Gratitude for last Monday’s performance at White Plains High School!

Thank you — everyone — for a great event last Monday night! It was a little scary to just “walk on and perform,” as we’ve never done that before, and I’m sure it will help prepare us for a similar event in the future. Everyone stepped up and I’m grateful. I’m indebted to Kathy Davis and Bill Tonissen for being the consummate hosts, and to Ben Acrish for stepping up to sub in at the very last moment! I appreciate everyone’s kind and positive interaction with the students — I am guessing that will be something they remember for a long, long time. Thanks also to Rachel Eckhaus for keeping this idea alive for so many years.

We now have two positive Side by Side concerts under our belts, and hopefully we will repeat this type of program again in the future. We will use what we learned from the performance experience last Monday to finalize our trajectory for the TMH performance next Sunday.

This week

It’s performance week, so it’s a critical time for our ensemble. Visit the home page to see the schedule for Monday’s rehearsal, Wednesday’s dress rehearsal, and Sunday’s performance.

Please continue to share the info about our concert, and send  “everyone you know” to our Box Office page to purchase tickets. I will have hard copy flyers on Monday night, or download the concert flyer here.  And speaking of the flyer, kudos to Rebecca Weissman once again for a superb design!

You will note that Wednesday’s dress rehearsal is in performance order, with the exception of the three vocal numbers, which we will rehearse first at 7:30 pm. Our vocal soloist, Mimi Hilaire, will be joining us for Wednesday only, so we need to make that one rehearsal count. So we are rehearsing the three vocal numbers with Mimi and the sound engineer, then taking our break, then running the program from the beginning, in order, without the vocal numbers.

So you’re aware: I am doing triple duty on Sunday, starting with a rehearsal in the city, then coming up to Tarrytown. Jessica Stein-Natale will be in charge of leading the stage setup and getting everyone ready, so when I arrive for the sound check at 12:00 pm, we will be set and ready to go. After the concert, I will have to bolt for a second sound check and performance at Carnegie Hall and will not have too much time to greet patrons and thank the guest artists. The crew will tear down everything. Eric Milkie and Mark Dodge will check to make sure all percussion is cleared and ready for the crew to move to their proper storage areas. Michael Lucke will be on hand to act in my stead to answer any questions and direct any last minute tasks with the stage strike. Thanks in advance to everyone for stepping up before you run to your Super Bowl party!

And after the concert

There are no rehearsals on Monday, February 10 and Monday, February 17. Our next rehearsal will be on Monday, February 24, at a site to be announced, because I’ve learned that TMH will not be available. Watch your inbox for that announcement. This means we will be out of TMH from after the concert until Monday, March 3.

The Viet Cuong commission score and parts are due to be delivered to me on February 15. I will post the parts as quickly as I can. I’ll announce their arrival and the links to the folders via a post here, as you might expect. We will go from sight reading this new work to the world premiere performance in just 13 weeks.

The invitations for the Spring Concert Clarinet Choir went out this week. We already have 17 clarinets registered, and that doesn’t include 5 West Point clarinetists who have already committed to the project. This is going to be a great event, much like the saxophone ensemble (2022) and double reed ensemble (2023). The Choir will be performing arrangements of Festive Overture, the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, and (in the spirit of the Mouse Mashup March and Bohemian Rhapsody) . . . Born this Way by Lady Gaga.

Jane Rondin solos with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey on February 16

Jane Rondin, horn

Our own Jane Rondin will perform as horn soloist with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey on Sunday, February 16 at 2:00 pm at Grace Church, 4 Madison Avenue, in Madison, New Jersey. She will be performing the Hovhannes Horn Concerto on this program. Please consider attending — break a leg, Jane!

We are performing this shared concert with the bands at White Plains HS in place of our regular rehearsal. Please review all this important information before Monday:

• Attire is the same as all WSW performances. There’s no deviation from our regular attire.
• Please bring a folding music stand just in case you find that you need one for the massed finale.
• Use Room D108 as our coats/cases/warmup room, then assemble in last 7 rows of audience right in the Auditorium. Concert begins with the two WPHS bands at 7:00 pm, with WSW on stage as the third ensemble, then finishing with the massed band finale.
• I found this list of errata for the Ticheli. Better late than never! Please mark the corrections in your parts.
• Review my rehearsal notes for the Ticheli from last Monday’s rehearsal, and mark your parts accordingly. These are quite important!
• Review the details for attire, arrival, repertoire, etc. in the Side by Side bulletin, which I distributed in last week’s post.
• Take a look at the combined seating charts for Woodwinds (on the pit floor) and Brass (on stage). I suggest that you find your name and write down which row you are in and how many seats from the edge. That will help us all to find our places as quickly as possible when we assemble. Remember that we are winging this — there is no combined rehearsal!
• Our WSW performance order is Glinka, Horne, Ticheli, Karrick.
• After we assemble the massed bands, the performance order is Hall, Aldridge.

Looking ahead to the concert on February 9:

• Download the concert flyer here. I will bring hard copies to White Plains on Monday.
• Download the press release here. Copy/paste as you see fit in emails and social media, or just copy/send the link to the release.
• The TMH ticket page is here. I announced the Friends & Family discount code in rehearsal.
• Our remaining rehearsals for the Winter Concert are:
  • Monday, February 3 at 7:30 pm at TMH
  • Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30 pm at TMH (dress rehearsal; Mimi Hilaire’s only rehearsal with us)
  • Sunday, February 9 – 11:00 am stage door opens, 12:00 pm sound check, 1:00 pm break, 2:00 pm concert downbeat.

Rehearsal this Monday, January 20 (MLK Day)

This Monday’s rehearsal (the plan is posted) is pretty much a dress rehearsal for the Side by Side concert next Monday. And that is pretty much a public performance dress rehearsal for the concert on February 9, which has its own dress rehearsal on Wednesday, February 5 – the only rehearsal which our soloist, Mimi Hilaire, will be attending. Bottom line, please check our published schedule if you need any rehearsal schedule clarifications.

I regret that we need to rehearse on a national holiday evening, but with a concert next Monday and another in 3 weeks, it’s simply necessary.

Side by Side Concert details

I posted all the details for the Side by Side concert last week, and have gathered them together in this bulletin. I’ll review all this on Monday night, but refer to this Bulletin as needed.

That’s all for now — see you Monday!

It’s January. It’s cold. There is so much frightening news across the nation and across the world. We need to use our remaining winter cycle rehearsals to recharge our own souls and prepare to inspire others!

Rehearsal this Monday

The rehearsal plan for Monday is posted here, as usual.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that the stage door parking lot is being used more and more. If you are looking for parking (especially if you’re running late), consider using the new garage down Main Street, behind the firehouse, off south Washington Street. Please tell friends and family to consider using this for performances as well.

I connected with the TMH staff to ask if a window might be broken somewhere, causing last week’s frigid stage. The temperatures will not be so extreme this Monday, and I’m hoping that if something was broken or missing, that they’ve fixed it by now.

Please note, as posted, we ARE rehearsing on Monday, January 20 (MLK Day) at TMH. There’s no way around this; we need to use the evening because the Side by Side is the following Monday.

Details for the Side by Side Concert at White Plains HS on Monday, January 27

• This performance takes the place of our regular weekly rehearsal; no extra time is asked of you. We will meet at White Plains HS. Please keep this in mind and do not go to TMH!
• Please bring a folding music stand, just in case we need a few extras for the combined band numbers.
• Please arrive between 6:30-7:00 pm that evening. If you arrive before 7:00 pm, you can warm up in D108, the room in the music hallway closest to the lobby. The concert BEGINS at 7:00 pm; please be seated in the auditorium by 7:00 pm to listen to Kathy and Bill’s ensembles. When it’s our turn, exit the rear doors of the auditorium, walk down the music hallway, and enter the stage. I’ll announce which side to use; we’ll create a one-way flow of traffic with the exiting student players.
• Attire – Please arrive dressed. There will not be dressing areas to accommodate everyone changing clothes. Plan on regular all-black WSW performance attire, including black suits/white shirts/bow ties for men and black shoes for all.
• Program order: WP Concert Band, WP Symphonic Band, WSW, Combined Bands
• WSW rep: Glinka, Horne, Ticheli, Karrick
• Combined rep with WPHS bands: Hall, Aldridge
• Combined bands will be seated on stage (brass) and on the pit floor (woodwinds). WSW percussion will take a break for the combined numbers and allow the WPHS players to perform (you can start to pack up then!). I will conduct the brass/percussion on stage, relaying the beat to Bill, who will be conducting the woodwinds behind me.
• Warm ups/sound checks – In order to keep the timing of the evening as conservative as possible, we do not have a group warm up or sound check. Warm up on your own on arrival. When we take the stage, you’ll have a few minutes to play on your own, then we tune and GO. In addition, there is no possible way to rehearse the combined numbers. We’ll have seating charts to help you find your seats (integrated with the students), but we’ll be winging it in the performance. The WPHS students have done this before with their All-City performances, so they will know what to expect.
• Percussion – Bring small instruments. We’ll have access to all the large instruments (like our WPHS site rehearsals) and the piano.
• The evening will likely end approximately 9:15-9:30 pm, earlier than a regular rehearsal.

I’ll link this info from the home page so you can refer to it over the next two weeks as needed.