Category Archives: News

Current news andupdates

Waldwick Band Flute Day April 21

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I’m passing this on from Ann Partridge, flutist with the Waldwick (NJ) Community Band:

The Waldwick Band is very pleased to invite all community band flute and piccolo players to a free one day workshop on community band flute playing presented by SSG Diana Powers and SSG Torin Olsen from the West Point Band. Louis Carlini, flute technician, will also be on hand to inspect flutes and make a presentation on flute maintenance issues. The workshop will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Montvale, NJ (1 mile from Pascack Hills High School, and easily accessible from the Garden State Parkway) on Saturday, April 21 from 9:00 to 2:30. The focus of this event is on community band ensemble playing, and there will also be presentations on soloing with band, piccolo playing in band, and flute maintenance. SSG Powers and SSG Olsen will end the day with a brief performance and question and answer session.

If you would like us to order you a box lunch, there will be a $10.50 charge. Otherwise the workshop is completely free of charge, thanks to the kindness of the West Point Band and Mr. Carlini, and their willingness to encourage good community band musicianship.

Please contact Ann Partridge at annpiccolo@aol.com or (845) 426-7955 if you have any questions. See the attached flyer for more information.

In Memoriam: Jack Cohen

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I am sorry to report that Jack Cohen, a long time musician and teacher whom many of you knew passed away three weeks ago. Jack was a native of the Bronx , a World War II Navy veteran and a Juilliard School graduate. He lived in Elmsford for more than fifty years and was the band director at Roosevelt High School. He gave clarinet, flute, and sax lessons to hundreds of Westchester students over the years. After retiring from Roosevelt, he taught at Lehman College. Jack was also very active as a club date player, performing at weddings (he played at mine) bar mitzvahs and country club dances.
Jack was also a regular member and frequent soloist with the Westchester Pops band, in all of its countywide and local incarnations. He is survived by five children, including Steve Cohen, Director of Clarinet Studies at Northwestern University. He was also the grandfather of nine, at least three of whom are in, or bound for conservatories.

Contributed by Dan Harrison

Rehearsal April 2

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I am still in Florida, as I write this. The weekend (since Wednesday) has actually gone rather smoothly with only a few bumps along the way.

I have updated the Rehearsal This Week page. Expect to work on all 7 pieces each week until the Convention.

In addition, we will hand out three new pieces on Monday night, so you can begin to  look at them for the May cycle.

West Point Band Concert on Saturday

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Click on the flyer to enlarge.

The West Point Band is performing this Saturday evening at 7:30 pm at Monroe-Woodbury High School, Central Valley, New York. Guest Conductor is Dr. John Lynch, University of Georgia (who worked with us last June), and Guest Soloist is Michael Tiscione, trumpet, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It’s a great program with John Mackey, Eric Whitacre, Percy Grainger, Aaron Copland — an incredible program, actually!

In addition, Michael (an alumnus of Monroe-Woodbury) is giving a free trumpet master class on Thursday, March 29 at 6:00 pm at Monroe-Woodbury.

Please pass this on, and if you are available, please consider attending!