Ummmmm . . . so glad you could stop by. Can I get you a cup of coffee . . . or maybe a new Death Star?

Talk about “awkward.” This guy was really pushy, and I didn’t even know how he’d drink a cup of coffee, even if I did make it for him!

Rumor has it that Darth and three of his friends will be attending rehearsal next Monday. So make sure you bring your selfie-cam. We hope you’ll take and post these pics to Facebook and Twitter to help promote the concert.

Soprano Duets & rehearsal plan

This Monday, our guests are soprano Kyunghee Kim and mezzo soprano Eunjoo Lee-Huls. We’ll devote the first part of rehearsal to integrating their solo voices into our performance. Please plan on arriving at the regular time, setting up the full stage as usual, even though the complete full ensemble won’t be playing at the start. I prefer this to having players arrive later, and having to pull more chairs/stands and percussion into the setup mid-rehearsal. This will save time overall.

The rehearsal on Monday will include a run-thru of the Biedenbender, recording it so I can send it to Mary Schneider, as well as a final run-thru of the Holst/Williams mashup. In addition, Tim Takagi will rehearse his piece. Tentatively, Michael Markowski has indicated that he’ll attend next Monday’s rehearsal to hear his piece (he cannot attend this concert due to a conflict).

Ads

We’ve collected 11 total pages of ads — matching our ad page content from last year. If there are any last-minute additions, I need them on Monday without fail (ad form, copy, and payment, please). In addition, there are several members who gave me ads last week without payment; please bring for Marge this Monday.

Tickets

The Friends & Family ticket program is off to a great start. Remember that everyone is still getting 2 comps to each concert, but in addition, we’re asking everyone to sell 6 Friends & Family tickets (good for any TMH concert) at half-price, $10 each. This will not only add to revenue, but also to filling the hall!

Caramoor

Paul Rosenblum and I had a phone chat yesterday about the 2016 program. He specifically asked for a Herbert L. Clarke-style soloist, so I have invited John Palatucci, euphonium, to join us as our instrumental soloist. John was very excited and flattered to be invited, and he eagerly accepted. As a special favor, Paul also asked if we “could possibly play music from Star Wars.” I think that might be possible.

Benefit Concert

Please keep in mind that we will have no rehearsal on November 9, the day after the concert. The next week we have rehearsal on Monday, November 16 at TMH, dress rehearsal on Wednesday, November 18 at Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, and concert on Saturday, November 21. We will post directions. Everyone will be asked to bring their own music stand for this dress rehearsal and concert. The program pulls rep from the November 8 and this most recent Caramoor program. Click here to see the complete program.

The New York Times

Lastly, thank you for your work last week when Phil Lutz was here. I was flabbergasted that he stayed for the entire rehearsal. When Rachel asked him, “Is this what you expected?” he replied, “Yes. Anything less and I would have been disappointed.” So the fact that he stayed until we finished is a very positive sign. Although I have no guarantee yet of publication, things are looking good. When we have further news, you will be the first to know!

Thanks for your continued dedication and hard work. It is a very exciting time to be a member of WSW! See you Monday.

I forgot to place a reminder in the post earlier today — Ads are due tomorrow night. Please bring them in on time so we can create a program worthy of your performance.

Need an ad form? Click here. Instructions for ad copy are on the form.

Article in development

This past week I received an email from Phil Lutz, writer with The New York Times, who wrote to express interest in writing an article about WSW for the Metropolitan Section of the paper, ahead of our Fall Concert. We had a 75 minute conversation on Thursday, and he followed it up with another conversation with Rachel on Saturday. He intends to attend rehearsal this coming Monday evening, with a photographer. I am not sure if/how this may affect rehearsal, but I wanted you to know he will be visiting. I don’t have to point out how pivotal this could be for us. Please make every effort to arrive early to help set up and warm up, so we can start exactly on time and put our best foot forward. Be proactive so that no one is late!!!

Check the rehearsal plan for the week; the soprano duets will be rehearsed at the end of rehearsal again (Rossini – Delibes – Mozart this time), in final preparation for the soloists arriving next Monday. We’ll go with the “Farewell Symphony” plan again of gradually disappearing players and equipment in the final 30 minutes of rehearsal.

Please reflect on this

I noticed this post on Travis Cross’s Facebook page this past week. I think it speaks directly to what I have been trying to convey this fall in regard to listening more collaboratively and conversing, not just playing, in rehearsals. I hope you agree that this is extremely worthwhile.

I just had an online conversation about watching the conductor and thought I’d share something from yesterday’s rehearsal—because I believe in the idea so strongly. I was conducting a ritardando, and the players didn’t slow down enough. I stopped and said, “Don’t get there before I do.” Then, instead of instructing them to watch and follow me, I challenged them to take more time and “be more musical than I am” at the end of that phrase.

I’m convinced that playing musically, listening, and breathing together are far more important than watching the conductor, and I want my rehearsals to sensitize students to what their colleagues are doing and not just what I’m doing.

Travis Cross, via Facebook

Enjoy this beautiful day — see you tomorrow evening.

Last Monday’s rehearsal was very productive. I went into it hoping to establish meaning in each piece rehearsed, and I think that goal was met several times over.

This week we’ll continue to work on that goal with the other pieces in the cycle. Tim Takagi will be conducting again. We will read down the Armed Forces Salute, and this will likely be our only rehearsal of that piece until the dress rehearsal. Mary Ebeling dubbed the Holst/Williams mashup as “Mars Wars” in a Facebook post, and I like that name! That’s on the plan as well. Just follow the link at the top of this paragraph to see the full rehearsal plan.

The deadline to submit ads must be next Monday, October 19. Please consider bringing in an ad from work, or bonding with your section-mates and taking an ad, or approaching a colleague or neighbor to ask for their support. Again, if everyone brought in one ad, well you know the rest. Once again, here’s the link to the ad form.

What a beautiful weekend! I hope you all enjoyed it. See you tomorrow night.