Here’s everything you need to know for the coming week:
Monday
David still has had no luck with any kind of response from New Rochelle. Therefore, we have to go with rehearsing at TMH, following the Random Farms performance. They told us “Start at 8:00 pm,” but sometimes they’re able to clear and allow us to get started much sooner. It depends on the complexity and length of the children’s theater production.
Gather outside marquee entrance at 7:30 pm (but be careful not to block the exit doors, please). We’ll enter once we get the all clear from the TMH crew after striking the Random Farms performance set. Please be prepared to stay til 10:00 pm, as announced. Parking won’t be available behind TMH because of the Random Farms show which precedes our rehearsal. Rehearsal plan posted here.
I shared last Monday’s recording with MIchael Markowski and his response was full of praise. He sent me these notes; please mark your parts accordingly.
This piece is really just a collection of textural swells < f >, so I think it might be helpful to try to delay the crescendos a bit… maybe make them a bit more parabolic? I think it sounds a bit like we’re getting to the peaks a little early which might be making other voices and textures have to work even harder to be heard. Thus, everyone is fighting for dominance.
I know you only have one more rehearsal, but if you have a few minutes to rehearse on Monday, maybe see what you can in terms of making the starts of phrases even softer (especially for the polyrhythmic motor stuff).
I also like to try taking the dynamics down a notch at m. 12. Instead of ‘mf’, try an energized ‘piano.’ Let the accents in the Bernsteinian clarinets pop to ‘mf’ but keep everything else as soft as possible (without slowing down!). That might kind of give us a reference for the quiet ‘floor’ of the piece.
Of course, it’s always a balancing act between dynamics and energy with this piece.
Michael is planning on attending the concert on Sunday.
Wednesday
No rehearsal, as announced. Enjoy the evening with your family.
Saturday
NO PARKING BEHIND TMH. They have a load-in immediately after we finish, and so we are prohibited from using the back lot. Percussion can load in needed equipment through the side doors on Kaldenberg. Double park, unload, then move your car. Remember that we need to pay the meters today. Rehearsal plan posted here.
Sunday
Parking behind TMH is permitted today.
12:00 pm – TMH open for set up
1:00 pm sharp – Sound check. We must include a full run of Holmquist to integrate Pete Friedmann, narrator, and prioritize the two Dashnaw pieces because of the soloist and composer being on site.
2:00 pm – Sound check ends, break until concert begins
3:00 pm – Downbeat
The American Prize Awards
Our prize package finally arrived today. It included our First Place cash prize of $150, three award certificates for our Win, Place, and Show awards, and comments from the judges. I’ve scanned the cover letter and three pages of comments; you can view them all here. Click on the PDF icon, and the PDF will download to your computer. You can then open the PDF to read the letter and comments.
See you Monday for our final working rehearsal!