Several of you have been very kind to reach out to support me during this very difficult week since Tim Tull’s death. Although we accept the end of life as a fact of life, it’s never easy when it’s thrust in our faces like this. I especially appreciate the kind words from those of you who are all too familiar with sudden incidents such as this.

This week I’ve planned to do some in-depth work again on 3 of the 5 major works, and we’ll once again rehearse Tim Takagi’s piece. Mary Schneider was kind enough to send me a manuscript full score for the Latham, which will help a lot with that piece.

This week we will delay the stretch/announcements break until 9:10 pm. After announcements, I’ll dismiss everyone who does not play the three soprano duets. We’ll quickly clear percussion and all chairs/stands for everyone not involved in those three numbers. I will then rehearse those works until 9:45 pm, when those players will clear their own remaining chairs/stands. By doing this I’m trying to be respectful of everyone’s time and integrity of the setup/teardown of the rehearsal. (I’m choosing to try it this way rather than starting with the reduced personnel and adding chairs, stands, and percussion, which I feel will take much longer.)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing you on Monday.