Just like Jack Nicholson: I’m back!

Posted on by

Headlines this week

Errata in the Nelson, start time on Monday, “Third Friday,” Syracuse University, and NYSBDA

Errata – Nelson

The Nelson parts are, in a word, a mess. The piece is infamous for all the errors. Please take the necessary time before Monday to check your parts for relevant corrections from this errata document. There are lots of errors, and we need to deal with these immediately before going any further with rehearsals. I pulled the errata from three sources, and organized the errata by instrument in score order, so you only have to look in one place to find all your corrections.

Another late start on Monday

Again, please meet at 7:30 pm outside the front door of TMH, just like last week. And please be prepared to work until 10:00 pm. (There’s just one more week of this!)

Third Friday in Tarrytown

img_6557Many thanks to Chris Larsen for spearheading our first appearance at the Tarrytown “Third Friday” community celebration last evening, and to Marge Hone for helping to help at the table. We passed out brochures and Winter Concert flyers, played “The Best of WSW” on portable speakers, and even received a donation! We hope to continue this promotion in the spring when better weather returns; please consider volunteering when we get to that point. It’s a great way to promote the group, it’s fun, and there’s great food to be had within spittin’ distance!

Syracuse University Wind Ensemble

img_6595Thank you again for your wonderful, focused work with Jeff last Monday while I was in Syracuse. Brad Ethington was a wonderful host. I spoke in his undergrad conducting classes and conducted the wind ensemble on the last three works on the Tuesday evening concert, including the Bach chorale, Latham chorale prelude, and Biedenbender Luminescence. The students were simply magnificent. I sent David the recording of his piece and he replied with “Outstanding performance!” so I was very pleased. This whole exchange with Brad here and me traveling there has been a truly engaging and collaborative experience.

NYSBDA update

img_6512 img_6514 img_6513Brad also took me to the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Liverpool where we’ll be playing on March 4, and I got a tour of the facility. It’s your basic Bb carpeted ballroom, with folding doors to break it up into separate spaces. We’ll have 3 of the 4 rooms as the performance space. (The fourth room will be reserved for us for cases/belongings and warmup.) A parquet dance floor will be put down under the woodwinds to help with resonance and there will be a sound shell behind the percussion. NYSBDA will supply piano, 4 timpani, bass drum, chimes, marimba, vibes, and xylo (no bells, no gong; we’ll have to transport or arrange to rent). I’m waiting for conference prices on rooms at the convention center, but there is also a Quality Inn and a Hampton Inn only 5 minutes away.

As you can see from the third photo, there are 8 Tesla charging stations in the convention center parking lot, so all of you driving your Teslas up to Syracuse need not fear for a charging point.

Although not confirmed in ink yet, this is my best impression of the program for March 4. It will be a merge of conference-appropriate repertoire pulled from the January and May concerts:

  • Boerma – Friedman Fanfare (May)
  • Maslanka – On this Bright Morning (January)
  • Galante – Resplendent Glory (January)
  • Hazo – Solas Ane (May)
  • Holmquist – Play! (January)
  • Nelson – Aspen Jubilee (January)
  • March TBA – (Sousa, Black Horse Troop or Bagley, National Emblem)

Daniella Ashbahian has already committed her availability to travel with us. And I’ve had a round of emails with Ron Nelson himself concerning the soprano part. I’ll share that conversation with you in rehearsal.

Have a great weekend — see you on Monday!