Congratulations on a wonderful program on Sunday. There were some great moments in so many pieces. Sleep was magical. Michael Markowski was very pleased with City Trees, and Brian Worsdale, who conducted its premiere, thought we “nailed it.” Peter Martin’s piece had incredible energy. And we had tremendous feedback for Jeff Goodwin’s solos and the Armed Forces Medley. We had rave reviews from our regular patrons and new attendees, and our sponsors were thrilled. Thank you, individually and collectively, for your part in the program. We’ll talk more the concert on Monday.

The Tschaikovsky Finale parts are ready for download. Please go to this link, find your part by instrument family, and download/print your part for Monday. I urge you to print and start to practice these parts as soon as possible, before Monday!

We start up with the first rehearsal for the Winter Concert this coming Monday at 8:00 pm (another late start) at the Music Hall. I still plan on finishing by 9:45 pm. See you then!

I’ve gotten confirmation that we can start to set up on Saturday morning at 8:15 am. Please come early to help us set the stage. We will not have risers and the shell, however, until Sunday.

We must finish by 11:45 am and completely clear out of the Music Hall by 12:00 pm. This is very important. The staff must be able to start setup for the evening event by noon.

I’ve created a rehearsal plan for Saturday morning that allows 40 minutes for Dr. Martin to work with the group, gives us a full 10 minute break, and still gets us done by 11:45 am. Please help us stay on schedule by arriving in plenty of time, ready, caffeinated, and warmed up, ready to start on time at 9:00 am.

This is a rather complex and involved concert. I’m looking forward to performing with you.

Also, please join me in offering our sincere condolences to Rich Williams, whose father passed this past week. The memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, November 22 at 2:00 pm at the Larchmont Avenue Presbyterian Church, 60 Forest Park Avenue (Larchmont Avenue and Forest Park Avenue), Larchmont, NY 10538. Rich extends an invitation for all to attend.

This is our final week of rehearsals leading up to next Sunday’s concert. The rehearsal order for Monday was posted last week and I amended it slightly tonight. Then we have our dress rehearsal on Saturday morning at 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. This will be our only rehearsal with our guest conductor, Peter Martin. The sound check on Sunday is, as usual, at 1:00 pm, and the concert is at 3:00 pm.

I had a lot of positive feedback on last Monday’s clinic with Michael Markowski. He certainly is both talented and kind, and it really was wonderful to have him work with us. He is planning on attending the concert, so you’ll have another chance to greet him on November 9.

The Board is meeting on Monday night and it is my hope to send you Chicago information and commitment forms midweek.

Looking ahead, we start rehearsals for the Winter concert on November 17. This is a tight rehearsal period for this concert on January 25. New music will be handed out at the first rehearsal, but one piece – the Tschaikovsky 4th Symphony Finale – will be distributed via PDF’s before November 17. There’s a lot of notes in that piece, and I recommend you take a look before the first rehearsal.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. See you Monday.

Michael Markowski has confirmed that he’ll be attending our rehearsal on Monday. We will devote a solid amount of time to his piece, as well as the solo numbers with Jeff Goodwin and the Gulino Skyline Drive with our guest players from the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra. Check the rehearsal schedule for details. I’ve posted the rehearsal order for both Monday, October 27 and Monday, November 3.

Click here to download the program notes from Jack Stamp’s score for Pastime. Dr. Stamp’s description is very interesting and sheds even more light on some of the quirky compositional choices involved in the piece.

See you Monday!