Final rehearsals planned

Our fourth Caramoor performance is one week from tonight! I’ve made detailed plans for the remaining two rehearsals:

  • Monday’s rehearsal will once again allow extra time for the Broughton, in preparation for our only rehearsal with Amy on Wednesday. We will rehearse everything on the program except the Burns. There will be a mid-rehearsal stretch.
  • Wednesday’s rehearsal will be a modified run-through of the program:
    • All works will have uninterrupted play-throughs, in program order.
    • I’ve planned for 33 minutes to rehearse with Amy, hopefully giving plenty of time for a run-through, rehearsal of needed spots, plus another run-through.
    • There will be no mid-rehearsal stretch (because the concert has no intermission), but I have added about 2 extra minutes to each work’s run-through time to allow for mini-breaks throughout the rehearsal, to resemble the breaks we’ll have next Saturday for Bob’s introductions between pieces. It’s necessary for everyone to prepare both physically and mentally for the rigors of this rehearsal and the performance three days later.
  • Saturday’s schedule:
    • 2:00 pm – Percussion rental is delivered. WSW percussion: let’s decide on an arrival/setup schedule on Monday night.
    • 3:30 pm – Everyone, please arrive on site no later than 3:30 pm for personnel check-in with David. As in past years, there are two dressing rooms reserved for WSW players upstairs behind the upstage cyclorama wall. Feel free to arrive in casual dress, and change clothes at the dinner break.
    • 4:00 pm – Soundcheck rehearsal, including rehearsals with Ryan Silverman, Bob Sherman, Amy McCabe, and the hand-bell ringers
    • 6:00 pm – Dinner break
    • 7:50 pm – Meet stage right and stage left to take the stage together
    • 8:00 pm – Concert downbeat
    • 9:45 pm  (approximate) – Concert ends. Everyone turns in folders. Early departure members head for cars asap. Everyone else, feel free to follow the crowd to watch the fireworks or join us for the post-concert debriefing in the backstage stage left picnic area. Feel free to bring adult beverages for celebrating!

Other final details:

  • I will confirm auxiliary bell ringer information with those folks who volunteered at the end of rehearsal on Monday. Please see me in the pit when we finish.
  • I have been assured that there will be gluten-free offerings on the dinner table this year. Ask the server to identify those selections. (If you have any reservations about this, I suggest bringing a backup meal of your own, just in case.)
  • I need a final hand count of early departure parkers on Wednesday. We just need a count, not a list of names.
  • Attire for this concert is white shirts/blouses (unbuttoned, no ties, no jackets; long or short sleeves are fine), black pants/slacks/skirts; black dress shoes and socks (plain black dress sandals for women is fine, but no white of any kind and no flip flops, please).
  • We will collect all folders following this performance. It’s very important that no one take their folder home by mistake! Section leaders: please help us by double-checking your section when the concert ends.
  • Thank you to the 35 members who already completed the Concert/Dress Commitment Form for next year. If you did not complete it by the deadline yesterday, please do so by Monday. David will be checking in with everyone who has not replied on Monday night. It’s really important that we know the landscape of our personnel for next year as we begin the summer break, so we can plan for auditions to fill in anticipated openings and begin the season in September with a full roster.
  • Thank you to the 10 members who placed orders for the 2016-2017 compilation CD’s, SD cards, and Thumbdrives. Please place your order by July 1 for immediate fall delivery. (No money is due now; you can pay for your media on delivery.)

I hope that covers everything. Enjoy the weekend, see you Monday evening! And practice!