Winter Concert

Our preparation for the February 10 concert is quickly coming to a close. Click here for the low-res version of the poster (for emails and web), or high-res version for printing. Thank you all very, very much for a great rehearsal last Monday. We accomplished a lot with the Grainger, which was really necessary, and I believe Matt was also quite happy with the progress on the Smith. Thank you for your attentive and mindful rehearsal with Emily. Many of you commented about the energy of her rehearsal — it certainly was palpable. She wrote me earlier this week to say that she was very pleased, and really enjoyed working with you. You can imagine that her next rehearsal on January 28 will ask even more of you — so please be prepared.

I’ve updated the Rehearsal this Week page. Please check and be ready for this Monday’s rehearsal, with lots of work on the Hindemith, and some reinforcing work on Grainger III.

 Spring 2013

Looking ahead – our spring schedule includes our 25th anniversary gala concert, and two other events. Please plan accordingly. We are depending on everyone to be a part of these events.

• Wednesday, May 8 – “Side by Side” Concert, at Mahopac HS (part of the Putnam Arts Council 50th Anniversary celebration); late afternoon clinic rehearsal, early evening concert (scheduled this way to maintain a one-day schedule)
• Saturday, May 18 – Spring Concert and 25th Anniversary Gala Reception; 8:00 pm at TMH
• Friday, May 31 – Clinic rehearsal with Dr. Mallory Thompson (part of the MEBCI Wind Conducting Symposium); 7:00 pm call, clinic 7:30-9:00 pm at Northern Valley-Old Tappan

Feedback from “New Beginnings” Composers

I sent both Frank Gulino and Matthew Quayle the recordings of their works from our November concert. Here are their comments. Congratulations!

From Frank Gulino:

You did fantastic job preparing this group for a piece that, as you mentioned, is not easy.  The tempos are perfect, the style is perfect, and the character of the piece overall is precisely as I imagined at.  It’s not often that I’m able to say that, but in this case, you elicited every composerly intention from your group of brass players.

I was particularly impressed with the blend within each section.  The trumpet section sounded like a trumpet SECTION rather than just three trumpet players playing at the same time.  Ditto with the horn section, and the tubas as well.  Send the principal horn player my regards; he or she did a very nice job with that solo before the allegro.

The trombone section sounded its best during the softer chorale sections, and seemed to be the only players that sounded “uncontrolled” (for lack of a better word) at higher volumes.  It’s a tendency among trombonists (myself included) to play loud to the point of sounding uncontrolled, and we need to remind ourselves that playing as a section with good pitch and good articulations will go a long way to sounding big.  Again, the trumpets did that very well on the whole; their presence was always heard as a result of articulating together, playing with good pitch, and maintaining a good balance throughout the section.

Overall, fantastic preparation.  It really is uncanny how precisely this performance captured my intentions in terms of style and tempo.  Thanks again for programming the piece, and I think the group should be proud of the end product.

From Matthew Quayle:

Thank you so much for this recording. I’m so glad to have it. The ensemble sounds wonderful — absolutely lovely, expressive playing.  Please thank them for all of their work on the piece, especially during that difficult week.  And thank YOU!

Happy New Year to everyone! I trust you had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday. It will be good to be back and seeing you all again as we begin our last rehearsals leading up to the February 10 concert.

Our rehearsal tomorrow night is at PELHAM, but is the last for a while there. Both our assistant conductor and guest conductor will be participating on Monday. I will be arriving about 7:45 pm (coming from a Bergen County Band rehearsal), so Matt will begin the rehearsal. Emily will follow with Chester. The rest of the rehearsal will be devoted to Grainger and Hindemith.

Check the Rehearsal this Week page for rehearsal details. See you at Pelham tomorrow night.

We WILL have rehearsals after the Mayan calendar ends!

We have one more rehearsal before the Mayan calendar ends and our solar system bypasses the center of the Milky Way galaxy (see NASA article – very interesting).

I have updated the rehearsal plan for tomorrow night. The times are very specific. I need to stay on time, because we need to accomplish a great deal. We will not rehearse Smith or Bellini, but we need to rehearse everything else before the holiday break. Please note that the Poachers canon personnel agreed to come early, at 6:45 pm, to work on the two canons. This includes: Gerould, Geoff, Rachel, Gina, Marc, and Rob (although Rob will be absent, I’ve asked Len to fill in).

I also created a Poachers meter schematic handout to assist members who are challenged by the asymmetrical meters in the third movement of Posy. I think I assumed that a larger majority of players were familiar with this movement. This handout should fill in the gaps. See the shorthand codes at the top of the page for the markings for 1 and 2 simple beats, 1 compound beat, and 3 simple beats (3/4 measures . Please download, print, and mark these measures so we all have a clear understanding of what is going on. If you don’t mark your part, it won’t help, so please follow through on this!

As Jim noted in his email this week, our success is deeply rooted in our professionalism. Please plan your travel time so you arrive with enough time to spare to unpack, greet friends, and warm up. Everyone has emergencies, even me. But most emergencies can, and should, be avoided. I also truly appreciate Jim’s email about respect for the sanctity of rehearsal. Whoever is speaking from the podium — be it conductor, guest conductor, assistant conductor, or George the custodian — that person deserves your quiet attention and respect. We have reached a point where many members have forgotten this. I find it challenging to call out individuals in front of the group without making it sound like a personal affront, so I am stating it here: We need to eliminate the unnecessary conversation, take greater care while moving stands and personal items so there is less room noise, and put the ensemble first at all times. Please do so for everyone’s sake.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to visit our Facebook page. A few members have posted candid photos, taken in rehearsal. These (posted with permission, I would add) help to spark discussion and really personalize the band to the outside world. Post, like, comment — it’s easy to do and very effective.

Be well. See you tomorrow evening in Pelham.

Georgia Southern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble

I just received this email from Dr. Robert Dunham, Director of Bands at Georgia Southern. This webcast is Sunday at 3:00 pm and looks very interesting. It includes the another work by Ira Hearshen and one of my favorites by Dello Joio.

I hope you can join the Georgia Southern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble via Live Webcast, on Sunday afternoon, December 9, at 3:00 pm, for the our final concert of 2012 – the web address to view the broadcast is GeorgiaSouthern.TV.

Repertoire for Sunday`s program includes:

Cathedrals – Kathryn Salfelder; Divertimento for Wind Ensemble – Ira Hearshen; the “Georgia Premiere” of Auto `66 for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble – James David – featuring Dr. Linda Cionitti on clarinet; and Variants on a Mediaeval Tune – Norman Dello Joio.

Go to http://georgiasouthern.tv/ to watch the webcast.

Remember that Monday’s rehearsal is also at Pelham. I’m working with the Grainger “Poacher’s” canon soloists 6:45 pm, rehearsal is 7:30 pm. I will post the rehearsal order tomorrow. Please come well-prepared for our last rehearsal of 2012!