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| Issue #22 / Winter 2009 |
 America's Got Talent |
Installment
8 Week Two!!! |
| by Carol Taubl |
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| If you missed Installment 1, click here |
| If you missed Installment 2, click here |
| If you missed Installment 3, click here |
| If you missed Installment 4, click here |
| If you missed Installment 5, click here |
| If you missed Installment 6, click here |
| If you missed Installment 7, click here |
With week one behind us, we were floating
on a cloud as we began preparations for our second live
performance. The emails continued to pour in, with
fans from all over the world sharing their love of our
arrangement of 'Umbrella.' But we knew that it would be
a hard act to follow, and with the song that they had
given us, we had our work cut out for us.
We had a tentative
arrangement in mind when we met with the Nigel Wright,
the music arranger, on Thursday morning. He liked
the basic idea of the arrangement, but didn't seem
overly excited about it. That was a little scary,
and yet we wanted it to be great, so we left the trailer
determined to make it amazing.
The trouble started when
we couldn't get a piano to work with. I always do
my arrangements on the piano, and there was not one
anywhere that I could work with. I could feel the
tension building as I tried in vain to improve the music
without the usual tools. I think Annabelle saw the
nervous breakdown heading my way, so she came over to
where I was agonizing and began offering help. She
has absolute pitch so she knew exactly what notes needed
to be in each harmony, and exactly how to notate the
string parts we were hearing. |
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The day was a long
one, full of b-roll filming and interviews,
but finally they released us and we headed back to
the hotel. Everyone was tired, but I was
almost sick with concern. I desperately wanted
this to be one of the best arrangements of my life,
and yet I wasn't coming up with what I needed.
So I sent the kids and John off to City Walk for
dinner, and I stayed behind in the hotel to work.
In the quiet of that room, I was able to finalize an
arrangement that would work. The kids came
back from dinner and we ran through it. Everyone smiled as the last notes faded, knowing
that it was good.
The next morning we
had another meeting with the arranger, and this
time, there was a tear in his eye as we finished
singing. We knew we had something good. He gave us a few ideas to add that special touch,
and we made arrangements to return to the studio and
record the background track.
We headed off to
Hollywood and Henson Studios once more, and again
were very pleased with the results. They added
a gospel choir to our song for the last big chorus,
and when we heard that, we all smiled. It was
a very strong arrangement, and the kids sounded
great. I felt much better. |
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The next day, we
had our first rehearsal on stage. We
decided to have the boys up on a platform this time, and the girls down front. Emily was
a nervous wreck at the thought of having to
descend stairs while singing, but we finally
convinced her that she could do it and she
agreed. I think that was the most
terrifying part of the whole experience for her!
She had visions of Entertainment Tonight showing
clips of her falling down in her ball gown, and
running the clips over and over and over. That is the stuff of nightmares and I think she
lost some sleep over it for sure!
After the
rehearsal, our sound engineer called me into the
trailer and let me listen to the final product.
Gretchen went with me and we couldn't have been
happier with what we heard. The balance
was perfect, the voices were clear and
beautiful, and the arrangement really worked.
We both felt much better as we went back in to
tell the others. We did not have another
rehearsal on stage until the day of the show,
due to the Labor Day holiday. That wasn't
good, but we continuedto practice diligently at
the hotel, and when Tuesday finally came, we
were anxious to get going
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But I must tell you that there was just something different this week. I don't know how to explain it, or what the cause could have been. But we all knew it was there. There was an air of tension, and sadness, and foreboding. None of us really wanted to acknowledge it, so we spent the week pretending it wasn't there. But when all was said and done and our experience was over, we all agreed that the air had changed and it wasn't good. What would performance day bring? I went to sleep on Monday evening with a prayer on my lips for peace and blessing on these wonderful children that God had entrusted me with. |
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Gretchen's Heart for Orphans |
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In early December, 2008, the Taubl Family was honored to be a part of the annual tree lighting in Stamford, CT.
On a brutally cold December evening, thousands assembled to see Santa rappel down the side of a skyscraper in downtown, and then made their way down the street to Latham Park to hear some Christmas music by the Taubl Family!
Following the festivities, we were invited to the home of some dear friends for delicious food and warm fellowship. |
After dinner, our hosts shared with us a cause that was dear to their heart. They showed us photographs of an orphanage in Bogotá, Colombia, where they had spent many weeks working with and being blessed by these children. Then we were told the story of the saintly nun and other volunteers who took care of these little ones that had no place to go. Gretchen was touched by the faces and overwhelmed by the need, and expressed interest in going down to Colombia on the next trip.
In early January, Gretchen learned that she was officially invited to make the trip, and thanks to the generosity and vision of our wonderful friends, all her expenses were to be paid. Gretchen will be bringing a shipment of violins to these orphans, and helping to set up a string program for these precious souls. She will be leaving February 7 and returning February 14.
Check out the website of this amazing place and learn more about their mission to rescue these innocent little ones.
If you want to learn more about the mission, or if you are wondering what you can do to help,
please contact us at tpianist@aol.com |
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Emily and the Hartford Symphony |
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After winning the prestigious Van Rooy competition last fall, Emily was asked to perform with the Hartford Symphony in January of 2008. Emily was thrilled with the opportunity to work with such a wonderful orchestra.Shortly after that first appearance, Emily received a call from the conductor asking her to appear on a regular season concert in January, 2009. January 8 - 11 marked Emily's return to the Hartford Symphony stage, this time performing Haydn's Cello Concerto in C Major. Four nights of performing can be a daunting experience, but she handled it beautifully and each night brought more excitement and energy. The picture above left was her dress rehearsal on Wednesday, January 7. Above right is Emily with her mom backstage on Thursday evening, opening night, nervous but excited, looking radiant in her lavender taffeta gown. Click here to listen to an excerpt of her performance.
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Here is an excerpt of the review written in the Hartford Courant. "Cellist Emily Taubl joined the orchestra as soloist in the Haydn Concerto in C Major to close the first half of the program. Taubl performed Tchaikovsky's "Pezzo Capriccioso" with the HSO last January. Since then, her family, all nine of them, were finalists on NBC's show "America's Got Talent."
Taubl, a Yale grad now earning a second degree at Hartt, most certainly "got talent." She may project a relaxed and focused exterior, but she has a charismatic musicality. She plays with extraordinary accuracy and lightness. Her passage work in the third movement, taken at breakneck tempo, was breathtaking. In a work with a maze of different themes and passages, she led us through with clarity, logic and conviction. Taubl is going places." |
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School events for the boys! |
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This has been a very tricky first semester for the boys. Due to America's Got Talent appearances, they had to miss several weeks at the beginning of the year, and spent the rest of the marking period catching up. One highlight of that first semester was Jack's performance in the Christian Heritage School production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Jack played the part of Oberon, king of the fairies, and was quite convincing. We didn't' know we had a Shakespearean actor in our midst, but the experience gave Jack a lot to think about in terms of pursuing acting perhaps in college. |
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And coming up in March, look for the all four of the boys in the Christian Heritage School spring production of 'Peter Pan.' Jack landed the role of Captain Hook and early reports are that he is quite a convincing pirate. The other boys are Indians and chiefs - not much acting involved there! For those of you who have never experienced a Christian Heritage School spring musical, it is quite the event. Plan now to come and bring the family
The dates are March 19-21, 2009 at
Christian Heritage School in Trumbull, CT. We hope to see you there! |
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YouTube |
One of the real perks of participating in America's Got Talent is the national exposure that we received. The estimated audience for each of the live shows that we performed on was around 15 million people. We have heard from so many of you, and that has been an amazing thing. We also have our performances posted on YouTube, so you can share them with your friends, or just go watch them once more yourself. So many of you have shared that the music is able to bring a smile to your face, even when you are feeling down. That is a wonderful thing. So check out the videos, and let us hear from you soon!
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| New York Audition - Sound of Music |
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| "Umbrella" Performance |
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"When You Believe" Performance |
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