On Monday evening at TMH we will read through the full program for July 4 — all except the three baritone solo numbers, which Matt Podd is currently writing. I expect to have those arrangements in hand by mid-April.

Nancy has organized music and will hand several pieces out at the beginning of the rehearsal. Other music will be handed out as we move through the evening. I need to ask you to download one piece — Highlights from Anything Goes — and bring it on Monday. Click here to download the parts. If your part is one of several in that particular PDF file, be sure to select only the pages you need when you print, to save paper and ink/toner.

I’ve updated the rehearsal plan for Monday. We need to read through this entire program to give everyone a clear idea about the depth of our program. As I’ve discussed before, I’m concerned about the immediacy of this concert, coming on the heels of the Chicago trip, which comes on the heels of the May concert at TMH. You get the idea.

I’ve also updated my spreadsheet with the repertoire for the rest of the season – click here. (You can always access this sheet from the Resources page.) Click the Spring tab to view the May 16 concert repertoire, the Spring Inst tab to view the instrumentation for every piece, and the Spring Reh tab to see my tentative rehearsal plans for the cycle. You’ll also see tabs for the June concert in Chicago and July 4th concert at Caramoor.

We had a great rehearsal this past Monday! Thanks for your hard work. Here’s a quick reminder of what’s coming up over the next several weeks, including the two weeks I’m away in Australia:

• Monday, March 16 at Irvington Presbyterian Church (woodwinds and brass only): Sectionals on NxNW, Ives/Variations, and Maslanka. Matt Kowalski and Rich Guillen will conduct these sectionals. Everyone: Please bring a music stand to this one rehearsal!
• Monday, March 23 at TMH: Full rehearsal at TMH with Tom McCauley conducting Maslanka, Lauridsen, and Bernstein.
• Monday, March 30: No rehearsal! (Westchester County schools vacation week)
• Monday, April 6: Full rehearsal at TMH. I’ll be back for this rehearsal.

So yes, after this Monday, I won’t see you all together until April 6. So it’s very important that we take advantage of our guest conductors on March 16 & 23.

Have a great week. Spring is 14 days away on March 20! (Did you know it’s no longer on March 21?) See you Monday.

And don’t forget to move your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night!

I’m tired of winter. Hopefully, we’ll not be affected by the snow on Sunday evening/Monday morning.

I have 4 musicals to attend this weekend, so time is short. I’ve updated the rehearsal plan for Monday evening at TMH. This rehearsal is devoted exclusively to the crossover music we’re performing in May and June: Maslanka, Bryant, and Bernstein. See you Monday!

PS – Don’t forget that the Board is meeting before rehearsal, at 5:30 pm at the El Dorado II Diner, by the TZB entrance.

We’re about to send out the press release for the June 14 concert in Chicago. Beside Ed Herko, Jr., and myself, is there anyone else who has direct connections to Northwestern or the Northshore Concert Band? If so, please contact me, so we can include info about you and that connection in the release. It will be going directly to Northwestern and Northshore, in addition to our local newspapers and online distribution list here.

We’re back at it on Monday, hopefully with just about everyone this week. Rehearsal will focus on gaining ground with the big pieces. Take a look at the Rehearsal Plan.

We have a baby-sitting challenge this week. One player, who lives close by in Sleepy Hollow, needs a baby-sitter for his 6- and almost-4-year old in order to attend rehearsal. Does anyone have a daughter or family member who might be interested? Please email me for details.

I have two polls this week. The first — for everyone — asks you to confirm the concerts (May, June, July) to which you have committed. The second — for members going to Chicago — concerns the proposed Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert on June 13. Scroll down the page to get to both polls. Please complete these by Monday before rehearsal. Thank you for taking the 3 minutes needed to do this. (Note that it’s easiest to complete these polls from a desktop, laptop, or tablet; you may experience problems doing this from a phone.)

Stay warm. See you Monday.

Poll #1 – ALL MEMBERS please confirm spring/summer performances

Poll #2 – For Chicago trip performers only