Category Archives: News

Current news andupdates

Rehearsal May 14

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Please remember that we are rehearsing tonight at Pelham High School, 575 Colonial Avenue, Pelham. Click here if you need directions. Remember that we use the Middle School entrance on the north side of the building. Also, avoid parking on the street adjacent to the building. The parking signs are a bit ambiguous and members have gotten tickets in the past. Stick to the “real” parking spaces.

Also please remember that I asked that we be prepared to work until 10:00 pm as necessary. I’ll do my best to keep it on the early side, but I can only do so if all members arrive on time, and are warmed up and ready to go for a prompt 7:30 pm downbeat. Joey Bello will be attending the Wednesday rehearsal at TMH, and we need to be prepared for another 10:00 pm end that night as well.

See you tonight!

Please confirm June 1 clinic

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Clinic with Mallory Thompson

We need to make sure that everyone recognizes Friday, June 1 as the final performance of the year. We will be playing a clinic again with Dr. Mallory Thompson, Director of Bands at Northwestern University, as part of the 2012 MEBCI Wind Conducting Symposium. the site is my school, Northern Valley Regional High School, 140 Central Avenue, Old Tappan, NJ 07675. Call time is 7:00 pm, the clinic is 7:30-9:00 pm. Dr. Thompson is one of the most sought-after conductors and clinicians in the world — this is an unequaled opportunity! If you have a irreconcilable conflict, please alert Claudia immediately, so that you can work with her to arrange for a sub.

Rather than a thoroughly rehearsed performance, like last year, we will be working with Dr. Thompson in a sight-reading type of workshop. Her goal: rehearsal techniques for working with a band rehearsing a work for the first time. Our repertoire: Eric Whitacre – Lux Aurumque and Johnny Vinson – Echoes of the Hollow Square. “But,” you say, “we’ve performed Lux Aurumque in concert in 2010!” Well, that is true, but we’re not going to publicize it! I will have these parts ready for distribution next week, so — yes, Virginia — you can practice them before the clinic. But we will not have a separate formal rehearsal.

July workshop

A few people have asked me about the music education workshop I’m running in July. There are still openings. We will be looking at score preparation, rehearsal strategies, conducting “Boot Camp,” and more. Please speak to me if you have any questions. I would love to see a few more of you attend!

My rep

Also, I have taken the plunge and published my personal list of conducted repertoire, 1982-present. Please feel free to browse.

Concert week

This week: Rehearsal Monday at Pelham (please remember!) and dress rehearsal at TMH on Wednesday. Our only rehearsal with Joey is Wednesday night, so the emphasis on Monday will be the ‘dress rehearsal’ of repeated works from the ACB program, to allow for the time we need with Joey on Wednesday. Sound check Saturday is at 6:00 pm, concert is 8:00 pm. This is going to be a great program!

Schedule for 2012-2013

As announced, here are the performance dates for 2012-2013. Please copy into your personal calendar:

  • Fall Concert – Sunday, November 4 at 3:00 pm (dress rehearsal Wednesday, October 31 or possibly Thursday, November 1, TBA per TMH)
  • Winter Concert – Sunday, February 10 at 3:00 pm (dress rehearsal Wednesday, February 6)
  • Spring Concert/25th Anniversary Gala – Saturday, May 18 at 8:00 pm (dress rehearsal Wednesday, May 15)

I have my Hershey Festival trip tomorrow and my NJ All-State Orchestra concert Saturday. My goal for Monday is to be able to stand unassisted without any caffeine assistance. See you then.

 

 

Flyers are ready!

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If you have received this post, and you’re a WSW member, congratulations! Everyone on the roster has been subscribed to the new site, so now when I add a news item or anything else, you will get an email directly (and Claudia will no longer have to forward all of my messages!). Please bookmark the new site address: wsw.ebernet.biz. I will not be posting to the wordpresscom site any longer.

We have flyers ready for the May 19 concert. Click here to download the PDF version (best for printing), or click here for the PNG copy (best for emails and websites). Please consider printing for posting where you live (Starbucks and other coffee shops, libraries, other “community” bulletin boards), post on your Facebook page or personal website, and help us get the word out so we have another fabulous audience for our last concert of this season!

I will be bringing parts for Joey’s encore, Nessun Dorma, tonight, and we will distribute them during rehearsal. Please remember that I intend to start promptly at 7:30 pm and work until 10:00 pm in order to cover all that we must do tonight.

(Board members: See you at 5:30 pm at Sante Fe for our Board meeting!)

Only 2 Mondays remaining!

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This cycle is going by at blazing speed. It’s hard to believe our next concert is less than 2 weeks away, but it’s true.

Brian Worsdale, our guest conductor, will be attending our rehearsal tomorrow night (at TMH), and next Monday night (in Pelham), to rehearse the Hazo – Arabesque. We have a lot to work on. Please check the current rehearsal schedule and be ready to roll promptly at 7:30 pm. If you haven’t already listened to the sound files, I strongly urge you to do so. It will be a tremendous help.

Because we’re running on a tight schedule, I feel I need to ask for your support to rehearse  until 10:00 pm on both May 7 & 14. If you ride the train to Tarrytown and need to leave at 9:45 pm to make the return train, please do so — I don’t want to create hardship. But I do think that extra 15 minutes is needed, and I think you already agree. If you haven’t already listened to the sound files, I strongly urge you to do so. It will be a tremendous help.