We are rehearsing again at Scarsdale Middle School tonight.

Everyone participating in the Exchange Trip to Chicago should have received the email on Saturday, forwarded by Claudia, with 5 attachments, plus important information in the body of the email. Please print and bring both the itinerary and sight-seeing list tonight.

Rehearsal tonight will consist of tweaking some details and then running each piece, one at a time. We will hand out the Stars & Stripes parts on loan from Keith Brion. Remember that we must collect these parts immediately after the concert ends on Sunday. Mislav and Elizabeth are lined up to assist with this.

Please read the materials I sent before coming to rehearsal. It will be much more efficient to answer only new questions which do not duplicate the information already sent. We will review the itinerary and answer remaining questions.

See you in Scarsdale tonight!

Thanks to everyone who called or emailed to ask about my cataract surgery. I was “off the grid” for almost 6 days because I wasn’t supposed to read or use my MacBook until the second follow up. Dr. Ettenson, my surgeon, seems very pleased so far. I am so glad to be rid of the cloudiness that has plagued me, especially in the past 6 months. He inserted a new lens prescribed to give me 20/20 vision in that eye (I don’t need a contact lens anymore), but without correcting to an advanced degree, because that would compromise my 18-24″ clarity (which I desperately need for score reading). I’m on 5 different eye drops for a while, but I can go back to all regular activities as of this Friday.

Monday’s rehearsal is at Scarsdale Middle School. Please be sure you go there, not to TMH. Directions are on the Rehearsal This Week page. I’ve read your comments from last week and am using them to construct the rehearsal plan. I got a lot of positive feedback from the rehearsal strategy used on May 18. I hope you agree that was a good direction that evening.

We have two working rehearsals before we leave for Chicago. It’s hard to believe that this trip is finally here! Please make smart decisions in your day-to-day routines to make sure we have no last-minute personnel drama. You are all irreplaceable at this point!

Also – I didn’t make a big deal about the conducting symposium this weekend because of the recent concert and upcoming trip. But, if you’re interested in play on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoon, 1:00-4:30 pm, in the wind ensemble session, you are most welcome. Mallory will be there, and it will be a great connection vis-a-vis for our upcoming concert in Chicago. If you’d like to play, please register at: http://wcs.ebernet.biz/registration/

Enjoy the rest of the week. I’ll see you (more clearly!) on Monday at Scarsdale MS.

And . . . Go Rangers!

Thank you, one and all, for such an exciting and dynamic concert last evening! Percussion, brass, woodwinds, string bass — you were all wonderful! It was a thrill to have Emily joining us, and clearly Chris needs to quit his day job to devote time to his new fan following. Lots of good things happened, and we have much to remember and consider from the experience as we move on.

Tomorrow night’s rehearsal is for the Chicago personnel only.
7:00 pm – Pack the Herkomobile for those who have indicated interest to have their instruments transported with Ed & Ed (rear parking lot of TMH)
7:30 pm – Rehearsal in TMH (Bernstein, Bryant, Maslanka; I will save the two marches for a later date)

I was able to capture decent video and sound from each of the eight pieces. It’s not CD quality, but it’s great for immediate feedback. See below for a playlist link to the entire concert. Currently, all videos are “unlisted,” and therefore unsearchable without the link. That may change in the future, but at this point, they are hidden from search engines.

Chicago personnel: See you tomorrow night!

This is it. Rehearsal Monday night focuses on the second half of the concert. We get one more working rehearsal on these three big pieces, plus the encore. And then we have the full dress on Wednesday.

Sell tickets. Invite someone new. And their wife, or nephew, or daughter, or boyfriend, or dog walker — whoever has a pair of ears and can applaud. Don’t assume that the hall will fill itself. Please do your part.

See you Monday night.