Happy August to Everyone! I have lots of news, including:

• Caramoor recordings to download
• Invitation to a special guided tour on October 5: Kensico Cemetery
• Chicago trip update
• First rehearsal – September 8
• Point-of-view Curt Craziness at Six Flags New England (come on – you gotta be curious!)

If you have not yet emailed Claudia to confirm your return for the season, please do so immediately. We are eager to recruit trombone players to fill two open positions, and we’d really like to have a permanent string bass player. If you know of qualified players, encourage them to contact me or Claudia, or send either of us their contact info. Please note that the Chicago trip is a separate commitment from our regular season.

I’m still flying high from our Caramoor performance. Although I have not heard from Paul Rosenblum, the Managing Director, since July 5, I’m hoping that I may get a call from him soon. Warren made a CD of our performance, and I’ve uploaded the contents to my Dropbox. Click here and you can listen/download any or all of the exciting moments from our debut performance.

In July, I accepted an invitation from Judy Mitchell, the PR Director for Kensico Cemetery, to meet her for a tour of the grounds. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was an incredibly impactful visit. The property is huge and truly beautiful, with rolling hills and many distinctly unique areas within the cemetery. It was a truly moving experience, and will really affect my preparation and performance on November 9. Now Judy has extended the offer to all of you: On Sunday, October 5, you are invited to join Judy and me for a tour of the cemetery, from 2:30-4:30 pm. The tour will be via trolley (Peekskill Trolley Co.) and refreshments will be served. We will visit many of the graves of the people honored by the programming of our November concert. This will be a great opportunity, and I promise you will be impressed and moved. We need at least 10 people to make the tour via trolley viable, so please plan to attend. I’ll have a sign up at rehearsals in September.

Our Chicago trip  is coming together. This is really happening! Click here to see WSW featured on the Northshore Concert Band website! We expect to have details of the itinerary, along with prices and options at the beginning of September. The plan is to verify commitments and collect a $100 deposit per person in the latter half of September, then collect one-half of the balance in November and the remaining balance in February. The basic plan is:

• Friday, June 12 (evening, after work) – fly from Westchester County Airport to O’Hare.
• Saturday, June 13 – morning/afternoon Chicago sight-seeing with host members (including a Wendella Boat tour), combined WSW/NCB meal, options for individualized sight-seeing.
• Sunday, June 14 – sound check, combined rehearsal with NCB, and 3:00 pm performance at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, on the campus of Northwestern University, followed by a reception for all.
• Monday, June 15 – fly home (It just won’t be feasible to try to fly home on Sunday evening after the concert and reception; plan on taking this day off from work. (I am working on a staff development proposal to help teachers claim viability for the day off.)

Accommodation options will include home-stays with NCB members and mid-range hotels in Evanston. You will also have options to travel out earlier than Friday and/or return later than Monday. So there will be several price options, from the most basic (flight only/home stay) to more extended (flight, hotel, additional sight-seeing, early departure/late return). We will make a presentation at a rehearsal early in September with complete information. In the meantime, please book the weekend and contact friends/family in the Chicago area and invite them to the concert! Tickets can be purchased on the website referenced above.

I’m extremely excited about our 2014-2015 season. We’ve come a long way together since I first met you in March 2008, and I am so proud — beyond words — of your accomplishments. If you haven’t played much this summer, start to practice daily in preparation for our full concert read-through on September 8. Saddle up and get ready for a great ride this season!

And the point-of-view Curt Craziness? Check out my ride on Bizarro at Six Flags New England in June. I shot this with a pair of HD video glasses, so my ride was truly “hands free” and safe. I really do love my roller coasters!

Almost two-thirds of our membership still has not confirmed their participation with Claudia for next season. Please double-check the Rehearsal and Concert Calendar and email Claudia to confirm that you will be playing with us next season. We need to hear from you as soon as possible so we can determine openings and recruit new players. Please reply to Claudia no later than this Thursday, August 7.

Gravesite of Sergei & Natalie Rachmaninoff

I spent the afternoon today with Judy Mitchell, Public Relations Director at Kensico Cemetery. She gave me a tour of the grounds in anticipation of our November 9 concert, which is sponsored by Kensico. I was completely taken aback by the grace and beauty of the place. The various divisions of the cemetery all have their own atmosphere. She pointed out several of the graves of various notables interred at Kensico, who inspired the program I’ve selected for this concert: Sergei Rachmaninoff (Vocalise, arranged by Donald Hunsberger), Lou Gehrig (Pastime, by Jack Stamp), and Marguerite Cullman (O What a Beautiful Mornin’ and Some Enchanted Evening), and William B. Williams (The House I Live In), sung by our guest baritone soloist, Matthew Scott. The beautiful trees on the property will be reflected in City Trees by Michael Markowski. And the serenity and peace of the place will be represented by Sleep by Eric Whitacre and Gloriosa by Yasuhide Ito, the latter conducted by Dr. Peter Martin, our guest conductor. Memories of loved ones will be present in El Jardin de Esperanza by Timothy Broege, and Frank Gulino’s Skyline Drive will outline our “Circle of Life” performance initiative.

Our Winter and Spring concerts are just as exciting (we will get a jump on the Winter season during the Fall cycle), and the May concert will, of course, be the springboard to our trip to Chicago in June. We will have detailed information about itinerary and pricing when we regather on September 8 for our first rehearsal. We should also be able to deliver the 2014-2015 CD box sets at that time.

It’s going to be a great season, and I want you to be a part of it. Please reply to Claudia today, if you have not already done so, but no later than Thursday, August 7!

Marc Perler just sent this to me — I had no idea something like this had been put together. Apparently one of the handbell ringers (from Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pleasantville) recorded the free-ring section of 1812 and created this slideshow to go with it. The recording really gives a feeling of what it sounded like out there! Thank you, Marc, for sharing this!

Have you come down yet from last Friday? As I’m sitting here on the beach on Fire Island (seriously, I’m ON the beach!), my mind keeps drifting back to the Caramoor concert and how wonderful it really, really was. I’ll be hanging on to this feeling for quite a while.

The CD box set deadline is this Friday, July 11.  I have repeated the order form at the bottom of this post. We have 55 sets ordered so far. Don’t miss out if you have not already ordered yours. The three CD’s will include everything from our three TMH concerts (but not the Caramoor concert; that recording has not materialized yet). At 5:00 pm on Friday we’re sending the order to Richard at Candlelight to get the presses rolling, so don’t miss out!

I’ve been working on our programs for next year, including the concert on November 9 sponsored by the Kensico Cemetery on the occasion of their 125th anniversary, with Dr. Peter Martin, guest conductor; our Warm Sounds of Winter concert (Get it? WSW!) on January 25, with Dr. Tom McCauley, guest conductor; and our Big Apples and Onions Concert on May 16 (one of Chicago’s nicknames is The Big Onion, and this is our prep concert for the Chicago trip), with Dr. Emily Threinen, guest conductor.

Please make sure you email Claudia to reconfirm your intend to play next year by July 15 (next Tuesday). We need to assess personnel issues and advertise openings as soon as possible so we can recruit new players and schedule auditions as needed.

I’ll be in touch again over the summer. In the mean time, enjoy the warm weather!