This robust post contains a great deal of important information about the new season, including:

• Repertoire for the new season, including anchor works and guest/featured artists
• Special announcements — including our move to fully-digital library distribution. Plan now to download/print your parts to prepare for the first rehearsal on on September 11.
• Our spring collaboration with . . . (drum roll, please) . . .
• The reboot of the Wind Conducting Symposium, co-sponsored with Music Educators of Bergen County

Announcing the 36th season, Legends, Monuments, & Titans

You can see the full list of rep for 2023-2024 here. (Be sure to read the important library announcement below!) These amazing compositions will anchor our three TMH concerts:

• Fall – Symphony No. 3, “Slavyanskaya” – Boris Kozhevnikov, arranged by John R. Bourgeois
• Winter – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story – Leonard Bernstein, arranged by Paul Lavender
• Spring – Symphony in Bb, by Paul Hindemith

And I’m thrilled to announce these amazing guest and featured artists for this season:

• Fall – Dr. Brian K. Doyle, Crane School of Music, guest conductor; Pedro R. Díaz, English horn, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, guest soloist; Andrew Hill, apprentice conductor
• Winter – Michelle Rofrano, guest conductor; John Anthony Lopez, tenor, guest soloist; Aaron Staluppi, apprentice conductor
• Spring – Dr. Tim Robblee, Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, guest conductor; SSG Christopher Leslie, euphonium, West Point Band, guest soloist

Because of the huge success of the Invitational saxophone ensemble at the 2022 Fall Concert, we are planning to repeat the idea with an invitational Double Reed Ensemble (oboes, oboe d’amores, English horns, bassoons, and contrabassoons) to honor our guest English horn soloist, Pedro Díaz, on November 5. I have a list of 70 double reed players ready to go, and invitations will go out next week. In addition, A.Laubin LLC, American manufacturer of oboes and English horns, will be on site on the day of our dress rehearsal to bring instruments and bocals for test drives. We are grateful to Jim Phelan, Ruthie Garcia, and the entire A.Laubin family for their support of the Fall Concert. Lastly, we will be hiring the professional videographer again for the Fall Concert on November 5, and releasing the video for viewing on November 8.

Twists & turns of note for rehearsals in September

• Library – As announced in the spring, we are moving to a fully digital platform for our library. Please click here to download your Fall Concert parts and print them as needed. This link includes all the Fall parts plus the Hindemith Symphony that we will be performing in the spring. You will need the Hindemith, as we are reading this on September 11, as an incentive for practice until we start actual rehearsals in March. If you do not have access to a printer, please connect with a buddy in the band who can print them for you. We will not have any hard copies to distribute! I am still waiting for some music to arrive, but several works are already posted and marked READY. I will continue to add works as they arrive, and I expect everything to be uploaded by August 31.
• Scan downloads – The link to the download folder cited above is posted on this blog’s home page, along with weekly rehearsal plans and other important resource links, including the full season’s schedule of rehearsals.
• First rehearsal – Monday, September 11 at TMH. This fall, Rosh Hashanah falls on Monday, September 25. We will have no rehearsal that Monday, BUT we will rehearse on Wednesday, September 27 at TMH instead. Please mark your calendars accordingly.
• Fall Concert weekend – To facilitate the schedules of our guest conductor and guest soloist, the dress rehearsal for the Fall Concert will be on Saturday, November 4, 9:00-11:00 am. The concert is Sunday, November 5 at 3:00 pm, with the sound check at 1:00 pm.
• Auditions for new members/subs – We have made plans for our annual auditions on Tuesday evening, September 5. Katherine has registered a large pool of auditionees, but we are still looking for additional clarinet candidates. If you know of someone who might be interested, please contact Katherine.

Joint performance with the West Point Band in Eisenhower Hall!

Back in December 2021, I pitched an idea to Lt. Col. Daniel Toven, Commander of the West Point Band. My proposal was to plan a joint concert for WSW and West Point, much like our Northshore Exchange, and I am extremely happy to say we are moving forward! The date planned is Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 2:00 pm (snow date Sunday, March 10 at 2:00 pm) in Eisenhower Hall at West Point. We recognize that this is the WCSMA All-County weekend, and it’s our hope that our players involved with that festival will be able to plan around that obligation if at all possible this far ahead of time to be able to perform with us.

Commander Toven liked my idea so much that he has proposed that we repeat this joint performance on a second date in a venue closer to Tarrytown. We are discussing several venue options and will share details when they are finalized.

The West Point Band is playing a concert tonight, August 19, in the Visitors Center at West Point. They are also playing a Labor Day concert on September 3 on The Plain at West Point. For more information, please visit https://westpointband.com/summer-concert-series.html

Rebooting the Wind Conducting Symposium

After an nine year hiatus, we have planned to officially join forces with the Music Educators of Bergen County and reboot the Wind Conducting Symposium, which I ran in New Jersey for over twenty years between 1987-2015. The symposium will run from Friday evening, May 31 through Sunday afternoon, June 2, 2024. The tentative site is Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, in Bergen County. Dr. Robert Ambrose (Georgia State University), who was our guest conductor in 2018, and I will be the clinicians, and Teddi Sotiropoulos will serve as coordinator. There will be registration opportunities for wind ensemble lab performers, auditors, and conductors. With the combined personnel pools of MEBCI and WSW, we feel three wind ensemble sessions will be possible, and hope that everyone in WSW will register to play for at least one session. Complete details will be published in the coming months.

The last fleeting weeks of summer

Enjoy these last moments of summer. If you’re returning to academics, all the best for your school’s opening events. I look forward to seeing everyone on September 11!

Thank you all for your individual and combined contributions which made Sunday’s concert at Caramoor so memorable for the audience, for the Caramoor administration, and for each other. You played beautifully and musically with a high level of excitement — notwithstanding that it was on an uncomfortably hot and humid stage. If you have photos to share, Eric has created this Google Drive photo folder for sharing photos specifically from Caramoor 2023.

This week I received the audio recording from World Projects from our Carnegie Hall performance. It’s very important that everyone realize that this recording may be used for review/archival purposes only (this includes applications for grants and competitions) and cannot be shared on social media, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. So listen and enjoy, but please do not post or share! You can find the recording in this folder.

Much like last November’s saxophone ensemble, we’re putting together an invitational double reed ensemble for this coming November. If you have WSW-level players to recommend for the invitation list (oboes, English horns, bassoons, contrabassoons), please send me their names, instrument(s), and email addresses.

This was truly a watershed season. I’ll be announcing the rep for the 2023-2024 season in August. Enjoy the summer!

No rest for the weary – this upcoming week is another performance week with rehearsal on Monday, dress rehearsal on Wednesday (both at TMH), and performance at Caramoor the following Sunday, July 2.

Personnel

Thank you to the 30+ members who have already completed the 2023-2024 Commitment Form. We’re asking everyone to reply by Wednesday, June 28 (the day of the dress rehearsal), so we can account for everyone and plan for the 36th season.

Caramoor details

The rehearsal plans for Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday are posted. Please note that Monday’s rehearsal is all about spot checks and no run-throughs, and Wednesday’s rehearsal is all about rehearsing with the soloists and running everything else.

Ticket sales for July 2 appear to have picked up, but we encourage you to spread the word with friends and family. Top tier tickets are less expensive than last year ($87), but the least expensive tickets (using our discount code) are only $23.20. And lawn seats (amplified sound only/ no view/bring your own seating) are only $20.00.

Debbie and Rich Dashnaw’s house

38 Valley Pond Road

Katonah, NY 10536

1. Please bring an alcoholic beverage of your choice AND an appetizer or dessert.
2. Main food and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided!
3. We have a pool if you want to swim or chill.
4. Park in driveway, along right side of driveway as you pull in, or on the side of the road on our side of the street out front.

RSVP by Tuesday June 27 to groovin1@optonline.net and let us know how many people are coming in your party.

Here’s to great day of making music!

Debbie and Rich

Sneakers left at Carnegie

We were informed that a pair of sneakers were left behind on June 13. If you are missing sneakers, contact the Carnegie Hall Security Desk for Lost & Found.

Curt’s Top Ten List: Why Taking Your Band to Carnegie Hall for the First Time is Like Your First Kiss

In case you missed it, here it is:

1. You’ve thought about it for a long time and thought it would never happen.
2. You’ve spent a lot of time practicing for it (mostly by yourself).
3. When it finally happens, it’s truly magical, but you can’t believe it was actually happening.
4. It happened with someone you really care about. Well, more than one.
5. You wonder if anyone took a picture. And if they posted it.
6. When it was over, you immediately thought, “Will this ever happen again?”
7. You recognize that you are so glad you didn’t have to pay for it.
8. Because it was your first time, you needed someone to show you around.
9. As it was happening, you had an immeasurable sense of joy.
   And the #1 reason why taking your band to Carnegie Hall is like your first kiss:
10. Once it started, you never wanted it to stop.

NOTE: If this is reaching you Inbox a second time, it’s a word-for-word duplicate. Apologies!

This week:

• Reflections on Carnegie Hall
• Looking ahead to Caramoor
• Important info for next season – Your response requested by June 28!

Carnegie Hall

Words fail me. I simply do not know how to express the joy, the exuberance, the pride, the camaraderie, the musical artistry, the resonance, and so much more that we experienced together on Tuesday night. It was a performance without peer, and I believe that because you brought your full, authentic selves to this performance and made the end result greater than the sum of its parts. Thank you for all the individual sacrifices made in order to make this dream a reality.

Please visit this Google Drive folder, either to upload your own photos taken Tuesday evening, or to view/download photos taken by others. There’s already over 100 photos there, and I’m sure the folder will continue to burgeon into next week.

Those players who played Carnegie Hall, but are not playing Caramoor, are welcome, but not required, to attend the debriefing discussion on Monday evening (see below), before we start to rehearse.

Caramoor

We move right away into our remaining two rehearsals for Caramoor. On Monday evening, after setting up the stage, we’ll gather in the front 3-4 rows of the orchestra seating area of the Hall for about 15-20 minutes to debrief and unpack the experience on Tuesday. Carnegie players who are not playing Caramoor are welcome to join the discussion and then leave before we start rehearsing.

Admittedly, we’ve done the heavy lifting already to prepare for Caramoor. The big tasks remaining before us are to learn the Livingston – Celebrating the Fourth (parts will be distributed on Monday). and iron out wrinkles in the Lerner & Loewe medley. The rehearsal plan is posted for Monday, and I included details for all the weeks through the Caramoor performance on July 2.

Attire for Caramoor will once again be white tops/black bottoms and shoes.

The 2023-2024 Season – RESPONSE REQUESTED

I have already planned many of the repertoire details for our 36th season, starting in September. In order to finalize my plans, I need to collect commitments from everyone. Look for the link to the 2023-2024 Commitment Form at the end of this post.

IMPORTANT: Based on the evolving situation in regard to public health through the spring, with the polling of other community wind ensembles, and with the counsel of Dr. Ron MacKenzie, the WSW Board voted to eliminate the COVID vaccination and booster requirement, effective in September 2023 for the 2023-2024 season. However, the board reserves the right to re-institute the vaccination and booster requirement if there is a new outbreak, a resurgence, or a volatile new strain of COVID or another virus with pandemic implications.

Our confirmed performance dates for 2023-2024 are:

• Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 3:00 pm at TMH
• Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 2:00 pm (Super Bowl Sunday again) at TMH
• Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 8:00 pm at TMH
• Thursday, July 4, 2024 at 8:00 pm at Caramoor (once again in the evening, with fireworks reinstated!)

Please click to view this document for the rehearsal and dress rehearsal dates I have requested at TMH. These still have to be confirmed, so there is the possibility of some relocations to White Plains High School. I asked more more rehearsals than we need at this point, knowing that some dates may not be available at TMH. Also, note that I’ve researched public schools’ spring breaks again for 2024; like last year, they seem to be evenly divided across 2 different weeks. We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Please click here to confirm your contact information and submit commitments for our 2023-2024 season. We ask that everyone complete this form by Wednesday, June 28 so we have answers from everyone before we break for the summer after Caramoor.