Released

In October our Stake redid the ward boundaries.  I am in a new ward, and have a new calling (which is  not Ward Choir director.)

Therefore, I just thought I'd make it official that I will not be posting on this blog anymore.  However, I still receive notifications when someone makes a comment, so if you stumble onto this blog in a few years and want me to email you copies of our Ward Christmas programs, I can still do that.

Best of luck to all the Ward Choir directors out there, and here's me checking out until I am called to do it again.

Two Ward Choir Christmas Programs

I started this blog with the intent of it being a resource for my ward choir.  I don't think very many of them look at it, but I'm happy to say that it has been a useful resource for other ward choir directors.  I've had a lot of people try to access the pdf files of my Christmas Programs, and they worked for awhile, but then one day they just disappeared, and I have no idea where they went.  

So, since my pdf links didn't work out, I'm just putting my first two Christmas programs right in this blog post, so now all four Christmas programs that I've done with ward choirs are here on the blog (2006, 2007, 2011, and 2012).  

I apologize in advance that the formatting isn't consistent, but I just don't have time to fix them.  Feel free to copy and paste into your own document and edit to your heart's content.  Add new songs or use different arrangements, or use your own narration.  Whatever you want.  It's just nice to have ideas to work with.  Also, if you want my digital files, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send them to you.  (Maybe those would be easier to edit?)

I'm reusing my 2006 program for this year, so I won't have a new program to share this year.  But if I'm still pluggin' away at this next year, I'll probably do a new one, just to keep things interesting.  

PROGRAM #1

Written for Cherry Hills Ward Choir Christmas Program 2006

NARRATOR:  (Luke 2: 1, 3-5)

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all his empire should be taxed. . . And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.”

1. Primary Children—When Joseph Went to Bethlehem  2.5 min

NARRATOR:  (Luke 2: 6-7)

“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inns.”

2. Away in a Manger, From Hymplicity, 3 min

3. Baby, What You Goin’ To Be? By Natalie Sleeth, 4 min

NARRATOR:  (Luke 2: 8-12)

 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.  And the angel of the Lord said unto them, Fear not:  for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

4. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, Arr. Sally DeFord with flute 4-5 min

NARRATOR:  (Luke 2: 13-14)

  “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host  praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

5. Congregation—Far Far Away, Hymn book 4 min

NARRATOR:  (Luke 2:15-20)

  “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”

6. All is Well, by Michael W. Smith, 4 min.

NARRATOR: 

President Hinckley has said, “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter.  The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection.

“I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal, Living God.  None so great has ever walked the earth.  None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing.  He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world.  I believe in Him.  I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise.  I love Him.  I speak His name in reverence and wonder. . .

“Our joy at this season is because He came into the world.  The peace that comes from Him, His infinite love which each of us may feel, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for that which He freely gave us at so great a cost to Himself—these are the of the true essence of Christmas.”  (Liahona 2000)

7. Did You Sing at the Birth of the Savior? By Janice Kapp Perry, a cappella 2 min

NARRATOR:

We read the following in a declaration entitled “The Living Christ” written by the apostles:

“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

8. Christmas Medley- arr. Larry Beebe, includes Joy to the World, Angels We have Heard on High, Silent Night (piano & organ accompaniment, with the congregation joining on the last verse) 5-6 min

Total estimated music time:  31 min

Total estimated Narration time:  10 min

Estimated length of program:  41 min

One by One

This Sunday our choir reconvened after the summer break.  It was good to sing with everyone again!  The first song we're working on is a simple hymn by Janice Kapp Perry and John V. Pearson, called "One by One."  I found it in Volume 3 of Janice Kapp Perry's Inspirational New Hymns.    I love it because it's about my favorite story in the Book of Mormon, when Christ visited the Americas and ministered to the people one by one.  When I was young, I wished with all my heart that I could have been one of the children He blessed and prayed for.  :)  The words are beautiful and the melody is simple and tender.

One by One

Music by Janice Kapp Perry

Text by John V. Pearson

One by one they saw Him come and heard God speak: "This is my Son."

Then Christ stretched forth His hand to them and bid each one come near.

And one by one they felt His side--the prints of nails in Jesus' hands

And all fell down at Jesus' feet and worshipped Him with tears

One by one to Christ they came and brought their blind, their sick, their lame.

And Jesus laid His hands on them and healed them ev'ry one.

And each bowed down and worshipped Him and all the multitude drew near.

And each who came did kiss His feet  and bathe His feet in tears.

One by one the children came and sat round Jesus on the ground

And Jesus took and blessed each one--and wept and prayed for them.

No tongue can speak the words He said but joy filled all who heard Him pray.

And angels came in wreaths of flame and ministered to them.

One by one Christ bids us come and bring our sins and cares to Him.

And He will lay his hands on us and heal us ev'ry one.

And may we feel His riven side and see the nail prints in his hands.

And we shall fall and worship Him and wash His feet with tears.

Ward Choir Christmas Program 2012

Here is our Ward Choir Christmas program from this past Christmas.  It was really nice--but a little on the long side.  We probably should have done 1 less song.  

Don't know which one I would have axed, though.

Good Christian Men Rejoice, arr.  Julie Webb, SATB

Narrator 1:  Years before the birth of the savior, King Benjamin, a prophet on the American continent, proclaimed this joyous news: 

  “For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the ^aLord ^bOmnipotent who ^creigneth, who was, and is from all ^deternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a ^etabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty ^fmiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the ^gblind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

Narrator 2:  And lo, he shall ^asuffer ^btemptations, and pain of body, ^chunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can ^dsuffer, except it be unto death; for behold, ^eblood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his ^fanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

And lo, he cometh unto his own, that ^asalvation might come unto the children of men even through ^bfaith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a ^cdevil, and shall ^dscourge him, and shall ^ecrucify him. And he shall ^arise the ^bthird day from the dead;  . . .”  (Mosiah 3:5,7,9-10)

Sing We Now Of Christmas, arr. T. Chemain Evans, SSAA acappella

Narrator 1: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all ^athe world should be ^btaxed.  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called ^aBethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his ^aespoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  And she brought forth her ^afirstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the ^binn. (Luke 2:1-7)

Narrator 2:  John 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Born is the Light of the World, Sally DeFord, SATB

Narrator 1: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the ^aglory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them,

Narrator 2:  Fear not: for, behold, I bring you ^agood tidings of great ^bjoy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is ^aborn this day in the city of David a ^bSaviour, which is Christ the ^cLord.  And this shall be a ^asign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Narrator 1:  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth ^bpeace, good will toward men.

(Luke 2: 8-14 )

Angels We have Heard on High, arr. A. Laurence Lyon,

TTBB chorus and piano

 Narrator 2: Now when Jesus was ^aborn in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, ^aWhere is he that is born ^bKing of the Jews? for we have seen his ^cstar in the east, and are come to ^dworship him.

And [Herod] sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

Narrator 1:  When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and ^afrankincense, and myrrh.

(Matthew 2:1-2, 8-11)

Carol of the Magi, John Rutter,

SATB with Taylor Boyack cello soloist, and Boyack string ensemble

Narrator 2:  The Book of Mormon prophet, Abinadi, proclaimed:  And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption.  And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no ^asting, there could have been no resurrection.

But there is a ^aresurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of ^bdeath is swallowed up in Christ.  He is the ^alight and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.  (Mosiah 16:6-9)

Narrator 1:  Revelations 22:16   I Jesus have sent mine ^aangel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the ^broot and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning ^cstar.

There is a Star, Joseph Martin

SATB with Jared and Melanie Staten, soloists

Narrator 2:  In an epistle to the early Saints, the Prophet Joseph said:  Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into ^bsinging. Let the ^cdead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the ^dKing Immanuel, . . .  for the prisoners shall go free. Let the ^amountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid ^brocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the ^cmorning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! (D&C 128: 22-23)

Congregation & Choir:  Joy to the World

Narrator 1:  From the document “The Living Christ—the testimony of the Apostles,” written in 2000 we read:

“We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world.

“We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

Once in David’s Royal City, arr.  Rachel P. Mohlman,

with additional text by Anna M. Molgard

Ward Choir Christmas Programs

Alright, I've been meaning to do this for awhile, and although it's probably a little late for anyone working on a Ward Choir Christmas Program for this year, maybe it will give you ideas for next year.  I've finally (after spending WAY too much time trying to get this to work . . .) figured out a way to attach these programs here, for anyone who wants to download free PDF versions of the 3 Ward Choir Christmas Programs I've put together over the past 6 years.

I think I mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of the Christmas Cantatas you can buy--inevitably, I don't like some of the music, or feel the narration too contrived or whatever.  I prefer choosing my own music from a variety of composers and then tying it together with scriptural references and words from our latter-day prophets.  So I have put together 3 such programs, that hopefully will be useful to some ward choir director somewhere.  I'm doing a new one for this year, and then I plan on recycling these 4 for awhile . . .  unless I get a spark of inspiration next year, that is.

The narration in these programs is all scriptural, or taken from words of modern day prophets.  The music, however, is not necessarily all from church approved sources, but was all approved by the various bishoprics I've served under.  However, every bishop is different, so before you start rehearsing any music outside the hymn book or primary song book or other church approved materials get the lyrics approved.

Alright, enough prologue.  Let's see if this works.  You should be able to just click on one of the programs and it will take you to a site that will allow you to download and print the documents . . .


8/26/13
So, I don't know where my links went.  Instead, you can click HERE and it will take you to my post where I just put the programs right in my blog.

Thoughts on Ward Choir during the summer

I figured since we're taking the summer off, I should do something for my church calling.  So I've been updating the fabulous "Preachin' to the Choir" blog on the pieces we did this past "semester."  It would probably be more effective if I got them done before we sang so my ward choir members could have a little background info on the pieces, but, to be honest, I don't think most of my ward choir members even read this, so maybe this will be helpful for another ward choir director somewhere else in the world who happens to stumble upon my ward choir musings.

I was thinking today, that choir director is probably the only calling in the church that you can just take the summer off.  I'll take it!

In case anyone is questioning if that is a good thing or not, let me tell you that I think it definitely is in our ward.  Last summer I tried to rehearse all the way through and it proved BEYOND frustrating for me.  Some weeks we'd have 5 people show up, so I'd get out something really simple to work on, and some weeks we'd have 25 people, so I'd be scrambling for something a little more challenging.  And sometimes we'd have all sopranos and one bass, and what do you even do with that?  I know that it says in the handbook to have the ward choir perform at least 1-2 times a month, and we definitely do that during the school year.  But during the summer when people are traveling, there is just no consistency.  It makes it very difficult to plan a rehearsal that isn't wasting everyone's time.

Besides, I have it on authority of Rosalind Hall (BYU Men's Choir Conductor).  She has been her ward choir director for years (how would it be to be in HER ward choir!?!)  and has observed that people like to be a part of something with an end product.  So in the Fall our "end product" is the Christmas program, and we start rehearsing for that in August/September, along with other pieces that we perform along the way.  In the Spring, the "end product" is the Easter program.  It's not technically the end, as we prepare music to present through the month of May, but you get the idea.  And now we are taking June and July completely off, and will reconvene in August.  Hopefully everyone will be excited to sing together again after a nice long break.  I know I need the break as much as anyone to sort of regroup and choose new music and get my focus back.

So Happy Summer!

A Place in His Arms

On April 29th, we had a special music presentation with the ward choir and volunteers from the Senior Primary.  I love when we invite the primary children to sing with us for a couple of reasons--1) It significantly boosts our ward choir attendance, because usually at least one of their parents comes with them, ;)  and 2) There is just such a sweet spirit when the primary children sing.

We sang "A Place in His Arms" by Sally Deford and it was perhaps the best thing we've sung the entire year so far.  I still have people comment to me how much they enjoyed that song (and it's June as I'm writing this.)  For the first verse, I asked my daughter Daphne to sing a solo, (she did BEAUTIFULLY.) Then all the primary children sang the 2nd verse with the women oohing behind them.  The third verse started out with the choir a cappella.

Then came the 3rd verse chorus, which was one of my favorite moments of the piece.  It started with the women in unison, then added the men, then we added the children on the words "There was room in His arms for his little ones then, there's a place in His arms for me!"  It was really powerful, how it kept building and building.  (I'm getting chills just thinking about it, and I don't think it's just because I'm sitting by an air vent . . .)

Then on the last line, Daphne sang by herself "There's a place in His arms for me," while the choir oohed behind her.  I don't know if everyone internalized the reasoning behind that, but what it meant to me is that the Savior's love is for everyone (everyone singing "There was room in His arms for His little ones then . . .")  but somehow, it is also VERY personal and individual.

This piece has a wonderfully tender message about the Savior's love for each one of us.  I told the primary children that even though none of us were alive at the time of the Savior's ministry on earth, and none of us can remember what it feels like to get a hug from Jesus, if they would pay attention to the way they felt as they sang this song, the Holy Ghost could teach them how it feels to be encircled by Jesus' arms.  As I looked at those sweet children while they were singing, I saw one little girl with tears in her eyes, and I knew she'd been paying attention.

A Place in His Arms

Suffer the children to come unto me,

Jesus taught His disciples of old

Then he took every child in His loving embrace

And He blessed them so long ago

Bring me your little ones, Jesus said

For of such shall my kingdom be

There was room in His arms for his little ones then

There's a place in His arms for me

Oh how the Savior loves each little child

How He smiles when I seek Him in faith

Then He gathers me close in His loving embrace

And He blesses me day by day

Bring me your little ones, Jesus said

For of such shall my kingdom be

There was room in His arms for his little ones then

There's a place in His arms for me

So, like the children who sought Him of old,

I will come to the Holy One

I will call on His name, I will trust in the grace

Of the Father's beloved Son

Humble my heart like a little child

For of such shall His kingdom be

There was room in His arms for his little ones then

There's a place in His arms for me

There's a place in His arms for me