Several of you have been very kind to reach out to support me during this very difficult week since Tim Tull’s death. Although we accept the end of life as a fact of life, it’s never easy when it’s thrust in our faces like this. I especially appreciate the kind words from those of you who are all too familiar with sudden incidents such as this.

This week I’ve planned to do some in-depth work again on 3 of the 5 major works, and we’ll once again rehearse Tim Takagi’s piece. Mary Schneider was kind enough to send me a manuscript full score for the Latham, which will help a lot with that piece.

This week we will delay the stretch/announcements break until 9:10 pm. After announcements, I’ll dismiss everyone who does not play the three soprano duets. We’ll quickly clear percussion and all chairs/stands for everyone not involved in those three numbers. I will then rehearse those works until 9:45 pm, when those players will clear their own remaining chairs/stands. By doing this I’m trying to be respectful of everyone’s time and integrity of the setup/teardown of the rehearsal. (I’m choosing to try it this way rather than starting with the reduced personnel and adding chairs, stands, and percussion, which I feel will take much longer.)

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing you on Monday.

My agent really blew it when he gave away my break-out role as Obi-Wan Kenobi to Ewan McGregor in 1999. I’m so glad I saved the poster.

Rehearsal

Our first Monday rehearsal (finally!) is this week at TMH. We’re going to dig into the big pieces, so be sure to check the rehearsal plan.

Dues

Marge has asked me to remind everyone to please bring a check to pay your dues this week. Let’s get this wrapped up quickly this year! We also have the new ad forms ready so we can fill the program with supportive advertising from local merchants, WSW sections, and businesses related to our WSW membership. Please download the forms and help us sell ads! Imagine if every member sold just one ad!

Please remember that this site includes important resources from the main menu, including:

• Full year rehearsal schedule (Schedules > 2015-2016 Rehearsal Schedule Grid)
• The entire season’s repertoire plan, including the instrumentation for all works (Resources > 2015-2016 Rep & Instrumentation Spreadsheet). This is especially important for Principals/Section Leaders.
• Information specific to the current concert and season, including Fall Concert flyers (both print and online versions), ad forms, 2015-2016 season brochures, plus resources for you and your students, including online metronome, staff paper, music theory resources, and much more. (Resources > Resources by concert/season)

Public website

We are in the midst of a total makeover of the ensemble’s public site at www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org. When ready, there will be a major launch announcement!

Here we grow again!

Finally, we want to pass on the news that our WSW family just grew again, as Mandy & Scott Rimm-Hewitt welcomed their third child! Baby boy Hewitt (soon to be named) was born on the 18th of September at 7:51 a.m. He is 20.5 inches long and weighs in at 8 pounds. Mom and baby are happy and healthy. And apparently he will be wearing a Miami Dolphins onesie very soon. Please join me in congratulating his trombone mama and tuba papa!

Practice!

Be ready for the big compositions on Monday night! See you then!

About 25% of the band came to pick up folders last week, so we should have a good foothold on reading down our first program, this Tuesday, September 15, at 7:30 pm at TMH. (If you responded that you cannot attend via the Concert Commitment form, consider contacting someone in your area to bring the folder for you, if you did not pick it up last week. We’re already aware of who cannot come on Tuesday, so you don’t have to contact Claudia separately.)

The only music not currently in the folders are for the three numbers for two guest sopranos. All three have reduced instrumentation, and I’ll hand these out on Tuesday night.

The first rehearsal is always a challenge, as we convene again, greet everyone, introduce new members, and get to work. Please anticipate this — come a little earlier than usual, help set up, and allow enough time to warm up adequately! For those of you who haven’t played a lot over the summer, dust the cobwebs off those horns, and spend some time playing long tones before Tuesday. Otherwise, you could experience some serious embouchure fatigue before the end of the night!

Last piece of news: We’re in the process of updating the WSW public website and are aiming for a launch by October 1. I’m grateful to Tom Sweezey for his flexibility as we move to a new server and a new WordPress platform, and to Chona Freedman, who is helping us gratis to set up the site. I hope you’ll be excited with the results.

See you on Tuesday this week, Mondays from then on.

 

Music folder pickup

There’s no rehearsal this week, but you can pick up your music folder at the Music Hall on Tuesday, September 8 between 7:30-8:00 pm. Many thanks to Nancy Mattson for preparing all the folders for the Fall season.

Jim Savage and I will greet you at the front of TMH and give you your Fall cycle folder if you stop by. We hope to see you! Some of the music is challenging, so you may want to review it before we read through the program at the first rehearsal on Tuesday, September 15.

Members’ news

Mislav asked me to share the job opening for music director/organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church in South Salem. Read the job description at the end of this post.

Do you have great news to share from your summer experiences? Buy a new instrument? Get a new job? Attend a great workshop? Play in a great performance? Ride a new roller coaster? If so, please email me, and I’ll include some time at the first rehearsal to allow some time for you to share your news.

Library move

Since 1988, our library holdings have been kept in a secret location (OK, it was Rachel’s office in Port Chester). Last month, at long last, we finalized arrangements to rent a storage space in White Plains. On August 25, with the help of Marge Hone, Mislav Forrester, Ullyses Torres, Rachel Eckhaus, Rachel’s sons (Benjamin & Daniel), and myself, and with a donation of 4 additional filing cabinets from the Mackie Family in Irvington, the entire library was moved to White Plains. The new location will allow for better access, and once completely catalogued, will provide efficient and safe storage of our growing library holdings. Many thanks to the Board for making this possible. We’re looking for the donation of a 6-foot folding table and two folding chairs to make the new library complete.

Job Description for Music Director/Organist – St. John’s Episcopal Church

St. John’s Episcopal Parish in South Salem, New York is seeking candidates to succeed our beloved Music Director/Organist who is retiring after 20 years.   Joy-filled liturgy and worship are important to us.

Our preference would be for a musician familiar with the Anglican liturgy, who can work with and grow our choir and coordinate the music program. The ideal candidate will be an energetic, creative individual who is willing to:

• Become familiar with Anglican worship if he or she is not already
• Work with our parish priest, taking the lead in planning Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies
• Plan rehearsal times with the choir
• Be open to coordinating music for our family and children’s services
• Enjoy playing our magnificent Peragallo & Sons two-manual pipe organ, Opus 645 at St. John’s Church on Sundays. This was dedicated in a joyful service in 2003 and has been well-maintained since.
• Encourage and support our thriving guitar-based music program at St. Paul’s Chapel services on Saturdays.
• Have the “right of first refusal” to play at all unscheduled services, such as weddings and funerals, with the terms of compensation to be determined by the organist.
• Have use of the church facilities, with the permission of the Vestry, for private lessons for students

Salary commensurate with experience for an average of 10-15 hours per week.

Responses should be sent to stjohnsch@cloud9.net attention Music Director Search Committee.