Dear Friends,

I am pleased to report that last night's rehearsal proves that we have the potential of being a $20 choir on Sunday...and then some! Thank you all for the effort, energy, and enthusiasm that you shared on a Friday night after a long and emotional week. Today offers you the gift of vocal rest, and please take advantage of that-- please save your voice and be good to your instrument. Today also offers you the gift of space from ensemble rehearsal that you can occupy with some quiet, focused mental and spiritual practice time on your own. Revisit not just notes and rhythms, but please explore all the markings you have put in your scores and all the meaning we have worked to bring out of our pieces.

1. Recommit to sharing beginning, ending and middle consonants. Help to share and celebrate together to communicate text clarity and visceral excitement with the listener. Some of these have pitch (D'- dih, M'- mih, B'= bih, L-lih)-- others do not (T, K, CHR). All are important! I think of many examples in the MAGNIFICAT as we tell that story, in AND GOD SAID, in the Mendelssohn (sometimes we get lazy on pgs.3-4, for instance), on the releases of paceMih (in the Bach), and in ALL of our pieces. We must be consistent throughout all the repertoire-- even in the gospel style when we say, "Jesus, the light of the worl..Dih".

2. Beautify and unite in places where we have humming consonants in the midst of words, and hum with lots of breath energy and colour (m) (n) (ng). These are different than places where we've decided to add shadow vowels M' (mih) N' (nih) NG' (ngih), but no less important. There are several beautiful examples of the humming consonants in THE HILLS ARE BARE and COME NOW O PRINCE OF PEACE.

3. Remind yourself of a constant need (even in low ranges of our voices) to have that soaring, lifted singing space that changes a 'mugly'* uh to a gorgeous AH. We always have prepare space for our highest note, even when we sing our lowest note-- think of how we work on our 'oo' sighs in warmups to keep the resonant space all the way through-- that's the pedagogical idea. Some places to consider this in our program are for women in COME NOW O PRINCE OF PEACE-- be sure not to press down on this one, especially sopranos on your repeated C naturals-- think of the gentle tones lifting up, take the weight out of your voice. Never crescendo or make a phrase by adding weight-- just spin more breath! Men- take care with OF THE FATHER'S LOVE-- to be sure you are feeling the lift in your voice, freeing the tone, and not just pushing down on the notes and pushing the tone-- that was another mugly moment last night. (*'mugly', by the way, is a contraction for mucho ugly...)

4. When you intentionally and correctly take in a healthy, full, low breath, it is tempting to come in (unintentionally) louder than before. We always want healthy, full low breath spinning-- even in the quietest sections, but be careful of not just opening your mouth and letting sound come out! Always think of the CONTEXT and COLOUR and DYNAMIC of the moment, and prepare it by inhaling the space and colour of your vision of the sound to come-- for example, women, when you first enter in AND GOD SAID and then again after Zuri's solo on the ALLELUIAS, that can be so beautiful when you don't push it, but you spin it gently, drawing us in to hear the beauty and energy of your tone and the tender care that you offer to the consonants at the ends of phrases (that diction well done last night!). Another spot is p. 3 of the Mendelssohn GRANT PEACE WE PRAY when you come in women-- joining the moment with a more prayerful and hopeful spirit. rather than a demanding or agressive tone, will help your singing have life in a more radiant, beautiful way.

5. Be intentional about rhythm. An eighth note is not just somewhere between beats. It is EXACTLY halfway between one beat and the next. Our overall rhythmic sense is improving-- particularly on KEEP YOUR LAMPS last night. Always consider the inner eighth notes as you sing longer note values. If we engage more in the rhythm of the Rachmaninoff, it will be a stronger piece. If we are more definite about rhythm (that includes when notes are released, by the way!) in the Bach, it will be a stronger piece. That doesn't mean for a moment that we need to sing the pieces harder or heavier. It doesn't even mean we have to sing them choppier. It means we have to be fully aware that each note we elegantly sing occurs exactly at its place. This means we have to give up some of our own tension and relax in the groove and swing of the pieces, so that every move we make rhythmically is organically connected to the whole. This is something that is improved when our bodies are free and not stiff-- and that we can flow along with the music and be rhythmically in sync with the whole. Remember: if people wanted to see statues, they would go to the museum. You are a live, expressive, amazing work of art, and movement is part of music-- be free to flow!

6. Live in the moment! Be fully present in every moment we share together-- do not dwell on anything that might be lurking in the rear view mirror. You've passed it-- keep your eye on the ball! Don't fear a possible obstacle in a town a few pieces ahead-- don't worry about another piece when you're in the midst of singing one. It's time will come, and our preparations assure that it all have the potentional to be successful and communicative! Stay in the moment-- make the most of every part of each syllable along the way, savor your place in the sound.

-------------------------------------------------

Now comes the time for details about tomorrow:

1. Those who wish to sing in the morning, we will assemble in the choir room at 9:30 and prepare Bach (DONA NOBIS PACEM) and Rachmaninoff (REJOICE, O VIRGIN) for worship.

2. We will meet in the sanctuary in your spots PROMPTLY at 3:00 p.m. so that we can warm-up and practice our procession again. Remember we will wear longsleeve bright color tops (not all red, please!) and long black skirts or pants and black shoes. Small jewelry is acceptable. We don't want you to smell too good or too bad, so have a shower but no perfume or cologne, please. At 3:15, we will move to the choir room to finish our preparations, and you will have a 15 minute break before you need to line up for hte concert. If you do not have a black folder or all the music yet, please come BEFORE 3:00, and Jeremy and I will be happy to help you.

3. After the concert, dinner will served for choir members and audience members-- anyone that wants to stay. Please feel free to join us in fellowship if you can.

Thank you all again for making my Christmastime so joyful! I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Hey, we could be at $50 choir by then.
TT

Dear friends,

Thank you for your continued preparations of your hearts and minds and voices for our concert this weekend. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. This is my first program with you, and I am learning a lot from our process-- including the reality of moving from our comfortable circle to our crowded choir loft tonight. It seemed harder for us to be connected and to just allow the music to sound. It seemed like we had to all work harder for less reward. My ears are telling me that I need to rearrange our sections into 'clumps' for seating, rather than some lines and some groups-- so you will have a new spot to find tomorrow evening. If you could please come a few minutes before 7:15, you can walk up into the chancel and find your spot. We will then warm up in the chapel, beginning at 7:15.

The seating change will help, I am confident of that-- however, we need to all trust the process we have engaged in-- the steps that have led us to where we are. We have to sing like we sang in the chapel-- not bigger or smaller, louder or softer-- now that we are in the sanctuary. We have to find the sacred, communicative space we've been discovering recently where the music can be FREE to sound. We have to remember never to push or press, but to share and soar!

I look forward to taking another exciting step together tomorrow night as we meet our instruments and hear the thrust of the story we have to tell.

Peace.

TT

Dear friends,

What a wonderful week-- we have three Wednesday nights in a row! : ) Before we get into the real reason I'm writing, here is a friendly reminder of our schedule for the week:

tonight (Thursday): meet in sanctuary at 7:15-- you will find your name there on a seat in the chancel (the four vocal parts have different colors to help you). We plan to finish around 9:00.

tomorrow night (Friday): we meet in chapel to warm-up. We will run through the program in order, beginning at 7:30 with our KEEP YOUR LAMPS processional.

Saturday: we rest our voices and practice at home.

Sunday: Whoever can come can sing DONA NOBIS PACEM and Rachmaninoff in the 10:30 service. Warm-up at 9:30.

Sunday afternoon: Let's do a concert! We will assemble in the chapel at 3:00 p.m. Concert begins at 4:00. Dinner is served afterwards for all who can stay.

*****

Last night, I mentioned Alice Parker's message that it's not what we sing, it's how we sing. I add a layer to that-- it's WHY we sing most of all. To illuminate the message, I'm going to let two of our choir members share with you.

This message came to me after I sent out the link of our singing of the MAGNIFICAT from Sunday's service. It comes from one of our youngest members, who, by the way, came to sing for Otis' memorial on Tuesday. He didn't even really know Otis, but he came to support those of you who did, to serve the community as part of the choir, and to celebrate the gifts that Otis gave that make First-Plymouth the church we love today. This kind of thinking and service inspires me! :

"It was moving to me to see the MAGNIFICAT even though I was there singing. I'm always amazed at God's continued love for us, and this song really hits at that in my heart - words and all!! As a side note - I heard an Abendmusik Christmas concert on NPR the other day, and I couldn't understand a word that was sung! I guess that comes across as a weird/negative statement, but what I mean to say is that I see what you and Jeremy are trying to say with our diction stuff. And I've been noticing things like that more and more as I listen to the radio, etc. I was telling Jeremy the other day, it's changed how I view pop music because I can tell a difference between singers who mean what they sing and those that don't. As a nonmusic major, I feel like I'm behind the curve on a lot of stuff, and so when I kind of get something, it excites or inspires me. This whole past semester, things you've talked about and taught us about music have really had an impact on me, not because I want to be some superstar singer someday - we both know that's not gonna happen. haha!! - but because I've really seen something new: the power of music. I know music can move people, but I couldn't tell you how big of an impact it has had on my own family. My parents are actually weighing the 400-mile travel to come to the concert on Sunday - not just because I'm singing in it, but actually, they both keep talking about how much they love the music! My mom says it always brings her to tears and fills her with peace and comfort. It's truly incredible because we aren't a big church-going family. I just had to share and thank you for everything you've done these last few months. You - and we as a choir - truly can't have ANY idea how monumental what we do is for other people. :) "

*****

This message came to me yesterday from one of our long-time devoted members whose presence and commitment is always an inspiration and gift:

I just finished watching the video of Otis' service that is posted online. I must say, that while I was not particularly fond of the Edmonds arrangement of Wondrous Love initially, the piece was just perfect in the context of the service. That, and the moving way in which we sang, changed my view of it substantially. Wondrous Love could be the concert theme, if not the title. After the service, Jim Keck told the choir that we had ministered to so many people this morning. It's easy for the choir to forget the real role it has to play under these circumstances, and indeed, each Sunday morning. Growing up in a Catholic school, we had the 7 corporal works of mercy drilled into our heads.

1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Visit the sick
6. Visit those in prison
7. Bury the dead

I think that, as a choir, we have the opportunity to practice the spiritual equivalents each time we sing.

*****

As we approach the conclusion of our first major project together, I am thankful that even early in our relationship, I am starting to hear the HOW and the WHY. I look forward to sharing that with your families and friends and with a community that will be hear to experience hope, peace, joy, and love. Let every heart prepare him room, and Abendmusik Chorus SING!

TT

Concert program flow chart

Dear friends,

Here is a flow chart for our program this weekend. I would encourage you to copy this and save it among your materials. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me. Remember, our schedule for the week: 7:15 Wednesday IN THE CHAPEL, 7:15 Thursday IN THE SANCTUARY, 7:15 Friday IN THE SANCTUARY. I can't wait to see you all...OFTEN! : ) Thank you for all that you each bring to make this program come to life!

Grace and peace.

TT

Jeremy welcomes everyone and prays on our behalf

Keep Your Lamps (we process in, singing)

Tom reads a reflection

The Hills are Bare

We are seated for Mary's Story for trumpeter, dancer, narrator, and organ

we stand on the words "blessed is the fruit of your womb" to flow into...

Magnificat

Our Lady Rejoice (Rachmaninoff) (we have a new, clean, computer-printed copy to pass out tomorrow that will be EASY to read-- thanks, Jack Rinke!)

Tom reads a reflection

Canticle of the Turning (pink sheet) with congregation

We are seated. Tom reads a reflection.

Suzanne reads scripture. We pop up and cheer ad lib... "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST! PEACE ON EARTH! GOOD WILL TO ALL!" on cue from Jeremy...and this segues directly and immediately to:

Hodie/And God Said

Tom reads reflection

Angels we have Heard on High with congregation

Choir recesses for intermission

INTERMISSION (eat, drink, pee, stretch, be merryish!)

Choir will process into the sanctuary, singing ...

Hark the Herald Angels Sing- (yellow sheet that you will pick up tomorrow) with congregation

Tom reads a reflection.

Come Now, O Prince of Peace

Grant Peace we Pray

Walk in the Light

choir sits and brass plays We Three Kings

Tom reads a reflection

then choir stands to sing...

E'en so Lord Jesus

Dona Nobis Pacem

MEN: Of the Father's Love -- women remain standing

men are seated.
WOMEN: Lo How a Rose/ The Rose

men stand

Tomorrow Shall be my dancing day

O Come All Ye Faithful (white sheet that you will pick up tomorrow) with congregation

Choir sits. Tom reads a reflection.

then choir stands to sing...

What Wondrous Love

Jeremy offers closing prayer on our behalf

Joy to the World (green sheet)

Thursday Surprise

Dear friends,

When I woke up this morning, I thought I knew what I'd write to you in our weekly e-mail. When I got to First-Plymouth, it became clear that another message would be coming, and I am humbled to share the news with you. This morning, the Lord of Life called home our beloved pastor, mentor, and friend, Rev. Otis Young. Having just seen Otis recently, seeming as healthy, robust, and convicted as ever, this news came as a particular surprise. Otis was 'retired' from his ministry here, but still was so active in our congregation and around our community. While I don't pretend to know him as well as most of you, I did read his book-- in fact, I was reading one of his sermons even at the exact moment when the phone rang that wonderful day in March when I was invited to serve with you as part of the ministry of Otis' beloved First-Plymouth Church! I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Plymouth Pride meeting a few weeks ago. Both in print and in person, Otis was unafraid of speaking truth. Otis was willing to challenge conventional thinking. Otis did not teach First Plymouth to operate within a box he put around God. He taught First Plymouth to open up the box many put around God so that everyone could come in to experience God! This was to be a church-- not an exclusive private club. So much of what we take for granted in being our church, his vision helped us to be. Even from a distance, I was able to learn a lot from Otis' understanding of being church. His relationship with Pastor Jim was also unusually wonderful, collegial, supportive, open-- both care more about their church and its people than their position or power. Even from a distance, I was able to learn a lot from Otis' understanding of leadership. Even from a distance, I have many reasons to be thankful and grateful to God for the gift of Otis Young, and I know you all join me in offering prayers of love and support to his family and to our entire congregation and community at this time.

How can we respond? Well, there are two ways I can think of right away:

1. We can sing our grief, gratitude, and faith as the choir for Otis' memorial service. While the details are still to be worked out, we anticipate the service will be sometime on Tuesday. It is already a busy singing week for us, but our collective, pastoral presence will be a gift of special meaning. Jeremy and I will communicate details with you as soon as we have information available. Please invite all former Plymouth Choir members to join us for this service if they feel called to offer their gift of music ministry for this special moment in the life of our church.

2. we can pray for each other. We can love one another harder. We can be more patient. We can be more thankful for each sunrise. We can be more fully alive today and treasure the gift of life, and give thanks all those who travel the journey with us. The sanctuary here will be open for prayer and reflection tomorrow, Friday, from 4:00-8:00 p.m., if you need a quiet space or the embrace of your spiritual community.

Peace be to you,

TT

p.s. See you Sunday at 8:00.

SNOW DAY and recovery plans

Dear friends,

Even though our storm is passed, we believe it is too cold and that there is too much snow left in people's driveways and side streets to have our families out to go to choir rehearsal tonight. Jeremy and I feel that it would be too stressful for many of us to struggle to get out to choir. As you can imagine, with our concert and Christmas Eve coming, we will need to make up this lost rehearsal time-- otherwise the concert experience will become stressful for us in another way. We will respond in four ways. Please read these fully and carefully.:

1. Sunday morning the First-Plymouth Choir sings both services at 9:00 and 10:30. We will gather for rehearsal in the choir room at 8:00 sharp-- please do not be late. Give yourself some extra sleep Saturday night and wake up 15 minutes earlier than you think you should on Sunday morning! We encourage as many Abendmusik-only folks to come sing as possible because this gives us all several chances to rehearse and sing MAGNIFICAT and AND GOD SAID (from our HODIE mash-up!).

2. We will rehearse a bit between services on Sunday, from 10:00-10:25, probably in the choir room. There will be some kind of little snack prepared for you then.

3. A light lunch will be served EFFICIENTLY between 11:30 and 12:00 in Pilgrim Hall, then we will ALL rehearse, probably in the chapel, from noon until 1:30. (We cannot go later than that because of the neighborhood caroling party that begins then.). We understand accept that not all of you will be able to attend this rescheduled rehearsal, but we hope and trust that all of you will make every effort to make it possible to attend.

4. We will all promise to spend some quality time today, tomorrow, Friday and/or Saturday studying our scores, plunking out our parts on the piano, listening to the blog and otherwise focusing on our upcoming repertoire. Please do not wait until Sunday to think about your choir music again-- otherwise, our ship has a real chance of sinking. Just being in touch individually with your music a bit will really help our collective progress. Particularly focus on the MAGNIFICAT, AND GOD SAID, DONA NOBIS PACEM, and the Rachmaninoff REJOICE, O VIRGIN-- these need to be on the tip of your tongue! Also, see if you can memorize KEEP YOUR LAMPS-- I think you maybe already have! : )

Thank you all for you bring to the First Plymouth Choir and the Abendmusik Chorus. I will miss being with you all tonight, but hope you will enjoy the gift of a quiet evening at home. Keep warm and safe.

Peace.
TT

Commitment

Dear friends,

It is so exciting to be just weeks away from my first Christmas in Lincoln, and what a blessing to have so many of us together to sing for the upcoming concert and the beautiful services of Advent and Christmas Eve. It's hard to imagine what Christmas would be like without choirs...yet more than half of America's churches do not have choirs anymore. It's hard to imagine what the holiday season would be like without Christmas concerts...yet most community choirs across the country are struggling to fill their rosters. It's hard to imagine what Christmas would be like without carols...though many of our children are not allowed to sing them in their school choirs which must sing about Frosty, the venerable snowman. Fewer and fewer people, organizations, and churches are making a commitment to the treasures of our traditions.

Knowing this, I am even more thankful that we have almost 100 chairs filled in the choir room this busy season! I am thankful that our choir is a place where people who have sung here for 30 years can sing together with others who are not yet 30 years old! I am thankful that we gather to sing of hope, peace, joy, and love at a time when the world needs it most. I am hopeful that we can continue to find ways to evolve and grow as a singing community-- to broaden our reach to welcome singers we don't know yet, to deepen our relationships with one another, to enhance our ability to gather in unity, and to communicate with greater passion and deeper purpose to those who offer us the gift of their listening. The work we do and the ministry we share as a choir are fundamentally counter-cultural: We rejoice in humility. We sacrifice our own glory for the strength of the whole. We give so that we may receive. We succeed by sharing rather than by winning. We treasure our history, our heritage, and our foundation and seek their truths in our time. We serve rather than deserve. We know discipline is a gift we can offer rather than a punishment we are given. We are patient with steady progress and process rather than anxious for instant rewards.

Some would argue that it's a real waste to spend so much time preparing for a piece of music that will be over and done in 3 minutes. Some would argue it's such a waste to spend so much money to produce a program or service that will last for an hour or less. But that's not how God works-- think about it: do we really need thousands of different, beautiful flowers? Do we really need peacocks, zebras, or turtles? Do we really need the picturesque visions of autumn? Do we really need everyone on earth to be a unique, individually-crafted person? Do we really need millions of delicious foods to choose to eat? Do we really need the beautiful songs of the birds, or the unforgettable aromas of grandma's cookies? Such extravagance can easily be seen as waste, as foolishness. But God's extravagance can also be seen as gift, as grace, as possibility, as beauty, as truth, as art. God offers abundance, and God invites us to take part in that creation each and every day. We can offer our uniqueness to create a greater whole. Let's be a choir. Let's sing carols. Let's tell the story. Let's continue to make a commitment to being a part of God's extravagant color in a world that sees too much black and white. Let's continue our commitment to sharing the gift of music!

Our journey continues as we sing THE HILLS ARE BARE AT BETHLEHEM and KEEP YOUR LAMPS on Sunday morning at the 10:30 service. We will meet at 9:30 in the choir room. At 11:30, lunch will be served for everyone in Pilgrim Hall, then we rehearse in the chapel from 12:30-3:00 to continue our progress. I look so forward to seeing you all soon.

Grace and peace,

TT