Stay safe!

I hope everyone is safe and dry. Please make good choices when traveling, especially if you have to go near the shoreline!

Huge thanks to Ed Herko!

The board has been perturbed by the rising costs of storage for our library at Cubesmart in White Plains for several years. Ed learned about 501(c)(3) discounts at Westy’s recently, and spearheaded a project to move our library. This move will save us thousands of dollars each year going forward, and our treasurers will share some of those figures at our rehearsal on October 5. In the meantime, huge thanks to Ed for tackling this project and moving everything this past Friday!

Sectionals on Monday

The rehearsal plan is ready. Assuming that we do not need to build an Ark by then, we will hold sectionals on Monday at Hackley. Here are the sectional locations, along with parking and driving directions. Since this is our first time using these spaces, please allow extra travel and setup time so we can still start at 7:30 pm.

Click on the photo to enlarge!

Hackley Campus (Google aerial photo is out of date, does not reflect current Diller Hall)

Woodwinds in Hackley Chapel – BRING A FOLDING MUSIC STAND. If you usually need additional light in low-light situations, consider bringing a stand light; I haven’t seen this space at night yet. Rehearsal is in Hackley Chapel. You have two choices to get there/park:

CHOICE #1 – Enter Hackley campus as usual, but go right at the fork instead of left to Diller. Go about 600 feet and bear right/downhill into the lot that is closest to the chapel. Be careful to note GUEST and RESIDENT spaces; they love us so far and we want to keep it that way. If you can’t find parking there, park at Diller, and follow instructions below for Choice #2. PARKING IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE CIRCLE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE CHAPEL.

CHOICE #2 – Park at Diller Hall. NOTE: You can park in the upper gravel lot to save some steps up from the lower lot! Walk to Diller, then take the stairs on the right side of Diller to the top of the hill (photo 1). Keeping the building on your left, bear to your right toward the chapel (photo 2). Continue around the circle and enter chapel on your right (photo 3).

Brass in Diller Orchestra Room (2nd floor) – There are music stands in this room, but it might be good to bring a folding stand just in case there are not enough. Lighting is more than adequate in this room.
Park at Diller. NOTE: You can park in the upper gravel lot to save some steps up from the lower lot! Enter Lobby and take stairs to 2nd floor (there’s also an elevator at the far end of the lobby). Once on the second floor, you’ll find the Orchestra Room in the hallway adjacent to the audience left wall of Diller. Please be aware that we must return this room to its original setup on departure! 

Percussion in APR. You know what to do!

Jessica, Kathy, and I will rotate between spaces after the first hour. We’ll assess these spaces before committing to them for the sectionals in December.

Reminder – no rehearsal this week because of the Yom Kippur holiday

Sectionals on Monday, September 28

We will run woodwind/brass/percussion sectionals on this date. The Hackley spaces for sectionals will be confirmed by next week. See the home page for the sectional rehearsal agendas.

Ads for the 2026-2027 program

Click here for the 2026-2027 Ad Form. It is also posted on the home page.

Ads will be due on Monday, October 19. Email graphics to westsymwinds@gmail.com. Please hand ad forms/checks to Tom Sweezey. Thank you for supporting our program book.

Members’ performance this Wednesday, September 23 in White Plains

Screenshot

Wednesday, September 23 | 5:30–7:00 PM
Tenure Park Stage | 26 Lake Street, White Plains
Performers include: Stan, Casey, Ron, Elliot, Donna, Marc, and Andrew will be playing with the Sound Shore Jazz Orchestra as part of Jazzfest. This is a free concert, and it promises to be a great evening of music!
For more information, go to: ArtsWestchester – JazzFest White Plains or White Plains BID – JazzFest Downtown White Plains

Happy September, everyone!

First, Shana Tova to everyone celebrating this weekend!

I’m very excited to start the new season with our first rehearsal this Monday in the APR, Lower School, on the Hackley School campus! Please make sure you’ve downloaded/printed the parts for our first rehearsal.

• Download parts from the Fall folder here. IMPORTANT: Please make sure you have the Rogers edition of Children’s March. The version was updated after it was first posted.
• Check the rehearsal plan here.
• We may be using the padded folding chairs on the rack beside the staircase. Our black chairs were relocated to the basement due to fire safety concerns.
• Review the news items from my summer posts as needed. Part 1 was posted August 23 and Part 2 was posted September 5.

Trumpet Day at SUNY-Purchase

Bill Owens, associate principal trumpet with the West Point Band (and guest soloist with WSW)  is reprising his Trumpet Day at SUNY-Purchase on Saturday, September 26, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. It appears to be a free event, and ideal for high school and adult players alike. It looks like a great day once again this year!

This week:

• First rehearsal is Monday, September 14 at 7:30 pm in the APR at Hackley!
• If you have not already downloaded your Fall parts, click here to get them.
• WSW Online Box Office – Learn how ticketing will work this season.
• Communications Committee – A new committee for which we need volunteers!
• Redundant sets of music parts available – We have a number of works from our library that are redundant and available to member directors for free! (full sets of parts).
• 2026-2027 Handbook – It’s been updated for the new season. This link is also available from the home page.

First rehearsal – Monday, September 14 at 7:30 pm in the APR at Hackley

I am so excited to welcome everyone back a week from Monday in our new home at Hackley! ALL of our activities this season, including auditions, sectionals, rehearsals, and performances, will take place at Hackley. No more driving hither and yon week to week!

If you have not already downloaded your Fall parts, click here to get them. Trumpets, Horns, and Percussion — your section leaders will contact you regarding part assignments.

The rehearsal plan was posted several weeks ago, but the order of rehearsal has been adjusted slightly. Find it here on the home page, as usual. 

WSW Online Ticketing is now live!

As announced yesterday on Slack, our online ticketing is now live. We encourage you to try it out and give us feedback before the brochures hit area mailboxes on Tuesday, and the general public has access to buy tickets. Our ticketing page is linked from our main ensemble website, but consider bookmarking the direct ticketing page:

http://www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org/ticketing

Please see the end of this post for the Friends & Family discount codes, and details to guide you to help us with feedback on the ticketing site. Please give a big round of applause to our Ticketing Committee for their dedication and hard work over the summer!
Eric Mlikie, Chair; Dave Marchiony, Brian Macomber, Marge Hone, Marianne Lepre, Rebecca Weissman, and Curt Ebersole.

Communications Committee

At the August monthly meeting, the WSW Board approved the formation of a new Communications Committee, to help with social media, press releases, and more. We are looking for members not currently on the board to join the committee help get the word out. Rebecca Weissman will be chairing this committee — please speak to her to join.

Redundant library holdings

Shout out to Nancy Mattson for joining me two weeks ago at our offsite library (the luxurious Cubesmart in White Plains) to help file leftover single parts and create file folders for new purchases.

In the process of doing so, we discovered that we have a number of redundant sets of parts — hard copies for which we also have scans. As we try to reduce our physical library holdings (the board would like to eventually eliminate the storage rental costs, which would save us thousands of dollars per year), we are offering these sets at no charge to any member band directors who would like to add them to their school libraries. If you’re interested, contact me and I’ll bring the set(s) to you at the first rehearsal on September 14.

Details for ticketing and encouraging your feedback