Sunday Morning

When we lived in Wymount and Shaunie had meetings every Sunday morning the girls were usually pretty sad since Shaunie was (still is?) their main squeeze at the time. In an attempt to help them forget that mommy was gone I would turn on KBYU or BYUTV and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would usually be on one of the channels. Jilly was still quite little so she would just sit there and stare at the ceiling , the wall and occasionally the choir on the TV. Evelyn on the other hand would most often be completely enthralled by the music and the conductor. I started taking her hand and helping her 'conduct' the choir on TV which made it more fun for her. Ever since those days both girls drop everything when there is a musical number in church. They want to stand on our laps to see as best they can and they will pay very close attention. Both of them from time to time will start waving their hand on their own to 'conduct' the music, even during the usual hymns.

Shaunie had the brilliant idea of starting the tradition of watching Music and the Spoken word every Sunday. Today was day one and it went pretty well. There was a pioneer theme. Evelyn wasn't too keen on the narrator, she wanted to see the choir. As soon as the started singing she was, just as she'd been when she was 1 year old, captivated.



Jillian decided she needed a better seat to catch the show so she started off sitting front and center, the best seats in the house.

There was an oboe soloist playing while I took these first pictures (it was beautiful, the oboe is a very delicate instrument) and after that there was a bassoon soloist. Both girls asked, "WHAT's that? WHAT's that Daddy?" It's a bassoon..."BA-ssoon daddy BA-ssoon" repeated Jill. Evelyn said, "Ooooh, isa Bassooooooooon".

After high-school I worked as an usher at the Music Center of Los Angeles. I got to see the LA Philharmonic for free when I would work the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion.




Other nights I would get to see plays or musicals, but I applied for the job so that I could see the symphony. Esa-Pekka Salonen was (and still is) the conductor of the LA Phil.

I got to hear some incredible live music and see a high caliber orchestra. It was, for me, very dreamlike. When I was younger I wanted to be a conductor for a symphony orchestra. Watching Salonen conduct was like watching a rock star(yes I'm a nerd). I still remember the first time I heard 'Helios Overture' by Karl Nielsen and Shostakovich's 15th Symphony (the fourth movement is haunting).

Among my memorable experiences there were taking my parents to see Beethoven's 5th for free (ushers could get people into shows for free), seeing Carol Burnett in a stage play at the Mark Taper Forum (part of the music center), taking my best friend Peter to see a modern rendition of Prokofiev's Cinderella set in WWII (awesome!), taking my high-school nad director to see Mahler's 5th symphony for his birthday, and of course hearing (and seeing) all the classical music that was new to me.

Evelyn and Jillian love music, even at this early age. I can't wait until they are old enough to sit still and pay attention long enough to go see a live symphony orchestra, or even introduce them to my classical music collection. I love the fact that Shaunie plays piano and that the girls are excited every time she plays. I jokingly say that we should have them learn the harp so that they can get college scholarships. The flip side of the joke is that a harp and harp lessons over the years would cost as much as a college education (not really). It's neat to be able to teach our kids about the things we like in addition to all the regular stuff. Hopefully music will continue to be an important part of their lives.