Christmas concerts

Last week I had the privilege of participating in the annual Mo Tab/OTS Christmas Concerts in the conference center. Nathan Gunn, a fabulous operatic baritone was the soloist and Jane Seymour, the narrator. It was a busy but wonderful week of rehearsals, sitting in traffic, having fun playing my horn, and blessing others' lives through the performances. The concerts are not broadcast live but are made into a pbs special that will air in Dec. 2012. Before the first concert, the President of PBS, who had come from Washington, D.C., announced that the yearly Mormon Tabernacle Choir special is the top rated holiday program PBS offers and that it is watched by 4 million people.

I didn't have any clue what music we were doing or what the concert would be like before the first rehearsal on Tuesday, 2 days before the first performance. The conference center stage had been transformed into a castle and much of the program was Medieval themed. There were over 100 dancers all in medieval costumes. The highlight of the program for me, was the telling of Good King Wenceslas by Jane Seymour set to music based on the original Wenceslas tune but turned Renaissance-sounding by Mack Wilberg. In all my 27 years, I don't know that I had ever really heard/learned/remembered the story, but it is a very symbolic and touching story. In the story, "Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen, When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even; Brightly shone the moon that night, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel." So the King wants to go find this poor man and bring him a feast and wood for his family's fire. He and his page boy set out in the cold and blustery conditions to find the man and bring him relief. The page boy gets too cold and starts doubting his ability to continue on in doing what the King has asked of him. (And the suprise of the concerts was that they made it SNOW in the conference center! It was some magic disintegrating bubble concoction that they blew from the tall ceiling. ) The King encourages him and tells the page to step into his footsteps after him. The page does and makes it to the poor man's house where they offer aid and have a feast. What a wonderful reminder that when we feel discouraged our Heavenly King will help us do what it is He has asked us to do, if we will but ask His help, and follow where He leads us.

Merry Christmas!