What makes ward choirs tick
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Mark Bishop directs the ward choir of the LDS Emerald Ward during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Crystal Williams accompanies the ward choir of the LDS Emerald Ward during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Crystal Williams accompanies the ward choir of the LDS Emerald Ward during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
From left, Travis White, Cory Carrigan and Troy Burdett of the LDS Emerald Ward rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Troy Burdett of the LDS Emerald Ward and others from the mens section rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward, from left, Emily Bishop, Mary Ann Meese and Jeanene Child rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Mark Bishop directs the ward choir of the LDS Emerald Ward during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward, from left, Emily Bishop, Mary Ann Meese and Jeanene Child rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Members of the LDS Emerald Ward rehearse their hymns during choir practice at their meetinghouse in Layton Sunday, Mar. 15, 2015. Ward choirs consist of volunteers who donate their time to sing during sacrament meetings and other special occasions. (BRIAN NICHOLSON/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
LAYTON – Five years ago when her husband passed away unexpectedly, Kathy Skidmore Latham of Layton turned to the ward choir, volunteering as the director, and was buoyed up as the choir members rallied around her.
“Ever since then we’ve just had a wonderful experience, even if it’s a small or large choir because these are wonderful people who want to serve and are blessed,” Latham said.
After 40 years of ward choir experience, Latham said it is one of the most spiritual experiences one can receive as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I have seen incredible things with ward choir, even the week before watching the choir just struggling, but through the power of prayer and hard work, amazing things can happen,” Latham said.
Latham says people don’t even need to know how to sing and can still have a spiritual experience. “When you put a group of faithful people together who have their hearts and minds as one, then the spirit kicks in and makes us better than we can be by ourselves, and with that spiritual energy, magical things that can’t really happen with a university or professional choir can happen. It’s not really about the music. It’s about sharing your testimony through music,” Latham said.
In early LDS church history records, Latham points that leadership of the church made it clear that the earth’s choirs can be joined by angelic choirs, something Latham has experienced in her time as ward choir director. Her choir sang at the funeral for one of the men in their ward who had been a singer in his day. “Many people came to sing with our chorus for his funeral and one of his nieces who sang with us said she felt him standing right behind her, singing with the choir,” Latham said.
Chris Harmon of Layton has been the ward choir director at least once in every ward she has lived in has lived in through the years, noting the many dynamics of each ward and admitting it is the same challenge for every choir director. “Any choir director will tell you that they love their calling, but the least enjoyable part is getting people there,” Harmon said.
Harmon says successful choirs use a variety of methods such as meeting at someone’s house for rehearsal, having a choir president to help bear the load of the director, providing cookies, or even one ward she attended where the bishopric hand-delivered invitations to ward members.
Ultimately, Harmon says it is about making choir members feel wanted and needed. “As a director, you have to be really sensitive to the types of voices and abilities they have, and most importantly, remember that you have people that can share not only their musical ability, but their spiritual testimonies,” Harmon said.
Latham says ward choir directors don’t have to be a major choral director to bring out the best in your choirs. The key to an effective choir is selecting music that isn’t too hard. Over the years Latham’s learned that less is more by focusing on the message of the music. “My rule is that if the music can’t be learned in two rehearsals, unless it is for something special like Easter or Christmas, it’s too hard. There are too many busy people who can’t come for an hour at a time outside of the church block, and many who can’t come to every rehearsal, so I tend to choose music where people sing a lot of melody and some harmony all the way through,” Latham said.
Additionally, have the women sing low enough so it doesn’t draw attention to voices that are untrained she explains. “If it’s too high, voices are screechy. When they sing in a lower register, it is so lovely and mellow without loud and high fast notes, and that way you can convey the message, which is when the spirit comes through,” Latham said.
When the choir is done singing, Harmon has always been surprised how people have been touched by the message of the song. “Even if you don’t think it’s been good enough, there is always someone that needed to hear it that day, and it’s a wonderful feeling to know that you are being an instrument to help Heavenly Father’s kingdom,” Harmon said.
