As the harmonies of "Oh, the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" resonated in the Choir Room, Dorian Johnson enlightens us on this deep content rich hymn of the church. Mietta Stancil-Farrar navigates us through our CRQ to discuss the rich tapestry of choir beyond the church walls, uncovering the wide-reaching impact of gospel music from serene nursing home gatherings to the raw vibrancy of street outreaches.
Then, along with our live audience, we welcome the incredibly gifted Adassa, the voice of Dolores from Disney's "Encanto," a wife, mother of seven, singer, songwriter, and now voice-over actress adds a spark to our conversation about the spiritual and lifting power of singing in this two part podcast.
Adassa shares personal insights and stories, including a moving narrative of a singer who, in the face of a health crisis, discovers a resilience that transcends her identity as a performer, reminding us that our essence is far greater than our accomplishments, all while balancing a demanding career with family responsibilities.
As this heartfelt episode draws to a close, we reach out to you, our listeners, to help the Choir Room's message resonate across the globe. Your engagement—through likes, shares, and heartfelt comments—fuels our mission to share the transformative power of choir and singing. With a look towards the horizon, we hint at the exciting continuation of our dialogue with Adasa, underscoring the gospel's timeless message: It's not about the messenger, but the profound love echoed in every note we sing.
http://adassa-official.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHMxhvHLK9Y/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb6biETgTBo
https://music.apple.com/us/album/in-jesus-we-are-one/1700334364
https://music.apple.com/us/album/carol-of-the-christ-single/1712949639
Perpetuating and Promoting the Christian and Positive Idea Through the Medium of Music and Other Arts.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the choir room.
Episode 35 of the Choir RoomPodcast.
I'm Greg Thomas, your host.
Welcome to the choir room,joined by my co-host, dorian
Johnson.
Hello, and me at Estanso FarrarHello.
Welcome to the choir room.
Hello Reminds me of something,hello.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Ha, ha, ha ha.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
This podcast exists to promote and encourage to
longtime traditions in oursociety that seem to be
dwindling away, and that ischoir and corporate singing.
We hope to revive theexcitement and joy experienced
with singing in a choir, as wellas inform and educate the
listener on all things singingand all things choir.
This podcast is also aproduction of Metro Music and
(00:46):
Arts, whose purpose is toperpetuate and promote the
Christian and positive ideathrough the medium of music and
other arts.
We've got a live audience herein the choir room today and
they're going to help welcomeour guest contributor.
She's a wife, a mother, anactress, a singer, a songwriter
and a voiceover artist and somuch more, known for her role as
(01:07):
Dolores in the hit Disney filmEn canto.
Adasa is with us, so stay tunedas we hear from this incredible
artist and we hear from our own, Dorian with the hymn of the
week and Mieta with the CRQ Tothe choir room.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Here's Dorian.
Thanks, greg.
This week's hymn of the week isoh, the deep, deep love of
Jesus.
And we've been looking at thegrace of God shown to us in
salvation and we've been seeing,looking at the love of God that
has shown to us not only insalvation but throughout our
lives as his children, and oftenin Paul's epistles.
(01:45):
We see interspersed in theletter a prayer that Paul will
often pray for those to whomhe's writing in Ephesians,
chapter three, starting in verse14.
We read this For this reason, Ibow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family inheaven and on earth is named,
that, according to the riches ofhis glory, he may grant you to
(02:07):
be strengthened with powerthrough his spirit in your inner
being, so that Christ may dwellin your hearts through faith,
that you, being rooted andgrounded in love, may have
strength to comprehend, with allthe saints, what is the breadth
and length, and height anddepth, and to know the love of
(02:27):
Christ that surpasses knowledge,that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God.
This hymn was written by SamuelTrevor Francis in the late 19th,
early 20th century, and, whilehe's not one of the most
prolific hymn writers that we'vehighlighted over the past few
weeks.
This hymn is memorable because,as the theme of the hymn
(02:50):
highlights the vastness and thegreat depth of the love of
Christ, the typical tune towhich this hymn is sung reminds
one of the ocean's rolling tide.
Verse one says O the deep, deeplove of Jesus, vast, unmeasured
, boundless, free, rolling as amighty ocean in its fullness,
(03:12):
over me, underneath me, allaround me, is the current of thy
love leading onward, leadinghomeward, to thy glorious rest
above.
The second verse says O thedeep, deep love of Jesus spread
his praise from shore to shore.
How he loveth, ever loveth,changes never, never more.
(03:37):
How he watcheth or his lovedones die to call them all his
own, how for them he intercedeth, watches or them from the
throne.
And so not only are youreminded of the great sacrifice
of Christ, but also reminds usof Christ's high priestly
ministry as he intercedes forhis people forever before the
(04:00):
throne of the Father.
And verse three says this O thedeep, deep love of Jesus, love
of every love, the best tis anocean, vast of blessing, tis a
haven sweet of rest.
O, the deep, deep love of Jesustis heaven of heavens to me,
(04:21):
and it lifts me up to glory, forit lifts me up to thee.
And I would challenge you asyou think about the ocean and
perhaps you live near the oceanand have a chance to go and
stand on the shore and look atthe vastness of that ocean,
think of the love of God and howvast that love is for us.
(04:45):
Indeed, we are told even in theOld Testament of what God does
in relation to us and the oceanas well In Micah 7, in 18
through 19,.
It says who is a God like you,partening iniquity and passing
over transgression for theremnant of his inheritance.
He does not retain his angerforever because he delights
(05:08):
instead fast love.
He will again have compassionon us.
He will tread our iniquitiesunderfoot.
You will cast all our sins intothe depths of the sea.
And as we read that, it may notstrike us how significant a
statement like that may be, butin the time of Micah, the sea
(05:32):
was something that could not beexplored.
The sea was, in fact, dangerous, but just as we think and can
comprehend going to the verydepths of the ocean, they
couldn't think of the ocean orthe sea in that way.
And so, in telling us that oursins would be cast into the
(05:52):
depths of the sea by our God istelling us that we would be
forever separated from them.
And it's all because we willnever be separated from the
great love of our God and Savior.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Welcome to the choir room.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Vienna has this week's CRQ.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Thanks, greg.
It's so good to see everyone inthe room this evening.
Our CRQ for tonight, and feelfree to join in in our answers
as well.
I require only rehearses forSunday services.
What else can we get involvedin that makes choir more
interesting and fun?
(06:35):
You require only rehearses forSunday services.
What else can we involveourselves in to make it more
interesting and fun?
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Well, I'll be the first to jump in and say that
this is the first time in a longtime that we've had a CRQ
identify what kind of choirwe're talking about, and
oftentimes we will guess at whatkind of choir the person is
referring to.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So this is the joy to get choir identified Because we
are clear that it is a Sunday.
I should say it is a churchchoir, because the only
rehearses for Sunday services iswhat's said here.
Check out your local churchesthat may have choirs.
(07:21):
That's, that's one way, and tryto develop some friendship and
fellowship with them.
It's also a good time to justspend more time with the singers
that you serve with, to setaside moments of not necessarily
rehearsal, but perhaps a littlefellowship, or get together or
(07:43):
Chatting you, if you will, youknow, with just those particular
Someone's clapping.
Yeah, you know one of thosetypes.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I don't think I've heard that terminology before.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Oh my gosh, you've never been a part of a chatting
shoe.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Well, I mean, we've been out to eat after rehearsals
or after a concert or a service, but I've not heard that
terminology chatting shoe.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, chatting shoes are nice.
You know and try to find out.
You know what's going on withyour choir members, sure you
know.
Just see what's happening withthem.
And you know you did again.
It's good to have fellowshipwith other churches if you are
in a community where that is,you know, allowed, because
sometimes people don't get theOpportunity to fellowship
outside of their church.
(08:29):
But if you have thatopportunity, find some of the
churches in the area and get upwith them.
You know, talk with them andsee.
You know what's going, what'shappening there.
You can do seminars with choirs, other choirs, other people
come and you can fellowship andhave some fun in that area as
(08:50):
well.
What say you guys?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
well, I mean, one of the things that that we often
talk about is just how the choirbecomes, or is this sort of
community within the communityof the church?
And so I mean, I I think thereare plenty of ways for the choir
and some folks are actuallyResponding in the chat in terms
of doing outreaches and choirretreats and workshops.
(09:12):
But I would even say, are thereways to serve with the choir in
other ways within your church?
Is there like a cleanup day orsomething like that that you
could do, where the choir isdoing something besides just
preparing for Sunday service,but they're serving together
Because, ultimately, as thepeople of God, we we want to be
(09:35):
serving.
We want to be serving in someway, and so I think there are
definitely ways that we can Bebe focusing our other talents
that we may have and on on otherthings that are that are needed
, and and there certainly needsoutside of the church as well,
and I think there are plenty ofplenty of opportunities, and so
(09:56):
I'm sure, if they went to theirpastors or their elders and
asked them, you have anythingelse for?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
us.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
They might regret that question.
They might regret it, but but,but, but.
Yeah, I think they're Tons ofother things that you can be
doing as a choir together thatwill make it even stronger
community and even strongerchoir.
Ultimately.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Yeah, you know I'm kind of stuck at the chat and
chuffing right now.
You got me thinking aboutdinner.
Oh, let me add that when Istarted early in ministry with
choir and ensembles and groupset cetera, that I did a lot of
(10:41):
outreach ministry, a lot ofcommunity work with our choirs.
We went out to different events.
We would go to nursing homesand orphanages and prisons and
et cetera.
So those are things that thechoir can get involved in as
well.
When I was serving with choirin Patterson years ago, we would
go out every Tuesday night.
We had a midweek service andTuesday night we would take the
(11:01):
group or the ensemble or thechoir and we would have our
boombox because we couldn't getit.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
We were just dating them, dating themselves, all
right, you hear that right therehe's dating himself.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
We didn't have a big boombox on our shoulder and we
would just sing to the tracksWell, you know, we didn't call
them tracks and we would sing tothe music, but this was a full
choir and we would do somethings outside of the four walls
of the church.
Now, when I met Dorian over 20years ago, we met at a street an
outreach, full choir, full band, and I was filling in as I was
(11:37):
still serving at another church.
But I was attracted to thatalready because it was something
that I grew up doing taking ourchoirs to the streets and at
that time my choir was alreadyinvolved in prison ministry,
nursing homes, going intoschools and doing assemblies,
which are other things that yourchoir can get involved in as
well.
Now, if you're not hosting orconducting a community outreach,
(11:58):
you may have to seek out thoseother opportunities.
A city official might begetting inaugurated and they're
looking for a choir, or themuseum the local museum may be
doing a special event.
We've done the Star SpangledBanner for the New York Mets,
and so there are manyopportunities outside of the
(12:18):
four walls of the church Now, ifthe opportunity presents itself
.
We've had the privilege oftaking our choir to Jamaica, the
Philippines, africa.
Several times I've gone withgroups to Russia, to Italy,
france, spain, and these weren'tconcerts, these were
evangelistic services as achurch choir.
(12:39):
And the choir didn't just sing,they participated in medical
outreaches, they served withDoctors for Life, some of the
other organizations that were onthe ground as a part of this
evangelistic event, bringing thegospel in song but also showing
that gospel, demonstrating thatgospel in medical services,
children's ministry work, andthe choir actually got involved
(13:01):
in those things as well.
So they didn't just sing, theygot involved with the actual
missions work of theseevangelistic outreaches.
Now let me say this be carefulwhat you ask for, because many
times we've gone out onSaturdays to do special events
with the choir and we wereexhausted Sunday morning, thank
God, we had a big choir, butSunday there were some people
(13:23):
missing.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
How about a whole weekend and totally fried for
Monday?
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Nothing gets done on.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Monday.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
And we often will talk about the question behind
the question.
But I think there's also kindof a comment behind the question
about it's kind of gettingboring.
I would just say that as peoplewho lead in music and who lead
others, that we should neverdiscount the power of what God
(13:57):
has given to us as a ministry.
So if that choir needs to bereinvigorated or refocused or
something just rehearsing forSunday services, that's a big
responsibility.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You may not need any more than that.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Indeed it is, it's a big responsibility, so don't
take it lightly.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Well, listen, listener, the one that submitted
this awesome question fortonight.
You've heard it all tonight andI think those are some great,
great responses to what it isyou're trying to do with your
particular singers.
And again, and just toreiterate what Dorian just said,
understand that what you arealready doing is significant,
(14:44):
you know, and it really doestake quite a bit of your time
and prayer and Bible study andall of that stuff and singing it
all.
It's all significant.
So I would say, home first.
Indeed, let's take care of homefirst.
Charity begins at home and itspreads abroad, and so once you
(15:06):
start to take care of the homebase, then God will open up
those doors and open up thoseavenues and those venues for you
to be able to fellowship and doother things outside of what
you've already been called to do.
So I hope that helps youtonight.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I see in the chat we got a few additional responses
to the CRQ.
Some people suggested Crusadesand Outreachers, which we did
talk about, and if it's not achurch choir, perhaps it's a
school choir, college oruniversity or community choir.
Someone suggests here you canget involved in workshops and
seminars, you can sing aroundcampus doing spontaneous
(15:52):
performances and, yes, getinvolved in community events
where the choir can perform.
Again, we welcome yourquestions, your CRQs.
You can send those tothequireroomatmetromusic-archcom
again,thequireroomatmetromusic-archcom
and we will certainly addressthem here in the choir room.
(16:12):
We've got a live audience withus today.
We're so glad to have you guyswith us here in the choir room
and we are especially glad tohave our guest contributor today
.
She is the voice of Dolores andthe hit Disney film En canto
and the song that stayed at thetop of the charts for weeks.
We don't talk about Bruno.
No, no, no, no.
(16:33):
We don't talk about Bruno.
Now, that's the part of hercareer that seems to be getting
the most publicity, but I knowher also for this.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
It's a blessing to be able to be here and to
experience the wonder of hearingmultiple voices combining as
one, because that's what you getwhen you're listening to the
choir, and to hear the choirsinging in Spanish is an
experience in itself, so it'sjust wonderful.
You're going to feel excited,you're going to feel uplifted,
(17:03):
you're going to feel inspired.
It's just a wonderfulexperience.
I hope everyone gets to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
From the church choir to the studio, from the studio
to the stage, from the stage tofilm, and with all of the ups
and downs in career and withlife in general.
She's a wife, she's a motherand things just keep getting
better for our friend, our guesttonight, adasa, a great big
choir room.
Welcome to Adasa, make itbigger, adasa.
(17:34):
Thank you for your yes andwelcome to the choir room.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Thank you for having me Happy to be here, my husband
as well.
I think that choirs have a hugeheart in our hearts and they're
very important becausesometimes people think it's more
important just for the singularartist to shine.
But in reality, you know, whenyou bring a choir together,
you're bringing the essence ofmultiple people that are being
(18:00):
both absorbed and expressed byeveryone, and it's that harmony
within the choir that makessomething great.
When Gabriel and I were on tourwith the Tabernacle Choir at
Temple Square, we were on theworld tour and we had just an
incredible time with them.
Let me tell you, one of themost, I would say, soul-stirring
(18:23):
moments was not just being onthat stage and like 30,000
people in that stadium.
it was the day, sunday worshipand it was nothing but the choir
, which are 360 members plusorchestra.
So, yeah, like what you weresaying, where they fall lots of
people, they're still doing itand it's insane.
(18:44):
It's crazy.
It's absolutely crazy and wewere sitting there front row,
hearing the choir behind us, andI was just crying.
We were both just cryingbecause the spirit that was felt
in that room could not becreated by a singular person.
It was just the massive talentof so many individuals coming
(19:07):
together in such a passionateway.
It was an honor for me to beable to show the stage with them
, and what goes on in thepreparation for a choir is on
another level.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Now, I saw some of that production and I noticed
the choir singing Spanish withyou.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Yeah, they did.
They did a few pieces inAfrican and Spanish.
They had a few differentlanguages in which they did not
just English, and it wasbeautiful to see that tradition,
those roots that they werebringing to the stage and it was
truly something worth watchingand being a part of.
(19:44):
I started in choir when I was akid.
That's where I started singingin church with my mom.
That was the first time ever.
I was very little, I was likesix, seven years old when I
started singing, but since theage of four I knew I wanted to
sing.
My mom was just like, well, youcan harmonize.
And I was like I'm going tolearn and I did, and then I
(20:06):
started singing at church andthen I joined my choir in school
and that's what made me justsolidify the fact that I wanted
to be a singer.
That's what I wanted to do.
And then, once I started doingmore stage work, I was like I
want to be an entertainer, Iwant to take it to the next
level.
But being with the choir itjust made me realize, whoa,
(20:30):
there are certain steps of beingan attire, that, being a solo
artist, you don't get your chopsup Like I'm.
Like I think I would not beable to get into this choir
because I can't read music.
Well, and they are just amazingsite readers because sometimes
they're like you're saying youknow that you get one practice
before Sunday service, maybe two, exactly Because you can get
sheet music.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I mean it happened when you sent it over and I was
like, uh, great.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Can you tell me a melody real quick, like can you
reference Jack?
I failed that class horriblybut I have much respect for what
choirs do and there is no suchthing as a voice unheard.
It takes every single member tomake it what it is and being a
(21:15):
part of choirs being part ofjust something heavenly.
So never see it as less than itis something great to be a part
of.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
One of the CRQs that we received a few months ago was
from a choir member and thequestion was what is the
significance of learning to reador learning to sight read,
music and choir?
My guess is that this personwas not involved in a choir that
required them to sight read.
You mentioned 360 voices and Imust have seen about 65 to 71st
(21:48):
and 2nd tenors, and not tomention alto sopranos and desk
hands et cetera.
When they sang, clearly theydidn't sound like one tenor but
they sounded like one solidgroup, and you mentioned that
you didn't have many rehearsalswith them, but clearly they were
rehearsing.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Oh, we did, we did.
And let me tell you, the choirdirector was like you know that
I mean on point.
If just any rush that washappening he would stop and it
just fine tuned the choir.
And you know, they were doingthree practices a week and I
think it was two hours perpractice to prepare for the tour
(22:27):
.
And then we still did anothertwo, three hours of practice
while we were there.
And I say wait, but like, notso much, I would sit and watch,
and it was so incredible becauseyou needed to be prepared.
And so if you're not a greatsight reader and you're still
part of the choir, I would saydo your preparation at home.
Because, you don't want to gothere and be like I'm sorry,
(22:48):
what Harmony are we trying to do?
Like that is not the place,because everybody's so
professional and they take itseriously.
So for those who can just do iton the fly, it's because
they're exceptional sightreaders, you know maybe they
don't have as much preparationnecessary or needed, but I would
say it's just better to goprepare because you don't want
there to be a from the topbecause someone's lagging and
(23:09):
everybody's like and it's Johnover here.
You know you don't want to beJohn in the choir.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Call him out.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Seriously, you had the demo, but being able to say
it gives you the intricacies ofwhere your part is, as opposed
to when everything splits.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
So you know where you are.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Because even when you receive a reference, it's not
necessarily like when I got onefrom Lin Manuel.
Everybody's part was separated,so we can hear it individually
and then at the same time it wasas a group.
So you're like oh.
OK, great, Because if you cannothave your part just isolated
for you to be able to reference,then you need to sight read so
(23:52):
you can be able to follow whichone of the ones that are stacked
in there is true.
So I think it's a good thing toreview.
I'm honestly doing it just bytaking piano lessons to be able
to be a better sight reader,because that's starting to help
me.
So for anybody out there,simply piano works.
(24:13):
I am not a big instrumentalist.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
That's a plug.
That's a plug and she's notgetting paid for that.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I am not getting paid for that, I just think it's
super easy, has great songs andI'm actually playing both my
hands.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Awesome, awesome, good for you.
Now let's talk aboutpreparation.
Let's stay in this vein for amoment.
You are a wife, you're a mother, you have this demanding
singing career.
You married to a guy who has ademanding recording career.
You two still manage to worktogether, still manage to parent
together.
I'm sure none of that is acakewalk.
(24:47):
So tell us what your dailyroutine is.
I mean, you've got to preparephysically, you got to prepare
mentally, you got to preparespiritually, I'm sure, in order
to prepare even vocally, take usthrough a day in the life of
Adasa.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Well, my day always starts with a prayer, so I start
with a prayer.
I read my scriptures.
My husband and I do ourscripture study.
That's how I prepare, becausefirst I have to prepare my
spirit for anything that I'mdoing.
I also homeschool our kiddos,so usually I have to double up
on what I do, because I don'thave a specific amount of time
(25:23):
that I necessarily can just goand vocalize for two hours.
So if I'm washing dishes, I'mvocalizing.
If I'm cleaning or I'm cooking,I'm vocalizing.
So I do my exercises.
I did a course over the pandemicand it's free online and it's
in Spanish, but it's somethingthat I put out there.
Sometimes I'll just go toYouTube and play my own vocal
(25:44):
course and then I have a coupleof other instructors that I also
use for my vocal preparation,because I need to double up on
time.
I don't have endless hours, andthen I do carve out a moment in
the day where I do hit thetreadmill and I have an
elliptical.
So that really is what I do Now.
(26:04):
Right now I haven't been on theroad because I took a little
bit of time just for familyduring over Christmas and we
were doing a lot of familythings.
But when I start training forthe road which I have to do now
because we're going to go toThailand on tour and all this
thing that's where I have totrain.
And I do it on the runningmachine Because what I start
(26:29):
doing is first I get in thereand I walk, I walk, I walk, I
walk fast, I walk fast, and thenI start singing while I'm
walking and then I start tryingto jog and sing, because all of
that friction, that bounce helpsyou just to be able to sing
stronger, sing better, maintainthe notes when you're on tour.
But for a while which was reallyhard for me because I'm a
(26:53):
perfectionist, I'm a verydetailed person when it comes to
vocals when I got sick, Ibarely had enough energy to be
able to just stand up, so havingI could not vocally prepare for
the blessings the Lord had instore for us.
So that was the hardest part isto understand that whatever I
(27:15):
needed to do was in His handsand I would just need to testify
with whatever strength I hadand be able to join in and do
what I needed to do with theeffort that I could give.
And that was the hardest lessonthat I learned, because when I
was being cast in the film and Iwas so excited right before we
(27:38):
received the call that I got thepart.
I got super sick and then Ilost the ability to speak and to
talk and to sing and to move.
I mean, I was paralyzed fromthe neck down and Greg and I
know each other because he'spart of a masterclass of my
husband Gibbs, and so some someof the people within the class
(27:59):
knew, but people in the industrydid not, until we finally had
to work the carpet and then Ihad to number one, tell our
casting director before I evenstarted recording.
This is the situation, this iswhere I'm at.
And in that time it was myfamily and I had had COVID and
then, when we realized this wasjust, you know, we got hit with
(28:21):
a second wave of COVID and thiswas something that I was gonna
have to do it.
And after seeing neurologists,they just came back and told me
we don't know if or when youovercame the ability to walk and
talk and we're just gonna haveto monitor, and that's what we
did for a while.
So the hardest part was once wegot that call back and got the
part, how was I supposed totrain when I couldn't even speak
(28:44):
.
Like for the biggest thing, likeyour whole career, like my
whole career.
I had done a lot of things.
I did stuff with Snoop and withFlowrider and, you know, daddy
Yankee Pippo and I toured for somany years and I had 20 years
in the music industry and thenthis opportunity, which has been
the opportunity since I was akid, since I watched the Little
Mermaid.
I wanted to be part of thatworld, like I wanted that, and
(29:08):
then to be in the worst possiblephysical condition and vocal
condition I could have ever beenin.
And then I knew this is notabout me, this is not about my
talent, this is not aboutanything else except going out
there and doing what I can andtaking the light of Christ with
me.
Like that was it.
(29:29):
And so I had to eat a big sliceof humble pie.
It was hard, but, honestly, oneof the hardest moments that I
had was when I became paralyzedwhile I was in the bath and I
thought I'm gonna drown in thisbath and I couldn't speak and I
(29:50):
just was like this is how I'mgonna go, like this is how can
this be?
And somehow my husband feltinspired to come into the shower
and he took me out and placedme on the bed and I was soaking
wet and I was naked and I wasjust crying and I'm like I'm
useless, I feel there's noreason for me to exist and this
(30:11):
is gonna be the reality.
I mean, I couldn't wash a dish,I couldn't take care of my kids
we had a two year old andduring that time and I couldn't
hold my babies, I couldn't cook,I couldn't do anything, I
couldn't sing.
So everything that I hadidentified myself as being a
singer.
I'm a singer, I'm a performer, Iam a mother, I am a wife All of
that just completelydisintegrated.
(30:34):
And my husband just looked atme and said this is our reality
and we're gonna make do and Ilove you and if all I do is come
here and sit in the bed next toyou and get to speak with you,
then that's what we're gonna do,and it was difficult.
It was difficult to know thatthat would be my potential
(30:57):
reality.
And at the same time, I felt soblessed.
This man that I've been marriedto for over 25 years just
showed me love.
I thought I knew love up untilthat point, but there was a
deeper, more humbling kind oflove on the other side of that.
So, like I said, it depends onwhere you are physically, but
(31:18):
the Lord prepares a way for youto be as prepared as you need to
be.
And then, now that I'veregained my strength, I'm a lot
more conscious of my body andwhat I can give and what I can't
.
And so I don't take things forgranted.
I don't take a song for granted.
I don't take an opportunity toshare my testimony with anyone
for granted.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
So every day is the most important day and every
morning I wake up.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
That's why I pray and I just thank God.
Thank you for being able toopen my eyes, to move my legs,
to move my hands, to be able tospeak, because those basics,
when they're taken away from you, you don't even count them as
anything until you no longer cancount them.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, yeah, is it safe to say that at some point
you realized that your identitywas wrapped up in the fact that
you were a singer?
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
And then you found yourself bedridden.
You realized it was so muchmore to life, so much more to
your everyday, that if you nevergot to sing another song, you
realized that you were loved,you were cherished and that God
had a plan for your life.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
That was the deepest thing.
I am not what I do, and thatwas the biggest lesson.
I am not what I do I sing,that's what I do.
But I am a daughter of God, Iam my wife, I am a mother, and
sometimes being a mother doesn'tlook like it usually does, but
(32:44):
that doesn't take away from thefact that I am.
And so when you take away whatyou do and you go down to the
core of who you are, you heal alot better and there's less
pressure.
And when I finally was able towalk that carpet with everyone
and Disney was so careful withme because at that point we had
to jump, it's just to get tothat red, you know, that purple
(33:06):
carpet I think it was purplethat day because I couldn't get
vaccinated at that moment.
We got vaccinated afterwardsbut because I had just had so
many neurological issues thatdoctor advised against it.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
And then I said you know, what.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
I don't need to go, like I'm already part of the
movie.
That's like beyond myexpectations, it's okay.
And then Disney was like no,we're gonna talk with Bob Chapec
.
And it went all the way to thetop and the producer signed off
Liabilities and they justtreated me so nice but like kept
me isolated from Mary theGantzilly, like walked that
carpet, took that family pictureand they were like okay, back
(33:40):
to your hotel.
Right after the preview and thepremiere they tested me like 10
times in a day.
Like Gabriel too, we're gettingjab left or right.
But I felt blessed.
I felt blessed.
But, yes, what I do does notdefine me anymore, so it gives
me the freedom of not having tolive up to anybody's
expectations.
I don't look at the numbersanymore, I don't study what is
(34:01):
this person doing and I wannabeat them.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
I wanna be better than them, and I wanna sing
better and I wanna look better.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
All of that just goes away and I'm just like Lord.
How can I share my testimonythrough music today?
How can I influence the newgeneration?
How can I be of service tosomeone else?
And then I find that there'salways an opportunity to do so,
every day.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
You made me a believer though at times I'll
make you.
There is so much more to Adas'sstory and we're gonna hear the
rest of that.
On next week Her husband willjoin us, her husband Gabriel
Candiani.
They'll tell us how they met,get into the family dynamic with
their seven children,individual music careers and how
they managed to hold it alltogether.
She does some impromptu singingand then, of course, we talk
(34:46):
about the project In Jesus weAre One, their cover of my
composition, carol of the Christ, and then we'll follow that
with Q&A from this greataudience here with us tonight.
Thank you, guys, for coming Now.
One last thing to all of youwho are here and all of you who
are listening we ask that you dous a big favor.
We've reached 12 countries andwe wanna expand that number this
year, in 2024.
(35:07):
So we ask that you share thispodcast with your family and
your friends, your colleagues,your choir members, your choir
director.
We want everybody's input.
We want everybody tuning in tohelp us make this podcast what
it needs to be.
So, if you're enjoying it, weask that you like it, share it
and send us your comments.
Again, like, share and send usyour comments.
(35:28):
You can send those comments viaemail to
aquireroomatmetromusic-archcom.
You can subscribe anywhere youlisten to podcasts, or you can
subscribe again to the choirroom at metro music-archcom and
then send it to anybody youthink would be interested in all
things choir and all thingssinging.
So remember to join us againnext week, episode 36, which is
(35:50):
part two of this incredibleinterview with Adasa and Gabriel
.
And remember, if ever we putthe messenger before the message
, we have failed to present anunblemished gospel.
I'm Greg Thomas, john.
Welcome to the choir room.
Episode 35 of the Choir RoomPodcast.
I'm Greg Thomas, your host.
Welcome to the choir room,joined by my co-host, dorian
Johnson.
Hello, and me at Estanso FarrarHello.
Welcome to the choir room.
Hello Reminds me of something,hello.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Ha, ha, ha ha.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
This podcast exists to promote and encourage to
longtime traditions in oursociety that seem to be
dwindling away, and that ischoir and corporate singing.
We hope to revive theexcitement and joy experienced
with singing in a choir, as wellas inform and educate the
listener on all things singingand all things choir.
This podcast is also aproduction of Metro Music and
(00:46):
Arts, whose purpose is toperpetuate and promote the
Christian and positive ideathrough the medium of music and
other arts.
We've got a live audience herein the choir room today and
they're going to help welcomeour guest contributor.
She's a wife, a mother, anactress, a singer, a songwriter
and a voiceover artist and somuch more, known for her role as
(01:07):
Dolores in the hit Disney filmEn canto.
Adasa is with us, so stay tunedas we hear from this incredible
artist and we hear from our own, Dorian with the hymn of the
week and Mieta with the CRQ Tothe choir room.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Here's Dorian.
Thanks, greg.
This week's hymn of the week isoh, the deep, deep love of
Jesus.
And we've been looking at thegrace of God shown to us in
salvation and we've been seeing,looking at the love of God that
has shown to us not only insalvation but throughout our
lives as his children, and oftenin Paul's epistles.
(01:45):
We see interspersed in theletter a prayer that Paul will
often pray for those to whomhe's writing in Ephesians,
chapter three, starting in verse14.
We read this For this reason, Ibow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family inheaven and on earth is named,
that, according to the riches ofhis glory, he may grant you to
(02:07):
be strengthened with powerthrough his spirit in your inner
being, so that Christ may dwellin your hearts through faith,
that you, being rooted andgrounded in love, may have
strength to comprehend, with allthe saints, what is the breadth
and length, and height anddepth, and to know the love of
(02:27):
Christ that surpasses knowledge,that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God.
This hymn was written by SamuelTrevor Francis in the late 19th,
early 20th century, and, whilehe's not one of the most
prolific hymn writers that we'vehighlighted over the past few
weeks.
This hymn is memorable because,as the theme of the hymn
(02:50):
highlights the vastness and thegreat depth of the love of
Christ, the typical tune towhich this hymn is sung reminds
one of the ocean's rolling tide.
Verse one says O the deep, deeplove of Jesus, vast, unmeasured
, boundless, free, rolling as amighty ocean in its fullness,
(03:12):
over me, underneath me, allaround me, is the current of thy
love leading onward, leadinghomeward, to thy glorious rest
above.
The second verse says O thedeep, deep love of Jesus spread
his praise from shore to shore.
How he loveth, ever loveth,changes never, never more.
(03:37):
How he watcheth or his lovedones die to call them all his
own, how for them he intercedeth, watches or them from the
throne.
And so not only are youreminded of the great sacrifice
of Christ, but also reminds usof Christ's high priestly
ministry as he intercedes forhis people forever before the
(04:00):
throne of the Father.
And verse three says this O thedeep, deep love of Jesus, love
of every love, the best tis anocean, vast of blessing, tis a
haven sweet of rest.
O, the deep, deep love of Jesustis heaven of heavens to me,
(04:21):
and it lifts me up to glory, forit lifts me up to thee.
And I would challenge you asyou think about the ocean and
perhaps you live near the oceanand have a chance to go and
stand on the shore and look atthe vastness of that ocean,
think of the love of God and howvast that love is for us.
(04:45):
Indeed, we are told even in theOld Testament of what God does
in relation to us and the oceanas well In Micah 7, in 18
through 19,.
It says who is a God like you,partening iniquity and passing
over transgression for theremnant of his inheritance.
He does not retain his angerforever because he delights
(05:08):
instead fast love.
He will again have compassionon us.
He will tread our iniquitiesunderfoot.
You will cast all our sins intothe depths of the sea.
And as we read that, it may notstrike us how significant a
statement like that may be, butin the time of Micah, the sea
(05:32):
was something that could not beexplored.
The sea was, in fact, dangerous, but just as we think and can
comprehend going to the verydepths of the ocean, they
couldn't think of the ocean orthe sea in that way.
And so, in telling us that oursins would be cast into the
(05:52):
depths of the sea by our God istelling us that we would be
forever separated from them.
And it's all because we willnever be separated from the
great love of our God and Savior.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Welcome to the choir room.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Vienna has this week's CRQ.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Thanks, greg.
It's so good to see everyone inthe room this evening.
Our CRQ for tonight, and feelfree to join in in our answers
as well.
I require only rehearses forSunday services.
What else can we get involvedin that makes choir more
interesting and fun?
(06:35):
You require only rehearses forSunday services.
What else can we involveourselves in to make it more
interesting and fun?
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Well, I'll be the first to jump in and say that
this is the first time in a longtime that we've had a CRQ
identify what kind of choirwe're talking about, and
oftentimes we will guess at whatkind of choir the person is
referring to.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So this is the joy to get choir identified Because we
are clear that it is a Sunday.
I should say it is a churchchoir, because the only
rehearses for Sunday services iswhat's said here.
Check out your local churchesthat may have choirs.
(07:21):
That's, that's one way, and tryto develop some friendship and
fellowship with them.
It's also a good time to justspend more time with the singers
that you serve with, to setaside moments of not necessarily
rehearsal, but perhaps a littlefellowship, or get together or
(07:43):
Chatting you, if you will, youknow, with just those particular
Someone's clapping.
Yeah, you know one of thosetypes.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I don't think I've heard that terminology before.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Oh my gosh, you've never been a part of a chatting
shoe.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Well, I mean, we've been out to eat after rehearsals
or after a concert or a service, but I've not heard that
terminology chatting shoe.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, chatting shoes are nice.
You know and try to find out.
You know what's going on withyour choir members, sure you
know.
Just see what's happening withthem.
And you know you did again.
It's good to have fellowshipwith other churches if you are
in a community where that is,you know, allowed, because
sometimes people don't get theOpportunity to fellowship
outside of their church.
(08:29):
But if you have thatopportunity, find some of the
churches in the area and get upwith them.
You know, talk with them andsee.
You know what's going, what'shappening there.
You can do seminars with choirs, other choirs, other people
come and you can fellowship andhave some fun in that area as
(08:50):
well.
What say you guys?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
well, I mean, one of the things that that we often
talk about is just how the choirbecomes, or is this sort of
community within the communityof the church?
And so I mean, I I think thereare plenty of ways for the choir
and some folks are actuallyResponding in the chat in terms
of doing outreaches and choirretreats and workshops.
(09:12):
But I would even say, are thereways to serve with the choir in
other ways within your church?
Is there like a cleanup day orsomething like that that you
could do, where the choir isdoing something besides just
preparing for Sunday service,but they're serving together
Because, ultimately, as thepeople of God, we we want to be
(09:35):
serving.
We want to be serving in someway, and so I think there are
definitely ways that we can Bebe focusing our other talents
that we may have and on on otherthings that are that are needed
, and and there certainly needsoutside of the church as well,
and I think there are plenty ofplenty of opportunities, and so
(09:56):
I'm sure, if they went to theirpastors or their elders and
asked them, you have anythingelse for?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
us.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
They might regret that question.
They might regret it, but but,but, but.
Yeah, I think they're Tons ofother things that you can be
doing as a choir together thatwill make it even stronger
community and even strongerchoir.
Ultimately.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Yeah, you know I'm kind of stuck at the chat and
chuffing right now.
You got me thinking aboutdinner.
Oh, let me add that when Istarted early in ministry with
choir and ensembles and groupset cetera, that I did a lot of
(10:41):
outreach ministry, a lot ofcommunity work with our choirs.
We went out to different events.
We would go to nursing homesand orphanages and prisons and
et cetera.
So those are things that thechoir can get involved in as
well.
When I was serving with choirin Patterson years ago, we would
go out every Tuesday night.
We had a midweek service andTuesday night we would take the
(11:01):
group or the ensemble or thechoir and we would have our
boombox because we couldn't getit.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
We were just dating them, dating themselves, all
right, you hear that right therehe's dating himself.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
We didn't have a big boombox on our shoulder and we
would just sing to the tracksWell, you know, we didn't call
them tracks and we would sing tothe music, but this was a full
choir and we would do somethings outside of the four walls
of the church.
Now, when I met Dorian over 20years ago, we met at a street an
outreach, full choir, full band, and I was filling in as I was
(11:37):
still serving at another church.
But I was attracted to thatalready because it was something
that I grew up doing taking ourchoirs to the streets and at
that time my choir was alreadyinvolved in prison ministry,
nursing homes, going intoschools and doing assemblies,
which are other things that yourchoir can get involved in as
well.
Now, if you're not hosting orconducting a community outreach,
(11:58):
you may have to seek out thoseother opportunities.
A city official might begetting inaugurated and they're
looking for a choir, or themuseum the local museum may be
doing a special event.
We've done the Star SpangledBanner for the New York Mets,
and so there are manyopportunities outside of the
(12:18):
four walls of the church Now, ifthe opportunity presents itself
.
We've had the privilege oftaking our choir to Jamaica, the
Philippines, africa.
Several times I've gone withgroups to Russia, to Italy,
france, spain, and these weren'tconcerts, these were
evangelistic services as achurch choir.
(12:39):
And the choir didn't just sing,they participated in medical
outreaches, they served withDoctors for Life, some of the
other organizations that were onthe ground as a part of this
evangelistic event, bringing thegospel in song but also showing
that gospel, demonstrating thatgospel in medical services,
children's ministry work, andthe choir actually got involved
(13:01):
in those things as well.
So they didn't just sing, theygot involved with the actual
missions work of theseevangelistic outreaches.
Now let me say this be carefulwhat you ask for, because many
times we've gone out onSaturdays to do special events
with the choir and we wereexhausted Sunday morning, thank
God, we had a big choir, butSunday there were some people
(13:23):
missing.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
How about a whole weekend and totally fried for
Monday?
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Nothing gets done on.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Monday.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
And we often will talk about the question behind
the question.
But I think there's also kindof a comment behind the question
about it's kind of gettingboring.
I would just say that as peoplewho lead in music and who lead
others, that we should neverdiscount the power of what God
(13:57):
has given to us as a ministry.
So if that choir needs to bereinvigorated or refocused or
something just rehearsing forSunday services, that's a big
responsibility.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You may not need any more than that.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Indeed it is, it's a big responsibility, so don't
take it lightly.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Well, listen, listener, the one that submitted
this awesome question fortonight.
You've heard it all tonight andI think those are some great,
great responses to what it isyou're trying to do with your
particular singers.
And again, and just toreiterate what Dorian just said,
understand that what you arealready doing is significant,
(14:44):
you know, and it really doestake quite a bit of your time
and prayer and Bible study andall of that stuff and singing it
all.
It's all significant.
So I would say, home first.
Indeed, let's take care of homefirst.
Charity begins at home and itspreads abroad, and so once you
(15:06):
start to take care of the homebase, then God will open up
those doors and open up thoseavenues and those venues for you
to be able to fellowship and doother things outside of what
you've already been called to do.
So I hope that helps youtonight.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
I see in the chat we got a few additional responses
to the CRQ.
Some people suggested Crusadesand Outreachers, which we did
talk about, and if it's not achurch choir, perhaps it's a
school choir, college oruniversity or community choir.
Someone suggests here you canget involved in workshops and
seminars, you can sing aroundcampus doing spontaneous
(15:52):
performances and, yes, getinvolved in community events
where the choir can perform.
Again, we welcome yourquestions, your CRQs.
You can send those tothequireroomatmetromusic-archcom
again,thequireroomatmetromusic-archcom
and we will certainly addressthem here in the choir room.
(16:12):
We've got a live audience withus today.
We're so glad to have you guyswith us here in the choir room
and we are especially glad tohave our guest contributor today
.
She is the voice of Dolores andthe hit Disney film En canto
and the song that stayed at thetop of the charts for weeks.
We don't talk about Bruno.
No, no, no, no.
(16:33):
We don't talk about Bruno.
Now, that's the part of hercareer that seems to be getting
the most publicity, but I knowher also for this.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
It's a blessing to be able to be here and to
experience the wonder of hearingmultiple voices combining as
one, because that's what you getwhen you're listening to the
choir, and to hear the choirsinging in Spanish is an
experience in itself, so it'sjust wonderful.
You're going to feel excited,you're going to feel uplifted,
(17:03):
you're going to feel inspired.
It's just a wonderfulexperience.
I hope everyone gets to enjoy.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
From the church choir to the studio, from the studio
to the stage, from the stage tofilm, and with all of the ups
and downs in career and withlife in general.
She's a wife, she's a motherand things just keep getting
better for our friend, our guesttonight, adasa, a great big
choir room.
Welcome to Adasa, make itbigger, adasa.
(17:34):
Thank you for your yes andwelcome to the choir room.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Thank you for having me Happy to be here, my husband
as well.
I think that choirs have a hugeheart in our hearts and they're
very important becausesometimes people think it's more
important just for the singularartist to shine.
But in reality, you know, whenyou bring a choir together,
you're bringing the essence ofmultiple people that are being
(18:00):
both absorbed and expressed byeveryone, and it's that harmony
within the choir that makessomething great.
When Gabriel and I were on tourwith the Tabernacle Choir at
Temple Square, we were on theworld tour and we had just an
incredible time with them.
Let me tell you, one of themost, I would say, soul-stirring
(18:23):
moments was not just being onthat stage and like 30,000
people in that stadium.
it was the day, sunday worshipand it was nothing but the choir
, which are 360 members plusorchestra.
So, yeah, like what you weresaying, where they fall lots of
people, they're still doing itand it's insane.
(18:44):
It's crazy.
It's absolutely crazy and wewere sitting there front row,
hearing the choir behind us, andI was just crying.
We were both just cryingbecause the spirit that was felt
in that room could not becreated by a singular person.
It was just the massive talentof so many individuals coming
(19:07):
together in such a passionateway.
It was an honor for me to beable to show the stage with them
, and what goes on in thepreparation for a choir is on
another level.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Now, I saw some of that production and I noticed
the choir singing Spanish withyou.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
Yeah, they did.
They did a few pieces inAfrican and Spanish.
They had a few differentlanguages in which they did not
just English, and it wasbeautiful to see that tradition,
those roots that they werebringing to the stage and it was
truly something worth watchingand being a part of.
(19:44):
I started in choir when I was akid.
That's where I started singingin church with my mom.
That was the first time ever.
I was very little, I was likesix, seven years old when I
started singing, but since theage of four I knew I wanted to
sing.
My mom was just like, well, youcan harmonize.
And I was like I'm going tolearn and I did, and then I
(20:06):
started singing at church andthen I joined my choir in school
and that's what made me justsolidify the fact that I wanted
to be a singer.
That's what I wanted to do.
And then, once I started doingmore stage work, I was like I
want to be an entertainer, Iwant to take it to the next
level.
But being with the choir itjust made me realize, whoa,
(20:30):
there are certain steps of beingan attire, that, being a solo
artist, you don't get your chopsup Like I'm.
Like I think I would not beable to get into this choir
because I can't read music.
Well, and they are just amazingsite readers because sometimes
they're like you're saying youknow that you get one practice
before Sunday service, maybe two, exactly Because you can get
sheet music.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I mean it happened when you sent it over and I was
like, uh, great.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
Can you tell me a melody real quick, like can you
reference Jack?
I failed that class horriblybut I have much respect for what
choirs do and there is no suchthing as a voice unheard.
It takes every single member tomake it what it is and being a
(21:15):
part of choirs being part ofjust something heavenly.
So never see it as less than itis something great to be a part
of.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
One of the CRQs that we received a few months ago was
from a choir member and thequestion was what is the
significance of learning to reador learning to sight read,
music and choir?
My guess is that this personwas not involved in a choir that
required them to sight read.
You mentioned 360 voices and Imust have seen about 65 to 71st
(21:48):
and 2nd tenors, and not tomention alto sopranos and desk
hands et cetera.
When they sang, clearly theydidn't sound like one tenor but
they sounded like one solidgroup, and you mentioned that
you didn't have many rehearsalswith them, but clearly they were
rehearsing.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Oh, we did, we did.
And let me tell you, the choirdirector was like you know that
I mean on point.
If just any rush that washappening he would stop and it
just fine tuned the choir.
And you know, they were doingthree practices a week and I
think it was two hours perpractice to prepare for the tour
(22:27):
.
And then we still did anothertwo, three hours of practice
while we were there.
And I say wait, but like, notso much, I would sit and watch,
and it was so incredible becauseyou needed to be prepared.
And so if you're not a greatsight reader and you're still
part of the choir, I would saydo your preparation at home.
Because, you don't want to gothere and be like I'm sorry,
(22:48):
what Harmony are we trying to do?
Like that is not the place,because everybody's so
professional and they take itseriously.
So for those who can just do iton the fly, it's because
they're exceptional sightreaders, you know maybe they
don't have as much preparationnecessary or needed, but I would
say it's just better to goprepare because you don't want
there to be a from the topbecause someone's lagging and
(23:09):
everybody's like and it's Johnover here.
You know you don't want to beJohn in the choir.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Call him out.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Seriously, you had the demo, but being able to say
it gives you the intricacies ofwhere your part is, as opposed
to when everything splits.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
So you know where you are.
Speaker 4 (23:32):
Because even when you receive a reference, it's not
necessarily like when I got onefrom Lin Manuel.
Everybody's part was separated,so we can hear it individually
and then at the same time it wasas a group.
So you're like oh.
OK, great, Because if you cannothave your part just isolated
for you to be able to reference,then you need to sight read so
(23:52):
you can be able to follow whichone of the ones that are stacked
in there is true.
So I think it's a good thing toreview.
I'm honestly doing it just bytaking piano lessons to be able
to be a better sight reader,because that's starting to help
me.
So for anybody out there,simply piano works.
(24:13):
I am not a big instrumentalist.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
That's a plug.
That's a plug and she's notgetting paid for that.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I am not getting paid for that, I just think it's
super easy, has great songs andI'm actually playing both my
hands.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Awesome, awesome, good for you.
Now let's talk aboutpreparation.
Let's stay in this vein for amoment.
You are a wife, you're a mother, you have this demanding
singing career.
You married to a guy who has ademanding recording career.
You two still manage to worktogether, still manage to parent
together.
I'm sure none of that is acakewalk.
(24:47):
So tell us what your dailyroutine is.
I mean, you've got to preparephysically, you got to prepare
mentally, you got to preparespiritually, I'm sure, in order
to prepare even vocally, take usthrough a day in the life of
Adasa.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Well, my day always starts with a prayer, so I start
with a prayer.
I read my scriptures.
My husband and I do ourscripture study.
That's how I prepare, becausefirst I have to prepare my
spirit for anything that I'mdoing.
I also homeschool our kiddos,so usually I have to double up
on what I do, because I don'thave a specific amount of time
(25:23):
that I necessarily can just goand vocalize for two hours.
So if I'm washing dishes, I'mvocalizing.
If I'm cleaning or I'm cooking,I'm vocalizing.
So I do my exercises.
I did a course over the pandemicand it's free online and it's
in Spanish, but it's somethingthat I put out there.
Sometimes I'll just go toYouTube and play my own vocal
(25:44):
course and then I have a coupleof other instructors that I also
use for my vocal preparation,because I need to double up on
time.
I don't have endless hours, andthen I do carve out a moment in
the day where I do hit thetreadmill and I have an
elliptical.
So that really is what I do Now.
(26:04):
Right now I haven't been on theroad because I took a little
bit of time just for familyduring over Christmas and we
were doing a lot of familythings.
But when I start training forthe road which I have to do now
because we're going to go toThailand on tour and all this
thing that's where I have totrain.
And I do it on the runningmachine Because what I start
(26:29):
doing is first I get in thereand I walk, I walk, I walk, I
walk fast, I walk fast, and thenI start singing while I'm
walking and then I start tryingto jog and sing, because all of
that friction, that bounce helpsyou just to be able to sing
stronger, sing better, maintainthe notes when you're on tour.
But for a while which was reallyhard for me because I'm a
(26:53):
perfectionist, I'm a verydetailed person when it comes to
vocals when I got sick, Ibarely had enough energy to be
able to just stand up, so havingI could not vocally prepare for
the blessings the Lord had instore for us.
So that was the hardest part isto understand that whatever I
(27:15):
needed to do was in His handsand I would just need to testify
with whatever strength I hadand be able to join in and do
what I needed to do with theeffort that I could give.
And that was the hardest lessonthat I learned, because when I
was being cast in the film and Iwas so excited right before we
(27:38):
received the call that I got thepart.
I got super sick and then Ilost the ability to speak and to
talk and to sing and to move.
I mean, I was paralyzed fromthe neck down and Greg and I
know each other because he'spart of a masterclass of my
husband Gibbs, and so some someof the people within the class
(27:59):
knew, but people in the industrydid not, until we finally had
to work the carpet and then Ihad to number one, tell our
casting director before I evenstarted recording.
This is the situation, this iswhere I'm at.
And in that time it was myfamily and I had had COVID and
then, when we realized this wasjust, you know, we got hit with
(28:21):
a second wave of COVID and thiswas something that I was gonna
have to do it.
And after seeing neurologists,they just came back and told me
we don't know if or when youovercame the ability to walk and
talk and we're just gonna haveto monitor, and that's what we
did for a while.
So the hardest part was once wegot that call back and got the
part, how was I supposed totrain when I couldn't even speak
(28:44):
.
Like for the biggest thing, likeyour whole career, like my
whole career.
I had done a lot of things.
I did stuff with Snoop and withFlowrider and, you know, daddy
Yankee Pippo and I toured for somany years and I had 20 years
in the music industry and thenthis opportunity, which has been
the opportunity since I was akid, since I watched the Little
Mermaid.
I wanted to be part of thatworld, like I wanted that, and
(29:08):
then to be in the worst possiblephysical condition and vocal
condition I could have ever beenin.
And then I knew this is notabout me, this is not about my
talent, this is not aboutanything else except going out
there and doing what I can andtaking the light of Christ with
me.
Like that was it.
(29:29):
And so I had to eat a big sliceof humble pie.
It was hard, but, honestly, oneof the hardest moments that I
had was when I became paralyzedwhile I was in the bath and I
thought I'm gonna drown in thisbath and I couldn't speak and I
(29:50):
just was like this is how I'mgonna go, like this is how can
this be?
And somehow my husband feltinspired to come into the shower
and he took me out and placedme on the bed and I was soaking
wet and I was naked and I wasjust crying and I'm like I'm
useless, I feel there's noreason for me to exist and this
(30:11):
is gonna be the reality.
I mean, I couldn't wash a dish,I couldn't take care of my kids
we had a two year old andduring that time and I couldn't
hold my babies, I couldn't cook,I couldn't do anything, I
couldn't sing.
So everything that I hadidentified myself as being a
singer.
I'm a singer, I'm a performer, Iam a mother, I am a wife All of
that just completelydisintegrated.
(30:34):
And my husband just looked atme and said this is our reality
and we're gonna make do and Ilove you and if all I do is come
here and sit in the bed next toyou and get to speak with you,
then that's what we're gonna do,and it was difficult.
It was difficult to know thatthat would be my potential
(30:57):
reality.
And at the same time, I felt soblessed.
This man that I've been marriedto for over 25 years just
showed me love.
I thought I knew love up untilthat point, but there was a
deeper, more humbling kind oflove on the other side of that.
So, like I said, it depends onwhere you are physically, but
(31:18):
the Lord prepares a way for youto be as prepared as you need to
be.
And then, now that I'veregained my strength, I'm a lot
more conscious of my body andwhat I can give and what I can't
.
And so I don't take things forgranted.
I don't take a song for granted.
I don't take an opportunity toshare my testimony with anyone
for granted.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
So every day is the most important day and every
morning I wake up.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
That's why I pray and I just thank God.
Thank you for being able toopen my eyes, to move my legs,
to move my hands, to be able tospeak, because those basics,
when they're taken away from you, you don't even count them as
anything until you no longer cancount them.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Yeah, yeah, is it safe to say that at some point
you realized that your identitywas wrapped up in the fact that
you were a singer?
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
And then you found yourself bedridden.
You realized it was so muchmore to life, so much more to
your everyday, that if you nevergot to sing another song, you
realized that you were loved,you were cherished and that God
had a plan for your life.
Speaker 4 (32:22):
That was the deepest thing.
I am not what I do, and thatwas the biggest lesson.
I am not what I do I sing,that's what I do.
But I am a daughter of God, Iam my wife, I am a mother, and
sometimes being a mother doesn'tlook like it usually does, but
(32:44):
that doesn't take away from thefact that I am.
And so when you take away whatyou do and you go down to the
core of who you are, you heal alot better and there's less
pressure.
And when I finally was able towalk that carpet with everyone
and Disney was so careful withme because at that point we had
to jump, it's just to get tothat red, you know, that purple
(33:06):
carpet I think it was purplethat day because I couldn't get
vaccinated at that moment.
We got vaccinated afterwardsbut because I had just had so
many neurological issues thatdoctor advised against it.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
And then I said you know, what.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
I don't need to go, like I'm already part of the
movie.
That's like beyond myexpectations, it's okay.
And then Disney was like no,we're gonna talk with Bob Chapec
.
And it went all the way to thetop and the producer signed off
Liabilities and they justtreated me so nice but like kept
me isolated from Mary theGantzilly, like walked that
carpet, took that family pictureand they were like okay, back
(33:40):
to your hotel.
Right after the preview and thepremiere they tested me like 10
times in a day.
Like Gabriel too, we're gettingjab left or right.
But I felt blessed.
I felt blessed.
But, yes, what I do does notdefine me anymore, so it gives
me the freedom of not having tolive up to anybody's
expectations.
I don't look at the numbersanymore, I don't study what is
(34:01):
this person doing and I wannabeat them.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
I wanna be better than them, and I wanna sing
better and I wanna look better.
Speaker 4 (34:05):
All of that just goes away and I'm just like Lord.
How can I share my testimonythrough music today?
How can I influence the newgeneration?
How can I be of service tosomeone else?
And then I find that there'salways an opportunity to do so,
every day.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
You made me a believer though at times I'll
make you.
There is so much more to Adas'sstory and we're gonna hear the
rest of that.
On next week Her husband willjoin us, her husband Gabriel
Candiani.
They'll tell us how they met,get into the family dynamic with
their seven children,individual music careers and how
they managed to hold it alltogether.
She does some impromptu singingand then, of course, we talk
(34:46):
about the project In Jesus weAre One, their cover of my
composition, carol of the Christ, and then we'll follow that
with Q&A from this greataudience here with us tonight.
Thank you, guys, for coming Now.
One last thing to all of youwho are here and all of you who
are listening we ask that you dous a big favor.
We've reached 12 countries andwe wanna expand that number this
year, in 2024.
(35:07):
So we ask that you share thispodcast with your family and
your friends, your colleagues,your choir members, your choir
director.
We want everybody's input.
We want everybody tuning in tohelp us make this podcast what
it needs to be.
So, if you're enjoying it, weask that you like it, share it
and send us your comments.
Again, like, share and send usyour comments.
(35:28):
You can send those comments viaemail to
aquireroomatmetromusic-archcom.
You can subscribe anywhere youlisten to podcasts, or you can
subscribe again to the choirroom at metro music-archcom and
then send it to anybody youthink would be interested in all
things choir and all thingssinging.
So remember to join us againnext week, episode 36, which is
(35:50):
part two of this incredibleinterview with Adasa and Gabriel
.
And remember, if ever we putthe messenger before the message
, we have failed to present anunblemished gospel.
I'm Greg Thomas, john.
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