Dear WSW friends,

I apologize for taking so long to write this note of thanks for your outstanding work last Saturday night. Upon returning to civilian life on Sunday, there was a whole week of stuff that needed my full attention. And I’m just coming up for air now.

It took 27 months for us to return to a full 60-program-minutes-with-intermission concert at TMH. There were many dark days for us, both individually and collectively, during that time. But we managed, and you made this happen, through your tenacity and resilience. I’m grateful to every single player in the ensemble for bringing your A-game to the performance once again.

I’m particularly grateful to:

• David, for his devotion to all the personnel tasks,
• All the players who subbed a single rehearsal or the entire cycle,
• Eric, for managing this large percussion program and helping to recruit additional players, and for managing our website, the web stream details, and helping me to keep this blog/site afloat,
• Marge, for managing our treasury so adeptly, as well as all the F&F ticketing and Will Call reservations,
• Ron, for his continuing professional advice during the pandemic,
• Rachel, for running our most successful 50/50 to date,
• Barbara and Joy, for the expertise and musicianship on keyboards and harp,
• Joey & Matt, our amazing guest artists,
• Barton, our incredible in-house arranger,
• Rebecca and Greg, our marketing and PR life-lines,
• Rich, our stage manager,
• Nancy, our librarian,
• Mary, for locating and transporting the herald trumpets
• all of our donors and endowed chair patrons,
• all members of both the Band Committee and Board for their assistance in running the mundane week-to-week tasks that make this organization click,
• and again, you — our players. None of this happened without your willingness to go the distance with us.

I apologize if I left anyone in particular off of this list. Please know your contributions are nonetheless critical and appreciated.

There’s no rehearsal again on Monday (TMH is not available). We start up again with the Caramoor cycle on Monday, May 23 at 7:30 pm at TMH. Some music is already available via PDF’s in this folder, more will be posted as the arranger completes them, and the rest will be distributed that night. The rehearsal plan is already posted.

1. Our concert protocols are listed as “vaccination required/masks required” for the audience. Masks continue to be optional on stage. However, we ask you to mask up if you intend to mingle with the audience at intermission or after the concert. Masks are optional for performers only, while on stage and while backstage. So if you intend to mingle in the house, please be sure to bring a mask.
2. I must ask everyone to complete the health screening form before arriving tonight. Some players became lax with this on Monday and Wednesday when I was busy with guest artists and didn’t have time to come around with my purple RFC card.

Please allow time for traffic caused by the rain. TMH opens for us to set up at 5:00 pm. Equipment will be moved on stage for us, but we need help between 5:00-6:00 pm to set it all up correctly. Sound check starts promptly at 6:00 pm!

I’m so psyched to perform with you tonight!
Curt

In this post:

• Rehearsal schedule for the week
• Concert ticket sales push
• Carpet cleaning at TMH this Monday
• Ukraine Fund-Raiser
• Upcoming member performances

Schedule for this week

We have a full rehearsal on Monday at 7:30 pm, dress rehearsal on Wednesday at 7:30 pm, and performance on Saturday, starting with the sound check at 6:00 pm/performance at 8:00 pm. Check the homepage for all details. And please be sure to complete the health screening form each day you come to TMH.

Looking ahead, there is no rehearsal on May 9 and TMH is not available on May 16. Our first rehearsal for the Caramoor cycle will be Monday, May 23 at 7:30 pm at TMH.

Concert tickets

Marge will have Friends & Family half-price tickets ($10 each) available for purchase again on Monday & Wednesday this week. Please help us fill the house for our first concert in 6 months! Folks who live out of the area will be able to watch the livestream again on our own website at www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org, and it will be archived after the concert on our YouTube channel.

Carpet cleaning at TMH on Monday

Although it seems like they just did this, they are cleaning the carpets at TMH again on Monday during the day. Continue to use only the backstage door for entry/exit. Plan to use the backstage area or wings for storage of all coats and cases on Monday. Please do not go out into the House at all on Monday; things will revert to normal on Wednesday. Thank you.

Ukraine Fund-Raiser

As announced, we’re opening the concert on Saturday with the Ukrainian National Anthem, which we rehearsed last Monday, followed immediately by the Star-Spangled Banner. We are donated our 50% of the proceeds from this concert’s 50/50 raffle to the GoFundMe campaign – Support Displaced Ukrainian Musicians. This is the same organization which was the beneficiary of the recent sold-out fund-raising concert at TMH.

Member performances coming up in the next week

On Sunday, May 1, Chris Carbone and the Bear Mountain Brass are playing from 1:00-2:00 pm at the New Rochelle MuralFest, NewRo Park, 255 North Avenue at Main Street in New Rochelle. WSW members include Ben Acrish and Stan Serafin on trumpet, David Church on bari, Michael Lucke on trombone, Chris Larsen on drums, Chris Carbone on helicon. Our set will include everything from New Orleans standards to Radiohead, Performance is free. Stay for the second band and hear Larsen for another hour!

On Friday, May 6 the Rich Dashnaw Eclectic Project will be performing Blues, Jazz, Classic Rock, and Funk at the Peekskill Brewery. Click here to reserve a table. Players include: Rich Dashnaw – guitar/vocals; Michael Lucke – trombone/ piano; Chris Larsen – drums; Austin Day- tenor sax; and Andrew V. Craig – up/electric bass, vocals.

Rehearsal Monday in Auditorium at White Plains HS

Rehearsal this Monday, April 25 at 7:30 pm will be held at White Plains HS, 550 North Street, White Plains, NY 10605. There is ample parking right next to the Auditorium. Click here for the Google Map and directions. As usual, the rehearsal plan is posted.

A new production of Schwanda, the Bagpiper

Yes, it’s true. The Komische Oper in Berlin has mounted a new production of the opera which centers on the Polka we’re playing on May 7. Read the New York Times article here.

Steve Cohen performs William Bolcom with NU SWE

Our good friend and master clarinetist, Steve Cohen, will perform the William Bolcom Concerto for Clarinet and Band with the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble tomorrow evening, Friday, April 22 at 7:30 CDT/8:30 EDT. Music for Prague 1968 is also on the program. Watch the livestream via this link. Since we performed the Bolcom Soprano Saxophone Concerto, as well as Prague, this will be an interesting performance for sure.

This is Steve’s final solo performance at Northwestern, as he is retiring at the end of the school year, and moving back to hometown area in Western Connecticut. Hmmm . . . that’s really close to us . . .

Masterclass with Eric Whitacre

Hal Leonard is sponsoring a virtual masterclass, “The Beautiful Mess: Masterclass in Composition and Creativity,” including an appearance by Eric Whitacre on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:00 pm. Click here for the registration.