Hogle Zoo!!!

On Saturday some of the Mills clan got together for some fun in the sun at Hogle Zoo!

We enjoyed riding the carousal and train, having a picnic and eating cotton candy, and seeing all the animals. For those of you who weren't able to make it here is some of what you missed.

We saw tigers

Giraffes

Elephants

and one very sad lobster (look at my upper arm)

WITNESS: AMERICAN SPIRITUALS

This Friday, April 23, the USU Chamber Singers (ANTHONY) and Chorale (ALISHA) will present WITNESS: AMERICAN SPIRITUALS, a choral concert featuring beloved American songs and spirituals including THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE, DEEP RIVER, KEEP YOUR LAMPS, AIN-A THAT GOOD NEWS, and a soulful rendition of Robert Ray's jubilant GOSPEL MASS for choir and rock band. Don't miss it!

WITNESS: AMERICAN SPIRITUALS
featuring the USU Chamber Singers and Chorale
with
Irv Nelson, bass
Landon Putnam, drums
Dr. Cory Evans, director

Friday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.
USU Performance Hall
$8/free for all students with ID

THIS IS OUR LAST CONCERT OF THE YEAR!! ALSO, AS FAR AS CURRENT PLANS GO, NEITHER OF US IS PLANNING ON BEING IN CHOIR NEXT YEAR, SO THIS MIGHT BE YOUR LAST CHANCE TO SEE ANTHONY & I AS PART OF THE USU CHOIRS.

Our up lifting week end

This weekend I was amazed by a sweet humble lady and her extremely supportive husband. They talked about how music influences our lives.

One story was of a young elder who had just entered the mission field. He couldn't teach with the spirit at all. He had spent 5 yrs listening to hard rock and the filthy lyrics kept running through his mind blocking the spirit. It took six months, the whole zone fasting for him, and a special blessing from the mission president before he could teach. He wrote home to his brother... never listen to music with bad language, and filthy lyrics.

The other story was about when she, the speaker, had been in a horrible car accident. She had to lie flat on her back for a test to see if her neck was broken. She couldn't breathe very much, and said it was the worst pain she had felt in her life and the longest 30 min. Over and over she reapeated in her mind the words of a primary song... one of her own.


The part that touched me the most was how the Lord had used the trials in their lives to guide them to write and produce her music... that she didn't even know she could write.


She typed for professors and students to add to their income. One day she made 32 errors on one page. She took it out and threw it away. Her hand and fingers curled up, it looks like the tendons were shortened. She couldn't type or play the piano any longer.
She loved sports, and was a fanatic of city league, church ball, and all sports on tv. When she broke her ankle playing basketball Brother Perry asked her if she could find a different hobby that didn't cause so many injuries. She said also the tv quit.

Her son was asked to sing at a youth activity. He said everything was old fashioned did she think she could write him something to sing. She had only tried once before in high school. She prayed and wrote a poem, then put it to a simple tune. Kelly might remember from our old seminary record. It was something about Jesus.
She wondered if she could write more songs and her goal was to get ONE song in the primary song book. How about that?

Brother Doug Perry is a linguist, he had the feeling to take one year of music. which, of course led to four classes with Janice. The most important thing was that he was prompted by the spirit that she would one day be his wife. He was madly in love with someone else and thought WHAT? Which received a scolding from the spirit. She will one day be your wife, you need to help her. He obeyed.

He takes her scribbled pages and turns them into sheet music. He's working on translating them into the various languages he speaks.

They just returned from a trip to Japan. From North to South 11 stops in 8 days, and they are in their 70s. They loved how the Japanese children could raise the roof when they sang. And how in the world did they get her songs clear over there in Tokyo? she asked.

They also loved their mission to Santiago, they wondered which mission Rebecca served in. They taught music to the people there and started the first choir. after a few weeks of practising one sister asked if they were as good as the tabernacle choir yet. OH, said sister Perry, If we practise as long as they have perhaps we will be. She didn't tell her that it was 75 years. She said she didn't know why they let her sing in the tabernacle choir. Since then she has started writting hymns. Her husband told her to write one hundred.. she thought he was crazy.. she's up to 150.

she said her whole life has been over coming fear. Fear of not being able to write songs, fear of speaking, fear of anything new. She said try to do something new... She was 40 when she started to write music. Sister Janice Kapp Perry and Brother Janice Kapp Perry, as he calls himself , were amazing. They are so humble. She can't see why people are enthralled with her.


I wish so much that I could have blinked you all there. It was wonderful. She doesn't think much of her voice, but you should see her light up when she hears her songs sung well and loud! I'm still a little hoarse. Boy, she would have loved listening all of you.

Love, Sandy

What is... Walk-a-Mile-in-Her-Shoes?

Walk-a-Mile-in-Her-Shoes is a fundraiser and awareness event against rape, sexual assault, and gender violence. Participants walk a mile in heels.... and they're all men!!

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

To read the whole story click here

I'm not shown in the video, but I was one of the volunteers wearing a bright pink shirt walking with the men to keep them motivated... and help them stand up when they stepped in a sidewalk crack and get them unstuck when they walked through mud.

I had boys complaining about feeling self-conscious because it made their bums poke out. One boy said he couldn't feel his toes and by the end of the mile the majority of the men were walking practically on the sides of their feet in a very precarious, heel breaking position.

Several f the men said "why do you wear these?!?!?! They are SO uncomfortable!!"

PS. Alex, the 12 year old boy in the video, ended up raising over $1,000 by the end of the day

Did you know...

• Utah's reported rape rate was 63.7 per 100,000 females in 2008, compared to the U.S. rate of 57.4 per 100,000.
• In 2008, over 88 percent of rapes were not reported in Utah.
• More than four out of five times when a woman is raped, it is by someone she knows. In Utah, 91.4% of rapes are committed by someone on the victim knew. And the average length of time she has known them is one year.
• 8 percent of girls and 5 percent of boys in Utah high schools were forced to engage in unwanted sexual activity.
• 1 in 4 college women have survived rape or attempted rape.
• 43% of rapes occur in a residence, often the victims own home, and 36% occur in cars.

USU Opera Theatre Production

DATE: Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:30pm

DATE: Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 7:30pm

LOCATION: Caine Lyric Theatre,

28 W. Center St, Logan, UT

TICKETS: $13 adult admission and free to USU students with ID. No children under 8 years old please.

Tickets available through the Cain School of the Arts Box Office http://csaboxoffice.usu.edu, or call 435.797.8022.

CSA Box Office hours 10:30am - 5:00pm M-F, Chase Fine Arts Center, FAC 139-B

Utah State Opera Theatre Presents an evening of Opera Scenes and Puccini's classic comedy "Gianni Schicchi".

Come join us on Friday, April 9th and Saturday, April 10th at 7:30.

The scenes to be presented are excerpts from "The Merry Wives of Windsor" by Otto Nicolai, "Albert Herring" by Benjamin Britten, and "Louise" by Gustave Charpentier.

Casts:

Nicolai, ACT I Duet from THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Performance time approximately 10 mins; sung in English;

Mrs. Ford- Becca Roberts
Mrs. Page- Claire Burnett

Charpentier, Scene and Aria from LOUISE

Performance time approximately 20 mins; sung in French with English supertitles
Louise- Miriam Costa-Jackson
Julian- Carson Smith
Irma- Amy Garner
Camille- Angela LeBaron
Gertrude- Chelsie Shumway
Blanche- Paige McGuire
Elise- Linda Linford
Marguerite- Emily Hecker
Errand Girl- Stacey Bodtcher
Suzanne- Marissa Spraktes
Madeleine- Kami Caple
Forewoman- Jennifer Baker
People of Montmartre:
Claire Burnett, Kacee Cambron, Makenzie Matthews, Becca Roberts
Matt Boeckmann, Kyle Cropper, Shane Mickelsen, Jeff Riches, Mike Heber, Kristopher King

Britten, Scene from ALBERT HERRING
Performance Time approximately 15 minutes;sung in English

Miss Wordsworth- Kacee Cambron
Lady Billows- Makenzie Matthews
Florence Pike- Kami Caple
Superintendent Budd- Matt Boeckmann
The Mayor- Kyle Cropper
The Vicar- Shane Mickelsen

INTERMISSION [15 minutes]

Puccini, GIANNI SCHICCHI
A one-act comedy, part of Il Trittico, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC in December 1918. Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano; based upon an episode (Canto xxx, 1.32) from Dante’s Inferno ,

Performance time approximately 50 mins.; sung in Italian with English supertitles

setting: Florence, Italy, c. 1930’s (originally 1299)

Gianni Schicchi- Anthony Eversole
Lauretta, his daughter- Tenille Spencer
Relatives of Buoso Donati (deceased):
Zita, an older cousin- Karyn Stubbs
Rinuccio, Zita’s nephew- Travis Stehmeier
Gherardo, Buoso’s nephew- Jaron Putnam
Nella, Gherardo’s wife- Nadia Stehmeier
Gherardino, their son- Daniel Francis
Betto, from Signa, Buoso’s brother-in-law- Jordon LeBaron
Simone, Buoso’s eldest cousin- Ben Hall
Marco, Simone’s son- Max Moreno
La Ciesca, Marco’s wife- Bridgette Worthington
Master Spinelloccio, a physician- Morgan Hall
Amantio di Nicolao, a notary- Mike Heber
Pinellino, a cobbler- Shane Mickelsen
Guccio, a dyer- Kristopher King
Buoso Donati (deceased)- Kyle Cropper

** Merry Wives of Windsor scene and Louise scene directed by Karlee Heaps; Albert Herring scene and Gianni Schicchi directed by Kimberly Mumford; USU Director of Opera and coach/collaborative pianist is Dr. Lynn Jemison-Keisker.