Recital Day!!!

Well, today is the day! I am so ferociously stoked! I've been preparing for this for five years and it's finally here! I've got a dress that I LOVE, I feel prepared on all of my songs, and I feel all-around really good! The nerves are starting to kick in, but that's normal.

On Wednesday night I did a run-through with Brother Peck in the Recital Hall. It was fantastic! There's one song in particular that we had run earlier that day in my lesson . . . and that's the only song we ran. We were laughing so hard in my lesson that we couldn't really get through the piece! Wednesday night was no exception! It was hilarious!

Update:
I'm finished!!! I've been working on this for five years and I finally finished! Oh my goodness, the relief that I felt after was overwhelming! Mirisha and I also got a standing ovation! It was an incredible experience! My day was crazy! I needed to go to the store to get flowers for Brother Peck, Sheryl, and Sydney. The one's at Albertson's were cheaper, but I don't have a car (Albertson's is 1.5 miles away from where I live) . . . so, I decided to walk! Not the brightest idea I've ever had. It was about 89 degrees and I was dying most of the way there and back! When I got home, I still needed to cut up fruit and get things ready for that night! I started to feel stress and anxiety settle in; I knew that I was supposed to take it easy so that I could have the best recital possible. However, I'm not very good at "taking it easy". At about 2:30 I went over to the Snow building to get ready. My friend and accompanist, Sheryl, did my hair and make-up. At one point during the "getting ready" process, Sheryl said it was time for my first surprise. She pulled out these little, sparkly, twisty things that you put in your hair. They were beautiful! Later on she pulled out jewelry that, again, was beautiful! Needless to say, I felt very spoiled!

My family met up with us at about 4:30. They came, we talked, and then they left to grab dinner. Sheryl and I both got dressed and then went to warm-up. My nerves started to rise from my stomach to my throat, as did my excitement! Finally, it came time to perform! I felt so excited! When I walked out, I was told that people kind of gasped and awed because of how I looked! I felt beautiful! Not just pretty or cute, but beautiful! The recital, looking back, feels like a giant blur! All I could remember was that I was going in, singing, and then coming back out for a break! I felt amazing! My final song, I was incredibly excited for! The song is called "The Serpent", by Lee Hoiby. It's the song that we ran Wednesday and I couldn't get through because I was laughing so hard! I'm pleased to say that I didn't laugh at all when I sang it during my recital!

I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to do my recital this semester! It was such a fun thing to do . . . I kind of want to do it again! I'm so grateful for all of the love and support from my friends and family! I honestly don't think I could have done this without any of them! Next stop, graduation! :D

Recital!! *Note: One of my favorite things about all of these pictures is that you can see my tan/burn line on my chest. At least we know that I'm a modest person!

Mine and Mirisha's poster

My wonderful family drove 4+ hours to come see me sing for thirty minutes! I love them!

My wonderful friend and accompanist Sheryl. She's been with me since my first semester and it has truly been a blessing to grown with her!

I had the blessed opportunity to sing with this wonderful young woman, Sydney. She is absolutely incredible and I feel truly honored to have been able to sing with her!

Final Jury!

Earlier this week, Monday, I had my final jury! This jury was to determine if I could do my recital or not. In all honesty, I was feeling quite terrible about it! I've been experiencing allergies for the first time in my life and I had no idea what to do to help my voice. The symptoms had been going since Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It seemed that no matter what I did I couldn't get my voice to be right. When I went home last weekend I had my Dad give me a blessing to give me extra strength for my jury.

I warmed up Monday morning at about 8:00 and after that warm-up I didn't feel much better about my jury. I felt good about the information that were in the songs, but vocally I didn't feel that great. Sheryl--my accompanist and dear friend--was a great help in helping me feel a bit calmer than I was the days before. We said a prayer together before we went over to Brother Olsen's office. As we waited outside I started saying a prayer, asking that I have extra strength for this jury.

Then, we were called in.

There were three teachers on my jury: Brother Olsen, Brother Peck, and Sister Ashby. I went in, presented Pauline's Aria from Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades, and I felt okay about it. Because Brother Olsen is my Master Class teacher and Brother Peck is my voice teacher, Sister Ashby got to pick most of the songs. I sang four of my seven songs and I wasn't asked a single question! As I walked out Brother Olsen told me to keep an eye on my e-mail. When the door was closed I looked over at Sheryl and I just shook my head. I felt terribly about the whole performance! I wanted to go in and absolutely blow the jury away. However, because of these silly allergies I couldn't do that! I felt that, because of that, I wasn't going to pass my jury. I felt delated and quite disappointed. I have been working so hard, and I wasn't able to show that to the jury.

A couple of hours later I received an e-mail called "Jury". It took me several minutes to open it, but when I finally did I felt a wave of relief wash over me. It said:

"Sarah,
I am pleased to share that you passed your jury this morning, and you are clear to continue on to your recital on 6/29."

I had passed my last jury!! I couldn't believe it; yet I couldn't feel excited about it because I felt like I had had such a terrible performance (it didn't help that my allergies were really make me feel ill as well). So, as I told people that I had passed, there was no enthusiasm in my voice at all! As I spoke to my Mom and Dad, they both had to ask me several times if I was okay. I just didn't sound excited. Fortunately, later that night it hit me that I had passed . . . my recital is coming up; I have a recital to look forward to! I was ecstatic!

I've been preparing for this recital for five years, and it's now here! A week from tomorrow I have the opportunity to perform for my friends and family and I couldn't be more excited about it! I found a dress yesterday and I'm so excited!!! Now, just to finish posters, programs, and planning refreshments! Almost there! :D

"A Wrinkle In Time"

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go home and try to get things ready for my recital next week. My friend, Helen, and I travelled down to Heber Friday evening and spent most of the day Saturday practicing our individual instruments. However, we took a couple of hours out of our day to go see BYU's production of A Wrinkle in Time. I had been receiving e-mails about BYU's production for a few months and I finally decided to read it. This year is the 50th anniversary of the book, so I figured I might as well read it! I read it in a couple of days and absolutely fell in love with it! It's such a fun book!

As I thought about it, I was curious as to how BYU was going to do this as a play. There were some things that just seemed like it would be really hard to do on stage. Oh my goodness, it was amazing! The actors had games for the children in the audience to play to learn more about dimensions, planets, and so on. It was sweet to see the children learning about things that the show was going to mention. It was quite fantastic! The audience/children was also included during the performance. The actors would have them recall the information about things they had learned previously to the show. It was wonderful!

I actually got in "trouble" during part of the show. I don't remember what Mrs. Which said, but she said something. Some of the audience laughed; she turned to them and said, "It's not funny." I began to laugh and she turned to me and said, "I said, it's NOT funny!" The actor playing Charles Wallace turned to me and apologized. It was really hard for me not to laugh after that. I wish I could explain how well done this play was! There was such imagination used in the costumes, set, and just all around! There was so much left up for the audience to interpret, which I thought was fantastic! The cast did such a great job, as did the sound and light technicians! Honestly, one of the best plays I've ever been to!

I have to share my favorite part! When Meg is going up against IT and she exclaims that she just needs to be herself; for some reason that hit me. I think that that could be an overarching theme for the entire play; we don't need to be anybody else but ourselves, why should we want to be?

BYU-I've Never List

So I've realized that there are so many things in Rexburg that I haven't done in the five years that I've been here! My goal is to achieve all of these things before I walk in July. So, here's my BYU-Idaho I've Never List:

• Hiked R Mountain: (CHECK: July 20, 2013 @ 6:00 am; we watched the sun rise!!!)
• Eat dinner at the hospital (CHECK: July 23, 2013)
• Gone to the dunes: (CHECK: July 22, 2013 w/Ian! We had a great time jumping off the dunes, roasting marshmallows, and asking each other random questions)
• Go to Guitars Unplugged
• Gone night canoeing (CHECK: May 24, 2013)
• Eaten at Big Jud's: (CHECK: July 20, 2013)
• Hiked Cress Creek (CHECK: May 31, 2013)
• Go to Rigby Lake
• See the IF Fireworks (CHECK: July 4, 2013; picture to come)
• Do a Recital (CHECK: June 29, 2013)
• Be in the 4th of July Parade (CHECK: July 4, 2013)
• Go to Blue Hole (CHECK: July 4, 2013)
• Go to the Haunted Swingset

There's other things too, but I can't think of any off of the top of my head. However, when I do I will write them down!

Spring Choirfest

On Thursday I had my first concert of the semester. Good heavens, it was awesome! The concert consisted of the Women's Glee, University Choir, Women's Choir, and the Collegiate Singers. All of the choirs did so well, and all of those involved did such a fantastic job! We (the Collegiate Singers) sang six pieces: Peace (Unto Zion), Zion's Walls, If Ye Love Me, Lux Aeterna, William Tell Overture, and Let Me Fly!

I'll be totally honest, the last two were my favorite! We aren't as polished as we could be on William Tell, but all the same it was hilarious! I am so grateful for music in my life and for the chance that I have to learn the technical side of it, but also the spiritual side. Music strikes me to my very core, and I know that other people are the same way. Music touches me in a way that words alone cannot do. However, when combined with music it becomes even more powerful. It completely resonates within my soul and I love it! I'm so excited for the opportunity that I'll have for the rest of my life to help people feel and express through music! Music has been such a blessing in my life; it has strengthened me through the hardest of times and added extra enjoyment during the best of times!

Can you imagine a world without music? Boring! There's music everywhere we go! In the movie August Rush, August says "The music is all around us, all you have to do is listen." It's so true! I'm so grateful for music and the blessing it is in my life. I'm grateful for the comfort I've received, the strength, and also the pure joy I experience whenever I'm around wholesome music!

Be Still My Soul

Last night I received some distressing news about my sister-in-law (yes, the one who just had a baby). I received a text message from my Dad while I was at a game night asking if I would fast for Nini today. I immediately left the room and called my Dad to find out what was going on. Apparently Nini has had a temperature of 103 degrees for the last three days. They finally took her into the Emergency Room last night. Dad and Mom were asked to watch Scarlett while Stephen and Nini went to the hospital. That was all the information my Dad had for me; immediately I felt my stomach tighten and an very unsettling feeling came over me. I asked my Dad to text me when Stephen and Nini got home, and he said he would. I stayed outside for a few minutes after I called my Dad and said a quick prayer for Nini.

When I went back inside I told my friend Megan what was going on. She asked if I had called my brother. I didn't think to call him because I didn't think he'd answer . . . but I felt prompted to go out and call him. He did answer, and, to be honest, part of me kind of wishes he didn't. His voice sounded weak and worried. When I asked how he was doing he gave a weak "Eh" I then asked when he thought he was going to get out of the hospital and he said, "I'm not sure . . . sis, can we call you back tomorrow?" I told him that I loved him and that I was praying for he and Nini both.

I went back into the game night feeling very uneasy, but I stayed the rest of the night. As I walked home I talked to my Heavenly Father expressing my concern about what was going on. My mind kept jumping to all sorts of conclusions and I just broke down and began to cry. Nini has been such a fantastic influence in my life, I'm so grateful for her love and her example to me! And the love that she has for my brother is amazing! Seriously, the cutest couple I've ever seen! I love them both! It was really difficult for me to think of her being ill and I couldn't be there to help comfort her or my brother.

I got home and I told my roommates what was going on and asked if they would be willing to fast for her with me. The agreed and we immediately knelt down and said a prayer. I have such wonderful roommates, and I'm so grateful for their strength, love, and support. We talked about it for several minutes, and I wasn't feeling any better. I tried to change subjects and hear about my roommates exciting evenings, but my mind was weighing very heavily on Nini. After a little while my roommate Amber asked if I wanted a blessing. After thinking about it for a moment, I felt that I really needed a blessing of comfort. As I thought about who I would contact I had two people come into my mind; I don't know them incredibly well, but they were there the day that I found out about Scarlett. Amber contacted both Sam and Nate and they came over to give me the blessing (*Note: it was about 1:00am and I still hadn't heard from my parents on whether Stephen and Nini were back).

Before the blessing I told Nate and Sam what was going on. After I told them I said, "It sounds silly, I know." and I truly thought it sounded silly to ask for a blessing, but at the same time, I felt that I needed one. Neither of them seemed to think it sounded funny, and we knelt down and said a prayer together before the blessing. After the prayer, I continued to pray that Heavenly Father would open my heart and help me feel at ease about Nini. I wanted to know that everything would be okay, I wanted to know that within the next 24 hours she would be up and moving. I just wanted to know something.

The Priesthood power of God on the earth today is real. There's no doubt of it in my mind. As Sam gave the blessing, I know that it was not Sam speaking. In the blessing, God told me more about me than about Nini. He told me that I strengthen people, that He knew how to take care of His children, that God is pleased with the tenderness that I feel for my family, God is aware of me, and several other things about me. As I sat there and listened to Heavenly Father speak to me through my friend Sam, I kept thinking, "But what about Nini? I don't want to hear about me, tell me about Nini!" Without fail, every time I thought that Sam would say something about Nini. But then it would come right back to me. God knew things I was feeling that I didn't say to anybody else, and that was what I really needed to hear. In the middle of the blessing I received a text message from my Dad. They have diagnosed Nini and have given her the antibiotics that should have her on the mend within a few days.

I'm so grateful for both of these incredible young men (who I'm convinced are modern day Stripling Warriors) who were willing to come out at one o'clock in the morning to give me a blessing that I truly needed to hear. I felt comfort wash over me and my mind began to clear. God truly does love His children. Another important thing I learned, nothing is "silly" to the Lord. I felt genuine concern for my sister-in-law and needed my mind and spirit to be at ease about the whole thing. Nothing is silly to the Lord; if it's important to you, then it's important to Him. I'm so grateful for the wonderful friends I have in my life who are willing to be a support and strength.

Sunset at Cress Creek

Last night I got to go out on another date! That's three dates in three weeks! Holy cow! Anyway, this one was with my friend Alex. We've known each other since our first semester here (Winter 2009) and it was a lot of fun to get to know him better.

We started off going to his parents house to get wood to make a fire. Because his family was already doing a fire, we decided that we'd come back and join them in that fun after our hike! We then went to Cress Creek Nature Trail near Ririe, Idaho. We followed the trail and on the trail there were signs with information about Cress Creek. Alex would read them in different accents, which was quite entertaining. After following the trail for a little while we decided to go off! I was fine when we were on the trail; heck I felt like I was in pretty awesome shape! Then, when we went off, I was like "Dang girl, you need to hit the gym a little harder!" Ha, Alex was like a mountain goat! He was just running all over the place! It was great! Anyway, we hiked up pretty close to the top! As we sat there, we got to watch the sunset; it was gorgeous! I love sunrises and sunsets; they are just amazing! Alex pulled out some Aaron Copland music and we listened to that while the sun was setting. It was amazing how well the music reflected the sunset (I'm convinced Alex planned that)!

We sat there for several minutes and then started to head down. Alex tried teaching me how to run down hill . . . it didn't work so well! Don't worry, I didn't fall . . . but I was pretty close a few times! We went back down to the trail and found the look-out point where most people watch the sunset. We sat there for a few minutes and he showed me some Paul Mealor music, which is gorgeous! Oh my goodness, absolutely amazing stuff! We listened to that while we sat and we just talked. It was great. After we got down we went back to his parent's house to make banana boats. A banana boat is when you take a banana (still in the peel) and cut through the peel and part way into the banana. Then you stuff it with mini marsh mellows and chocolate chips! Then you wrap it up in aluminum foil and put it in the fire so that it can cook. It was delicious! We also made s'mores and just sat around the fire and talked.

As we traveled home we heard this amazing violin music being played. We decided that it sounded Russian/Czech and so we wanted to know who the composer was. Alex kept guessing, the only one that kept coming to my mind was Tchaikovsky . . . but I knew it wasn't Tchaikovsky. Alex said that he was going to keep driving around until we found out who the composer was. Well, about half an hour later we found out who it was . . . sadly I don't remember the name! But, it wasn't anybody we thought it was!  It was such an enjoyable evening, we even quoted a little bit of Doctor Who (yes, I got him addicted to it)! It was a lot of fun talking to Alex and getting to know him a little bit better.