Mormon Bloggers

The other night I was up late channel surfing. My sweet EC was snuggled up to me, and already out cold. Me? I was avoiding going to sleep. Do you know why? Because if you go to sleep at night, the next thing you know, it’s morning. Do you know what happens in the morning? You have to get up. And I don’t like getting up.  So, I procrastinate going to sleep. I’m nothing if not logical. Anyway, as I scrolled through the programs, the movie “Amadeus” caught my eye. I was compelled to stop and watch. Amadeus (1984) is one of my all-time favorite movies. I lost count of how many times I have seen it. I love the music, the story, the acting. It makes me think as well. One reason I know it so well is that I worked at a movie theater when it was playing. I would make a point to slip in the back of the theater and watch in whenever I could. The movie spurred an interest in Mozart, and I fell in love with his work. I mentioned some of it in yesterday’s... Read the rest of this entry »

OK kids. Every now and then, I need to feign a level of sophistication that you usually don’t associate with me. Today I am sharing some tunes with you for three reasons: 1) I will be making a brief reference to this piece in my post tomorrow, and y’all need to get up to speed.2) Sinfonia Concertante K. 364 is my favorite Mozart work, followed closely by Symphonies 29 & 41. Why? It makes me a better person.3) We all need a little more Mozart in our lives – ’tis good for the soul. Please note: 1) The soloists make ridiculous faces. Especially the dude in the chef’s jacket.2) Violas are awesome.3) It runs around 30 minutes. You might want to turn it up, or wear headphones.4) There are other versions of this piece out there, but I think this one is joyful. And free.5) All three movements are included, but broken into 5 parts for YouTube.6) Please send me links to any classical music that “grabs” you.  (This would NOT include music featuring... Read the rest of this entry »

Bossy – Senior Year I told you yesterday that Bossy started band in elementary school. She enjoyed the clarinet and all of her woodwind friends, but as she got a little older and a little better, she decided she wanted to branch out. That’s when we bought her first saxophone. My mom had given us the two clarinets, so I had never paid for an instrument before. It was September of 1995 and Bossy  Read More →

Cell phone pic from the Christmas Concert Last night Princess and Prima Donna played in a “Monster” concert at our high school. That means that two middle school bands each had a turn to play, then the high school band played, then all three played together. It was pretty awesome with all of them on stage! The group barely fit…there must have been almost 300 kids up there. The combined number  Read More →

A predominantly-Mormon musical group in Mesa, Arizona has just grabbed the number one spot on a Billboard music chart for their rendition of a new oratorio, “Messiah In America”. According to the Arizona Republic and the Salt Lake Tribune, the East Valley Mormon Choral Organization was part of a group of 700 singers and instrumentalists from MCO’s choirs, children’s choirs and symphony orchestras, which also included the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization in California, which captured the top spot on Billboard’s Traditional Classical music chart for their performance of Messiah In America. They’re also listed as a “Hot Shot Debut” at number seven on the overall Classical chart and as a top Independent album. Here’s a brief promo of the group: The LDS website noted that the group includes four world-class soloists; Jennifer Welch-Babidge, soprano; Francesca Forsyth, alto; George Dyer, tenor; and John Huntington, bass. The group... Read the rest of this entry »

Let every heart prepare him room.~”Joy to the World” Son of God, love’s pure lightRadiant beams from thy holy face,With the dawn of redeeming grace.~”Silent Night” Where meek souls will receive him, still The dear Christ enters in. ~”O Little Town of Bethlehem” Born that man no more may die;Born to raise the sons of earth,Born to give them second birth. ~”Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” Lord, with the angels we too would rejoice;Help us to sing with the heart and voice.~”Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains” “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep:The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,With peace on earth, good will to men.”~”I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” Sharing Time: What are your favorite words from the Christmas hymns?  Read More →

Not that I’ve ever done those, either. Please download and listen to these songs while imagine one of the following scenarios: 1. We are driving together on a stretch of highway, singing these songs at the top of our lungs. 2. We are sitting by a fire, drinking chocolate soy milk and talking about politics. 3. We are knitting socks in a loft and eating fresh vegetables. I think that covers everyone. Enjoy. xoxo Click here to download   Read More →

A lovely way to start a wintry day. Dance of the sugar plum fairy from the Nutcracker suit by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky played on glass harp (musical glasses) by Robert Tiso. Anne Bradshaw Author, True Miracles with Genealogy: Help from Beyond the Veil at http://truemiracleswithgenealogy.com Epic Genealogy Giveaway Starting Soon!  Read More →

Free Music I’m happy to introduce a free music website today. It was created by a friend of mine from England – Sue Kureczko. Here’s what she says: “I have been writing church music for over two years and have completed nearly 70 songs. I write the melody and the lyrics and then hand these over to competent arrangers. “I draw inspiration from many sources: images, scriptures, comments, literature, music and friends. The idea of creating gospel centred music seemed more possible after attending a Sally De Ford fireside in England, which gave me a nudge in the right direction. “I hope you enjoy listening to the music as much as I enjoy writing it. Please let me know how you feel about the music.” You can download the music at www.sueleemusic.com.  I particularly enjoyed the 13 new Christmas songs. Anne Bradshaw Author, True Miracles with Genealogy: Help from Beyond the Veil at http://truemiracleswithgenealogy.com Epic Genealogy Giveaway... Read the rest of this entry »

11. I am grateful for the military. Others who freely give their lives to ensure I live a life full of freedom and basic human rights and privileges. I don’t agree with war and violence, but we can’t control what other countries or dictators will do, so I’m grateful for those that protect our borders. I think veterans and active personnel are highly undervalued and I hope that we will be able to  Read More →

“The woman of the future, who is really being born today, will be a woman completely free of guilt for creating and for self-development. She will be a woman in harmony with her own strength, not necessarily called masculine or eccentric or something unnatural. I imagine she will be very tranquil about her strength and her serenity, a woman who will know how to talk to children and to the men who sometimes fear her… The woman of the future will never try to live vicariously through the man, and urge and push him to despair, to fulfill something that she should really be doing herself. So that is my first image — she is not aggressive, she is serene, she is sure, she is confident, she is able to develop her skills, she is able to ask for space for herself.” Anais Nin, 1976, quoted in this article. Also this: Cake – Short Skirt/Long Jacket (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Cakes  Read More →

“The woman of the future, who is really being born today, will be a woman completely free of guilt for creating and for self-development. She will be a woman in harmony with her own strength, not necessarily called masculine or eccentric or something unnatural. I imagine she will be very tranquil about her strength and her serenity, a woman who will know how to talk to children and to the men who sometimes fear her… The woman of the future will never try to live vicariously through the man, and urge and push him to despair, to fulfill something that she should really be doing herself. So that is my first image — she is not aggressive, she is serene, she is sure, she is confident, she is able to develop her skills, she is able to ask for space for herself.” Anais Nin, 1976, quoted in this article. Also this: Cake – Short Skirt/Long Jacket (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Cakes  Read More →