The Temple Complex Choir

Sister Markham accompanies the choir and coaches the director.	Sister Armstrong (far back) sings with the choir and helps teach a little music theory.

The choir is made up of employees who work at the temple complex. Most are custodians in the Facilities Maintenance Department. The choir members are talented individuals who love music and are hungry for instruction.  The only formal music instruction many have received at this point is the solfa training Ghanians are all taught in elementary school.  There has been a wide variety of assistance from various senior missionaries who have come through.  Sisters Armstrong, Markham, Strong and Whisenant are trying to build on that base of knowledge by teaching choir members how to follow the music lines instead of relying on what the choir master teaches them by rote.  In April an employee gave the choir copies of a musical arrangement, something that this choir has little experience with, and the choir was asked to sing this piece at a Monday morning devotional several weeks away.  The choir members came to the senior missionaries and asked for help to learn it.

The senior missionaries strive to be very careful to build on what the choir knows and not focus on what they don't know.  One of the choir's strengths is their complete devotion to their choirmaster, Samuel Brown.  They are very dependent on him, as his traditional role is to learn all the parts himself and then teach each harmony line in turn to the basses, tenors, altos and sopranos.  The senior missionaries observe where the choir could improve, and then instruct the choir. For example, “Some of you are not holding out your part for the required six beats.”  (Of course, since they don't read music, ‘required six beats’ has no meaning.)  “Brown will hold up his hand and as long as his fingers are open, you will continue singing.  When he closes his fingers, you will know to end the words.”  Gentle instruction like this worked like a charm.  Brown (many Africans chose to go by their surnames) is a very quick study, and he immediately knew his responsibility.  At each rehearsal, a new technique was taught, such as not taking a breath in the middle of a phrase, singing softly when appropriate, blending with other members of the choir, and coming in at the right moment.

Sister Strong has contacts with musical composers in the Church, and she is arranging to obtain authorized copies of music for the choir to sing unencumbered by copyright restrictions. Everyone is enjoying being part of the temple complex choir, especially the senior missionaries!

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