Spring cycle starts on Monday

Congratulations to all!

Thank you to everyone for a truly wonderful concert experience last Sunday. Congratulations to Marc for his performance of the Alfred Reed, and to our incredible percussion section – Mark, Eric, Nate, Chris, Nick & Jessica – for their phenomenal display of talent! I have several specific thoughts to share, but I’ll wait until Monday.

Brian Worsdale wrote and asked that I pass this on to you:

Dear Curt and the Westchester Symphonic Winds,
I want to thank you all for your wonderful music making as well as your amazing reception to my time with you. It is truly a pleasure to play for people as dedicated to fine music making as they are to the idea that music making doesn’t stop because you don’t earn a paycheck from it.
Watching Mark conduct the opening work and hearing the amazing percussion soloists as well as an AMAZING performance of Holst and a KILLER Aurora Awakes were just some small examples of the musical motivation you gave to me.
Thanks again and I wish you all the best!
Most sincerely,

Brian Worsdale

 

WSW YouTube page

I shot videos of the concert again from the audience right balcony. Ben Acrish helped me with starting/stopping the camera this time, and I am indebted to him. We have two unfortunate aspects:

  • There was no way to shoot the video head-on, and so only half the percussion section can be seen during the Daughtrey. I’m so sorry. Did any percussionist spouse or family shoot any head-on video?
  • The battery ran out 2/3 of the way through the final march. Aaaargh. This kills me! So I won’t be posted that video.

We will, however, have an outstanding audio recording of the entire concert, courtesy of Rob and Richard.

I’ve uploaded all the videos to the new WSW YouTube channel (thank you, Chris Larsen!), and slowly I’m editing/trimming and adding titles. When they’re all uploaded, I’ll create a playlist for this concert. So far, the Daughtrey documentary, and the performances of the Daughtrey, Tull, and Markowski are available for public search and viewing.

Rehearsal on Monday

We’re rehearsing at TMH this Monday, and will read through the entire May 14 program at that time. See the posted rehearsal plan.

Job posting

Bob Bennett asked me to share this job opportunity:
Camp Seaside in West Harrison (right outside of White Plains) is looking for a music instructor for the upcoming summer season. Pay is flexible, but instructor can expect to make at least $2400 for the summer season. Interested applicants can contact Nick Galasso at ngalasso11@yahoo.com for more info. It really is a wonderful camp with great kids and a nice, easy summer gig.

No parking in rear lot Saturday

Please remember: There is no parking in the rear TMH lot tomorrow morning. Bring quarters; be prepared to pay for meters. I will do my best to time the intermission break with the meters’ intervals.

TMH opens at 9 am for setup; dress rehearsal (in concert order) begins promptly at 10 am.
See you in the morning!

“Black Rainbow” documentary

Please share liberally through the YouTube window Share link! (To do this, click the video below, then click on the YouTube logo at lower right. When the new window opens, find Sharing under the video window, and then copy/paste the Share link. Or ask a friend to help you. Just please share this!)

Great work tonight! See you on Saturday for our dress rehearsal downbeat at 10 am!

Wednesday’s rehearsal

Our rehearsal plan is set for tomorrow evening, Wednesday, February 24. Brian Worsdale will be with us to rehearse Elixir, and this is our last chance to rehearse and tune up (pun intended) the last details of this program. I managed to finish last week’s rehearsal at 9:45 pm, but please plan on staying until 10:00 pm tomorrow as needed, in order to recoup some of the time lost from our canceled rehearsal.

The weather report is not good for tomorrow evening. Plan for rain, lots of it. Allow a little extra travel time, and bring a sturdy umbrella or poncho. High winds and downpours are forecast to create localized flooding, so please be careful driving to and from rehearsal.

Our dress rehearsal is Saturday morning,10 am – 1 pm. I learned today that we will not be allowed to park in the rear TMH lot on Saturday because of a bus and other vehicles involved in Saturday night’s concert. So please plan ahead to park elsewhere. I know this especially impacts the percussion. My best suggestion is to park on the side street next to the stage door, unload, and then move the car to park. I’m sorry, but my hands are tied.

Drive safely and we’ll see you tomorrow evening.