I have reason to believe that the message has not gotten out completely. We are not rehearsing at TMH tonight, we are rehearsing in the New Rochelle Band Room. Make sure you follow these directions.  

In addition, David has warned me that the custodians will be pushing to have us out of the building by 9:45. We need to end in time to clear/reset the room and clear the building by 9:45 pm to accommodate them, especially as this was a late/emergency request to use the space. Because of this, take extra precautions to arrive earlier than usual to set up/warm up, so I can start on time at 7:30. In order to expedite things further, there will be no break tonight. Please anticipate your personal needs. If you find you must leave mid-rehearsal, please plan your exit and return to coordinate with the updated rehearsal plan, and expedite your exit and return quickly and carefully.

Thanks for your diligence and flexibility. We are a well-oiled machine when we have to be! See you tonight in New Rochelle!

Rehearsal moved to New Rochelle HS Band Room

You may have noticed that I was purposefully vague with my post yesterday about the site for Wednesday. We learned two days ago that the booking we thought was confirmed for Wednesday was, in fact, not confirmed. We scrambled, David Church acted quickly and decisively, and we received confirmation from New Rochelle just a little while ago. I didn’t dare put out the change until we had that confirmation.

IMPORTANT: Please contact your principal to confirm you received the message about the change. Principals – please contact anyone who you don’t hear from by Tuesday evening. To paraphrase the obvious: No musician left behind!

Please leave enough time for travel and parking. We need to start on time, as the maintenance people will want us completely cleared out of the building by 10:00 pm. That means a fast packup, reset of the room (which we know is very important), and getaway.

And, remember to follow these directions — don’t follow your GPS — to the Band Room at NRHS.

Confirmation of Schelle notes

I had a request to repeat the notes that I gave quickly during the last rehearsal of the Schelle Extraction. Double check to make sure you caught all of this, that I went through quickly:

• The “blur” of fast notes is ok; the listener is not expected to hear individual notes after m.23.
• The “big events” after each “chaotic event” are the most important. They serve as temporary relief before the drilling starts again. The “big events” are:
  • m.9 – Dies Irae
    
  • m.43-44 – Brass cluster/screams
  • m.68-83 – “This Old Man,” children’s “Na-na-na-na-naaa-naa,” and Dies Irae
  • m.90-91 – Power tools, tenor sax solo
  • m.105 – Phantom of the Opera motive
  • m.106-end – Coda/Recovery
• Longer value notes should always be heard over shorter values.
• Improvisation reductions, for those who benefit from a smaller pitch palette (all pitches noted are concert pitches):
  • For F# minor – focus on F# – A (m. 48, 55, 62, 97)
  • For F major – focus on F – A (m.60, 95)
  • For F7 – focus on F – Eb (m.61, 96)
  • For D7 – focus on D – C (m.64, 99)

Thank you for your flexibility. See you Wednesday promptly at 7:30 pm in New Rochelle.

This is a quick reminder that there is no rehearsal tomorrow night. This week we rehearse:

• Wednesday, November 7 – 7:30-9:45 pm
• Saturday, November 10 – 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
• Sunday, November 11 – 1:00 pm call, 3:00 pm downbeat

Watch your email tomorrow for important information about Wednesday’s rehearsal.

I was so very happy with the progress during the past two rehearsals. The program is coming together, and I hope you’re feeling the excitement for November 11. Here’s the flyer for the concert. Please share liberally in print and online. And don’t forget to post the bookmarks Chris Larsen brought for us!

• Hi-res PDF for printing
• Lo-res JPG for Facebook, email, web apps

Please give ad submissions to Tom on Monday night, including the ad form, ad copy (PDF or JPG is best), and payment. You can submit the ad copy on a CD or thumbdrive (be sure to label with your name for return), or email it as an attachment to Tom or me. 

We are holding our Les Miz auditions for the vocal soloists tomorrow afternoon. A total of eleven vocalists have registered, and we’re eager to hear them! I’m grateful to Barton Green, Barbara Ciannella, Gina Serafin, and Emily Harrison for assisting with the auditions, and to the volunteers who are helping us at the door, Nate Brewster, Marianne Lepre-Nolan, Erin Dawson, and especially to David Church for organizing the auditionees.

Our WSW friend, Bob Bennett (currently on leave) is conducting two works on the Northwinds Symphonic Band concert on Sunday, November 18. See flyer for details. Free admission!

Batten down the hatches during the nor’easter, stay dry, and we’ll see you Monday night!