famous composer of "Give my regards to Broadway".  We left at 11:45 for Bethel Woods, the performance site which famously sits on the same grounds of the Woodstock music festival of 1969! Apparently it rained for 3 hours straight at one point of the festival and they stopped the shows until the rain passed. When we arrived at Woodstock it was raining-- so we had about 9 hours of continuous rain and wind! It was 54 degrees. In the middle of June!! The venue is outside though luckily covered. We watched them set up the stage while we snuggled under my blanket for warmth.  Rich was sporting his blanket from the airplane, as were many others who didn't have jackets.  Being in the choir is an amazing experience that takes a lot of behind the scenes work. I can't even believe all the logistics involved. Barry Anderson helps us out ...