A smart conductor — he brought 2 batons, in case one blows away!

Rehearsal on Monday

My crystal ball still has not arrived from Amazon, but it doesn’t look good. If White Plains closes their schools on Monday, our rehearsal is toast. And if that happens, it’s likely that it will not be safe for anyone to be on the roads Monday night.

It’s not good to call a rehearsal before the storm even starts, so I’m putting off the official call until tomorrow afternoon. I will ask our board to confer with me to make the decision — which at that point might be a fait accompli — but I think it’s best, just in case this massive storm turns out to be a dud.

Please check your email again tomorrow afternoon. I will also post the news in the #cancellations-delays channel on the WSW Members workspace on Slack.

In the meantime, I will work on a Plan B rehearsal plan for Monday, February 2 and Wednesday, February 4. It is possible and likely that these will both end up being working rehearsals, foregoing a formal dress rehearsal run-through on Wednesday.

Some good news

The sutures came out on Wednesday! My surgeon has cleared me to conduct in two stages: with my right hand only for two weeks, and then both hands thereafter. So expect to see me conducting with reckless abandon on February 4. I want to express my thanks again to Jessica Stein-Natale, Jasmine Britt, Alex Gray, and Devon Toland for their dedication and musicianship during the rehearsals when I could not conduct in January.

Excelsior Symphony concert – Saturday, February 7 at 3:00 pm

The Excelsior Symphony (formerly the St. Thomas Orchestra) is performing the day before our own concert at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, in their beautiful new performing arts center, Diller Hall. As part of the concert, they will be honoring the life and legacy of Bill Eckfeld, former conductor and orchestra director at White Plains High School, who passed on January 17. I recommend attending if you are available.

Weathering the storm

Stay tuned. Stay warm. And please stay safe.

This week:

• Rehearsal Monday at UUFNW / Rehearsal chairs
• Rep underwriting link – please share
• Advance notes for Maslanka #4
• Laubin Oboes, Ruthie Garcia, and Scott Bernitt in the New York Times

Rehearsal Monday

It’s almost impossible to find a space to rent for rehearsal on a national holiday (as we’ve learned over the past years), so our access to UUFNW is very fortunate this year on MLK day. As needed, set your GPS to ​236 South Bedford Road, Bedford, NY 10506.

Remember to bring a music stand. As our departure from TMH continues to unfold, we will have standards and procedures to discuss heading into the February 4 dress and February 8 concert.

I contacted Keith Kile, and he will be joining us on Monday to rehearse movement 3 with Alex Gray on the podium. I am sure this will help advance the piece a great deal.

Regarding the chairs at UUFNW: If you find them a bit uncomfortable, you’re not alone. For now, the best solutions are: 1) Sit at the front of the chair, with your tusch on the highest point so you don’t sink into the lowest point at the back, or 2) Consider bringing your favorite folding chair. The board will be looking at potential long-term solutions for this issue.

Donor Relations Committee has been at work – please share!

Our Donor Relations Committee is repeating the repertoire underwriting project through GiveButter.com. It’s our hope to draw outside donors into our circle with this low-impact entry-level fund-raising campaign. Please share this link with friends & family who have attended our concerts and may want to take a step toward becoming more involved:
https://mailchi.mp/westchestersymphonicwinds/winterrepauction

This linked communication also has a reminder for the Box Office link. The Friends & Family coupon code is posted on Slack, and I will repeat it again at rehearsal on Monday.

A few notes about the Maslanka Symphony for May

We were able to secure the rental of the symphony with the credit we earned from the 2020 rental, because we never performed it due to the pandemic. The parts have arrived and I’ll be able to share the parts soon.

I’m hoping that our clinician from 2020 will revisit the “babies” solos with the clarinets to assist in preparing those parts. I will be asking interested players to prepare the solos and audition to perform these solos at the concert. There are solos for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd clarinet parts. More as that develops. And Matt Maslanka is definitely interested in coming out to work with us in at least one — possibly two — clinic rehearsals.

By the way, the family prefers their name to be pronounced mass-‘lang-kuh, not mass-‘long-kuh. Read more about David, and his son, Matt, at davidmaslanka.com.

Laubin Oboes in the NYT!

This is an amazing article about A.Laubin LLC, posted this week on January 14. Two members of WSW — Ruthie Garcia and Scott Bernitt — work at Laubin. Ruthie works in Operations/Sales and Scott works in production/key making at the new operations facility in Holmes, New York. Both are mentioned in the article, and you can see and hear Ruthie playing in the online article!

You may remember that the owner of Laubin Oboes, Jim Phelan, came to one of our rehearsals at Knights of Columbus to speak about Laubin entry-level oboes for schools. Consider contacting him or Ruthie if are in the market to buy a reliable instrument for your school.

I’ll bring the Arts & Leisure hard copy to rehearsal on Monday. Please join me in congratulating Ruthie & Scott!

Gratitude

I want to thank Jessica, Jasmine, Alex, and all members of the ensemble for helping to make last Monday’s rehearsal so productive and positive. I feel like a bit of a musical Sisyphus at this point, so all of your support, patience, and vigor in the face of many obstacles is really appreciated.

Rehearsal at New Rochelle HS tomorrow night

In our efforts to rotate rehearsals among our various available venues to support those who drive longer distances, we’re rehearsing at New Rochelle HS tomorrow night. Use 11 Braemer Avenue on your GPS, park in the lots by the tennis courts. Music stands are not needed, as the band room has adequate equipment, but if you have a favorite stand of your own, you’re always welcome to bring it.

The rehearsal plan is posted.

Tickets for February 8

The Music Hall has posted the Box Office URL for purchasing tickets for February 8. It is:
https://tickets.tarrytownmusichall.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=3127
Feel free to share the Box Office site URL liberally. The coupon code for the $21 Friends & Family tickets is published in the WSW Members workspace on Slack. I’ll also announce it at rehearsal tomorrow night.

Brass condensation at future UUFNW rehearsals

The board approved the purchase of a large box of absorbent doggie pads for brass players to empty water keys at future rehearsals at the Unitarian church. The shipment has arrived, and I’ll bring them to the next rehearsal there on January 19. We can store them at UUFNW in the percussion room to use as needed.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays so far. The New Year brings some particular challenges for me, and this affects all of us. Please be sure to read all of this post.

Percussion move

First, please join me in thanking Eric Milkie and the crew of volunteers who moved all of our WSW percussion equipment out of TMH on December 20, and transferred it to the storage area at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Westchester. This was the only viable storage possibility for us in order to meet the December 31 deadline. Please help me to thank Eric and his crew: Mike Benoit, his daughter Ava Benoit, Diane Surís, Chris Larsen, Nate Brewster,  and Russ Ebersole.

As announced, the board voted to accept the offer presented by UUFNW. Our percussion is now stored there, and we will alternate rehearsals between that site, White Plains HS, and New Rochelle HS. It is our intention to rotate around among these sites to try to be as fair to all members’ travel as possible.

January rehearsals

The sites for our upcoming rehearsals will be as follows:
January 5 – UUFNW*
January 12 – New Rochelle HS
January 19 – UUFNW*
January 26 – White Plains HS
February 2 – UUFNW*
February 4/Dress rehearsal – TMH**
February 8/Sound check & performance – TMH**
* Please bring a music stand. This can be your adopted WSW stand if you wish.
** Please bring all adopted WSW stands for this dress and performance.

We have acquired the acoustician report created for UUFNW from 2018. We will have an acoustician visiting the January 5 rehearsal to listen and then hopefully make some recommendations to deaden and balance the sound in the room.

Conducting reassignments for the Winter Concert

In late December, I was diagnosed with a basal cell carcinoma about 3 inches below my left collar bone. The surgeon determined that I am an excellent candidate for Mohs surgery, and he expects a full recovery. However, I found myself in a position in which I could not delay this surgery, and so it is scheduled for January 5. The surgeon told me that I will not be able to exercise or conduct for four weeks after the surgery, to allow for the site to heal completely, but it is my hope to return to conducting with my right hand only after two weeks of complete rest. In order to facilitate this development, I recruited help and have made some reassignments for conducting on the Winter Concert.

• I will conduct the Mackey, Beckel, Nelhybel mvmnt II, and Barker on this concert. Jessica and Alex Gray will assist me to rehearse these works through January 19, then I plan to take over for the final rehearsals and concerts. In these first three rehearsals, Jessica and Alex will conduct, and I will coach from the sidelines. (“Coach” and “Sidelines” were never words I ever thought I’d use in a self-description!)
• Devon will continue his rehearsals and will conduct the Sheldon at the performance. Jessica will now conduct all the rehearsals and performance of the Dunton and Nelhybel mvment III. Jasmine Britt, our guest conductor, will rehearse and perform the Barfield as scheduled, but will also take on the rehearsals and performance of the Nelhybel mvment I.

I am extremely grateful to Jessica, Alex, Jasmine, and Devon for stepping up to assist me during these next weeks in January. Thank you!

In order to help everyone anticipate what will be happening within these new conducting assignments, I have planned all the rehearsals from and including January 5 through the dress rehearsal on February 4. January 5 is already posted on the home page, but please click here to see the plans for the remaining rehearsals.

Midwest Clinic 2025

I had a very successful trip to Chicago earlier this month for the 79th annual Midwest. My clinic presentation, “Architecture & Inspiration: the Percy Grainger Home & Studio,” was very well attended and very successful. The Grainger Society would now like me to reprise this clinic at the Grainger Symposium in Provo, Utah in March and the NYSSMA convention next December.

I connected with many composers and conductors at Midwest this year. The most noteworthy meeting was with Viet Cuong, which was extremely positive and productive. I’ll reflect on this in person on January 5. I also spoke with Matt Maslanka and gained a number of insights about our performance of his father’s Symphony No. 4, and also made initial plans for a rehearsal collaboration with Dr. Daniel Cook and the Ithaca College Wind Ensemble, who will perform the same symphony a month ahead of us in April. And the closing concert was a special performance by the Northshore Concert Band, a thrilling performance which brought the attendees to their feet.

Symphony No. 4 on May 9

The rental parts from Presser have arrived, and I will post the parts asap on my home page. I’m making plans with Manny Ramos to help the clarinets prepare for the “babies” solos and will share that information when finalized. We have two Mondays off between the Winter Concert and the first rehearsal for the Spring Concert on March 23. Please plan now to use that time to prepare the Maslanka parts for that first rehearsal — especially the bebop section.