I’m so very, very proud of all of you! Sunday’s concert was a truly amazing success all around, from the quality of your performance to the size of our audience. Many thanks to Andrew Hill, Brian Doyle, and Pedro Díaz for their artistry; to Ruthie Garcia for the coordination with A.Laubin; to Oscar Portillo and the TMH crews; to Andrew Merelis for the video production; to Richard Price for the recording engineering and production; and to Eric Milkie and Rebecca Weissman for their assistance in getting the video launched.

Please visit our website to see the concert — /www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org. The video is available as of 8:00 pm tonight, and we’ll keep it up on the site through the weekend. After that, you can send friends and family to our YouTube channel to watch this and all our other performance videos.

Enjoy the concert!

Dress rehearsal and performance

We had a great rehearsal with the Double Reed Ensemble last night. We are all set for Saturday’s dress rehearsals and Sunday’s performance. Please check the home page for the schedule for both days. I’m asking everyone to arrive at TMH by 8:30 am on Saturday — both to help with the setup and because of arrival/parking on Saturday morning. On Sunday, we have access to TMH at 12:00 pm; please arrive at TMH by 12:30 pm on Sunday. The sound check on Sunday is rather complex because of all the moving parts, so I need to start at 1:00 pm on the dot, and I want to end at 2:00 pm promptly to allow everyone to rest. Please anticipate parking delays on both days and be proactive with your travel plans!

No rehearsal November 6; Winter cycle rehearsals begin on November 13

We will read all of the Winter Concert rep on Monday, November 13. Please download/print parts from the Winter Cycle folder. We’re over the hump of reading the Bernstein for the first time, so I’m hopeful and excited for this initial reading. Two library notes: 1) Puccini – Nessun Dorma will be posted as soon as it’s ready. 2) You only need m.1-68 of the Les Miz medley (we’re only performing the Bring Him Home portion).

Denise Ruchala Meltzer recital on November 9

Former WSW member Denise Ruchala Meltzer will present a trumpet recital next Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 pm at Larchmont Avenue Church in Larchmont at 6:30 p.m. Some current WSW members, as well as alumni, are also performing on the program. WSW tuba sub Nik Seger and former trombone member Mandy Rimm-Hewitt will join her for two works for brass quintet. This is a 45 minute, family-friendly concert. The program is half classical music and half pop music, with a female empowerment theme. Please consider joining Denise for this program!

• Performance week notes
• Practice habits from the Marine Band podcast

This week / Fall Concert

As noted on the home page, this coming week looks like this:

• Monday, October 30 at TMH: 7:30-9:45 pm
  7:30 – Donizetti with Pedro Días
  8:30 – Kozhevnikov
  9:30 – Day
• Wednesday, November 1 at TMH: 7:30-9:30 pm – Double Reed Ensemble only: Handel, Mancini, Mercury. Separate email reminder is being sent to these players today.
• Saturday, November 4 at TMH, 9:00-11:00 am – WSW Dress rehearsal
• Saturday, November 4 at TMH, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Double Reed Ensemble Dress rehearsal
• Sunday, November 5 at TMH, 1:00 pm sound check, 3:00 pm performance, 5:00 pm reception for all at The Tapp. The reception is sponsored by A.Laubin. Please thank Ruthie for helping to coordinate this!

Marine Band Podcast

Chris Carbone recently shared this: “I’ve always felt that practice techniques are a missing piece for me, especially now that I need to maximize the time that I have,so I shared my process and progress on facebook.  One of my friends, who plays clarinet in the President’s Own, shared a podcast they put out. This one specifically focuses on practice techniques.  Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that these parts are easy for everyone but me, but here they debunk that and share some really good tips.”

With the Bernstein and Hindemith on the horizon, effective practice is something everyone should think about. Thank you for sharing, Chris!

Click below to listen to this podcast episode. Or follow/subscribe to the Marine Band podcast, Marine Band Offstage.

Does anyone read my posts all the way to the end?

I booked Taylor Swift for our Fall 2024 concert! She will sing Barton’s arrangements of French Mediterranean folk songs. The concert will be sub-titled “The Rivi-ERAS Tour.”

This week:

• Rehearsal this week at WPHS again on Monday, October 23
• Program ads
• Joint performance with West Point Band
• Featured area performers – Cassatt String Quartet

Rehearsal Monday at White Plains High School

We’re back at White Plains HS again on Monday because Pete Davidson booked a last-minute show in TMH again. See the posted rehearsal plan.

Program ads are due Monday

All ads for the season’s programs are due this coming Monday. Please give your materials to Tom Sweezey. For each ad, be sure to include:

1. Completed ad form – this form is so important because it confirms the details of each ad. Please don’t forget to include this.
2. Ad copy (the artwork that goes in the ad space). You can upload your PDF or JPG directly to this Google Drive dropbox.
3. Payment, payable to WSW.

Joint performance(s) with the West Point Band – March 2024

Here is the information I can share at this time regarding our joint performance project. Please mark your calendars. We will put out a commitment form after the Fall Concert performance.

• Performance in Eisenhower Hall at West Point – Commander Toven has invited us to share the concert with the West Band on Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 pm (snow date is Sunday, March 10 at 2:00 pm). This concert is already on the calendar at Eisenhower.
• Commander Toven has invited us to consider a reprise concert to bookend the West Point appearance, to be played here in the Westchester area. We’ve booked White Plains High School Auditorium for one week later (Saturday, March 16 at 2:00 pm), hoping to keep the two performances close together. Final confirmation of this date is pending, as we still have to weigh the costs to be shared with the West Point Band.
• Repertoire – We would play one half of this concert, and (likely) a combined finale. WSW rep will be chosen from works reprised from the Fall or Winter concerts, or programmed for the Spring concert. The combined finale selection will likely be a work that is not on any of the other concerts programmed for this season, to be rehearsed just for this occasion.
• As you can see, Eisenhower Hall is a formidable theater, with over 4400 seats. This is a singularly remarkable opportunity for WSW.
• As noted above, please mark your calendars and we will send out a commitment form shortly after the Fall Concert.

Cassatt String Quartet

The Cassatt String Quartet Concert returns to Bethany Arts Community this Fall! Join us on Saturday, November 11 at 5pm for an afternoon of Beethoven alongside great works of our time by living American composers, two of which feature trombonist Haim Avitsur.

For nearly 40 years, the Cassatt String Quartet has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, and Beijing’s Central Conservatory. Named for the great Impressionist painter Mary Cassatt, the quartet consists of violinists Muneko Otani and Jennifer Leshnower; violist Rosemary Nelis; and cellist Gwen Krosnick.

Program

Joan Tower: Trombone Quintet

Victoria Bond: Blue & Green Music (Written for the Cassatt String Quartet)

Adolphus Hailstork: Monuments for trombone and string quartet

Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 18, # 1 in F Major

Date & Time: Saturday, November 11, 2023, 5-6PM

Location: Bethany Arts Community, 40 Somerstown Road, Osisning NY, 10562

Tickets: $20 general admission. For tickets, visit BAC’s website: https://bethanyarts.org/calendar/cassatt2/