Monday’s rehearsal

It’s always a little scary as a conductor to schedule a rehearsal and not attend. Thank you to everyone who welcomed and supported Jeff Ball last evening to make the rehearsal successful. It’s one of the characteristics of this group that makes me most proud. I hope you enjoyed the new repertoire and will return next Monday night challenged and excited. Daniella Ashbahian (soprano from Angels in the Architecture) will join us next week, so the Stamp and Nelson will make a little more sense with the soprano part added. I’ll post the rehearsal plan later in the week, but plan on those two works being cornerstones of the next rehearsal. 

Syracuse University Wind Ensemble Webcast

Brad Ethington has been a wonderful host, and I’ve really been enjoying myself up here in Syracuse. I spoke to three conducting/methods classes yesterday morning, and then conducted the Wind Ensemble rehearsal. Tonight’s program includes Daugherty’s Desi, Vaughan-Williams Folk Song Suite, Grainger Country Gardens, Latham Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light, and Biedenbender Luminescence. I’m conducting the final two pieces on the program. I never expected to see my photo next to Desi Arnaz, but there you have it. If you’re inclined and interested to watch the webcast, point your browser to: http://riverbendmedia.com/jwplayer/syr.html. The link will go live about 7:55 pm. Desi is especially interesting. Written 25 years ago as a tribute to Desi Arnaz, the percussion section (especially mallets) is truly challenged. I conducted this work in the 90’s with the OCMEA wind ensemble, and I’d love to program it again (after we give the percussion section sufficient time to recover after Black Rainbow.)

Hudson River Museum event

Erin Dawson asked me to share this with you: Her sister is the media/communications coordinator for the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers. This weekend they are opening a Civil War music exhibit. She asked me if I could pass this information along to everyone at WSW, hoping that some of the members of the group might be interested in attending.

I’ll write again before next Monday. Thank you again for the successful rehearsal!

Special schedule for November 14, 21, 28

Access to TMH on the next three Mondays follows the Random Farms performances. Please gather at the front door at 7:30 pm, and then set up as quickly as possible once we’re allowed inside. Please remember that the rehearsals may extend to 10:00 pm as needed because of the late start for these three critical weeks.

Please welcome Jeff Ball on November 14!

Jeff brought great perspectives to his clinic rehearsal of Moth last spring, and now he’ll be our guest conductor for the Winter concert, conducting Maslanka’s On This Bright Morning. Jeff has graciously agreed to cover Monday’s rehearsal for me while I’m in Syracuse, and this will give him a chance to read the Maslanka and introduce it right at the beginning of the cycle. I’ve posted the rehearsal plan, but be aware that I’ve given Jeff the latitude to rearrange the order if it suits his needs.

Be sure to bring Mussorgsky parts for collection Monday

In order to expedite the return of this loaned music, please hand your part to your principal at the start of rehearsal. Principals, please carefully collate the parts in score order, and then hand to Nancy.

European wind orchestra trip opportunity for adult musicians

My friend, Kevin Sedatole from Michigan State University, asked me to advertise the World Adult Wind Orchestra Project in Schladming, Austria this July 9-16. It’s geared for adult musicians, age 30+. Conductors include Kevin and Jerry Junkin (Dallas Winds and UT Austin) and several composers will also be participating, including Eric Whitacre, John Mackey, Michael Markowski, Jonathan Newma, and Steven Bryant. The opportunity to spend a week with these amazing musicians makes it look like an amazing trip!

I think the deadline is soon, so if you are interested, act quickly.

Have a great rehearsal Monday!

It’s taken me a couple days to process the concert on Sunday. The breadth and depth of your concentration and focus through a challenging program with three conductors, one soloist, and our first-ever 30-minute work was truly amazing. As some of you noticed, I was feeling pretty good as Pictures developed (pun intended) through all the programmatic and emotional twists and turns, and landed squarely at the Great Gate. It was a milestone concert in many, many ways. I’m grateful to all of you, and hope to have the chance to look each of you in the eye to say thank you in the coming weeks.

Remember that our next rehearsal is Monday, November 14 at TMH. Meet by 7:30 pm at the front door, and be ready to move in quickly when Random Farms clears the stage. Please plan for the possibility of staying until 10:00 pm if necessary. Jeff Ball, our next guest conductor, will lead you through the entire Winter program (except the Hanson). I’m going to ask that we collect Pictures from everyone that night, in order to expedite the return of the loaned parts. Please pass all your parts to your principal, and in turn, pass them to Nancy.

Our friends in the Connecticut Symphonic Winds have a concert this coming Saturday night, November 12 at 7:30 pm. Please see the flyer for details. I hope some members of our group might be able to attend. It looks like a terrific program.

With the change of concert cycles comes new music, new challenges, new interpretations. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept that change is actually the norm, musically and otherwise. It will be a formidable task to take on these challenges with a buoyant heart and forward-looking mind. I hope that together, in both the immediate and greater realms, we can make sense of these changes together. I will be clinging to the amazing impression of your Sunday performance of The Star Spangled Banner in the days, weeks, and years ahead. It is truly a gift, and I am extremely grateful for that.

Have a good rehearsal on November 14 with Jeff, and I will look forward to seeing you on November 21.

Saturday’s dress rehearsal, 10 am – 1 pm

We’re ready to roll tomorrow with our dress rehearsal for Sunday’s concert. The rehearsal plan is posted; note that I expect that we’ll be done by 12:30 pm, but please keep your schedules open until 1:00 pm, just in case. The good news (well, really, it’s fantastic news) is that the stage is already set with the risers and shells, and everything can stay in place after Saturday’s rehearsal for Sunday’s performance. There’s no show at TMH Saturday night, and Megan and her crew acted proactively on our behalf. John Palatucci will be with us to run Carnival, and Brad Ethington will join us, with an extended period of time to rehearse and run the Holst.

Winter Cycle

We expect to have the Winter folders ready to hand out tomorrow, so you will have a chance to look at these parts before our first rehearsal on November 14. These next three rehearsals on November 14, 21, & 28 are Random Farms Theater performance dates, so we won’t have access to TMH until they are done at 7:30 pm. As before, we’ll move quickly to set up, and hopefully start before 8:00 pm. This next cycle is a short one, with two weeks off in the middle, and with winter comes the possibility of weather woes. With all this combined, please plan on rehearsal going 15 minutes later until 10:00 pm each of these three nights. If it’s possible to end earlier, we will, but we need this cushion, just in case. Lastly, I will be be teaching and conducting at Syracuse University, November 13-16. I have invited Jeff Ball, our guest conductor for January, to lead the entire rehearsal on November 14, including his piece (Maslanka – On This Bright Morning).

Media Alerts

It’s been a busy and successful month with WSW in the news! Rachel Eckhaus was featured this past week in an excellent spotlight article in 914 magazine, a division of Westchester magazine. And our Fall Concert was featured on page 213 of the November issue of Westchester magazine. And, we made the rolling broadcasts of News 12 yesterday. I’ve been looking for a video link, but none has come up on their site yet.

Lastly, if you’re a fan of the movie Whiplash, I hope you’ll enjoy this parody we shot at The Masters School, as part of our Halloween celebration this past week. Apparently, I was typecast. And WSW makes a guest appearance at the beginning. (WSW video credit – Eric Milkie.)

See you tomorrow! I’m truly excited to perform this program with you!