The rehearsal plan for Monday is posted. Please read everything in this important post, and follow the two links to download/print your part for Some Enchanted Evening and our first NCB Chicago Trip Bulletin.

How are you doing?

We are now at the half-way point of our rehearsals for the Fall Concert. Time is flying fast! How are you doing with your weekly practice? Do you make a habit to practice (or at last warm up) at regular intervals during the week? I know it’s not possible for adults with careers and families to practice every day, but you play so much better when you do have some sort of regular warmup/practice on a weekly basis. Skipping time to play between rehearsals and then running into Monday evening rehearsals with no warmup is detrimental to both you as a player, and to us as an ensemble.

Baritone soloist for November 9

Yesterday I learned that Matthew Scott, our baritone soloist, is unavailable for the concert. But he has a good reason. Stephen Sondheim himself called him and asked him to take the lead in a new production of his first professionally produced musical, Saturday Night, which will run concurrently with our concert. It’s understandable why Matt feels he has to accept this gig, and we wish him the best. I’m on track with a new soloist, and hope to confirm him by Monday evening.

Some Enchanted Evening parts

The parts for our arrangement of Some Enchanted Evening are ready. I’m indebted to Zach Kampler, the new conductor of the Sound Beach Concert Band, for his help with this Sibelius project. Zach helped me to take a Philip J. Lang arrangement of highlights from South Pacific and revise it for our use with baritone solo. Click here to download/print your parts, just as we did last June, from this Dropbox.

NCB Exchange Bulletin #1

We have preliminary information to share regarding the flight and hotel information for the Northshore Band Exchange Trip to Chicago. Please download and read this Bulletin, and bring any questions you may have to the rehearsal on Monday night.

The tour of Kensico Cemetery is tomorrow, beginning at 2:30 pm. Please meet me in the main parking lot off Lakeview Avenue in Valhalla by 2:15 pm. Please click here if you would still like to sign up.

The concert is just over a month away. That is enough to give anyone pause. Monday’s rehearsal order is posted. We won’t see our guest conductor until the dress rehearsal on November 8, and we won’t see our guest soloist until the concert on November 9. Please keep this in mind as you practice and prepare.

If you didn’t take an Ad Form, please download it here. Ads are critical to our annual revenue, so please do your part to help us bring in as many as possible. All ads are due, submitted to me, complete with artwork (PDF’s, please) by Monday, October 20. 

Download a concert flyer here. Please print copies and take them to work, post them at your local libraries, coffee shops, and diners.

See you Monday at TMH!

We will be rehearsing again at Tarrytown Music Hall Monday evening. It appears that they are nearing the end of this major construction project. Tom Thayer has been incredibly helpful as we to going again for our return.

Jim Savage will be bringing ad forms tomorrow night. We’ll take a couple minutes to discuss them, and the ads’ importance in our budget.

Claudia is out of town this week with family. If you have a last minute emergency before tomorrow, please cc me when you email her.

The rehearsal plan is posted. See you then.

We are back on track for rehearsal this Monday evening at Tarrytown Music Hall, at our regular time. If you can come a little early to help set up, please do. We have access to the Music Hall at 6:45 pm, and we want to start promptly at 7:30 pm. Tom Thayer will have the TMH crew move our equipment back from the Annex to the stage in time for our set up. If you are not on the TMH emailing list, you missed this week’s email update — which features WSW prominently for the very first time! The write-up is exceptionally kind. The next time you see Björn or Karina, please thank them for featuring us — or better yet, visit the TMH site and send an email to say thank you for this important publicity.

The rehearsal order is the same as I had planned for last week; click here for the posted rehearsal order. (If you checked this page earlier this week and saw Arutunian and Hackett, I apologize for the web gremlins.)

We need to get a head count for our tour of the Kensico Cemetery on Sunday, October 5, 2:30-4:30 pm. For our convenience, the cemetery administration is providing a custom trolley tour, and refreshments will be served. I really recommend this — seeing this place and experiencing it first-hand will undoubtedly have a transforming effect on the performance. Use the form below to sign up for the tour. Click here for driving directions to the cemetery. We’ll meet to get organized in the main parking lot next to the main administrative building at 2:15 pm.

I have missed everyone! See you Monday.