Happy August, everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying time with family and friends. I am writing this on the beach in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, and really enjoying the beach weather this summer, as we dodge rain storm after rain storm. I’ve spent a good deal of time this summer with my mother in Lititz, PA, Tim has a new job as the manager of Renny & Reed in the city, and I had 60 roller coaster rides in 6 days during my zany cross-country trip in July. (You can see photos on my Instagram page if you’re interested.)

I’ve got some great news to share!

31st Season Repertoire

I’ve prepared the concert repertoire for the new season. You can inspect the entire list here. I recognize that last season was full of “special events” to celebrate our anniversary, so I was careful not to over-program or select another work like Music for Prague 1968, but I have included plenty of music that will challenge you as a players and as an ensemble, and allow us to have a good time, too. 

Special for this season:

• Joe Bergamini and Amy Wilcox will take the podium as apprentice conductors this year.
• Gina Serafin is our featured soloist in November.
• We have four West Point Band soloists joining us in January.
• Our guest conductors include: Dr. Bob Ambrose (Georgia State University), 2d Lt. David Neil Regner (US Air Force Band), and Dr. Joe Higgins, (Rowan University). All of them are fabulous musicians with whom I’ve had great experiences, and I know you’ll enjoy working with them.
• Major works include the Divertimento by Roger Cichy, Extraction on No. 9 by Michael Schelle, La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed, Lauds by Ron Nelson, and Liturgical Dances by David Holsinger.
• We put Barton Green to work again. Pending the acquisition of copyright, he will soon begin work on a new medley from Les Misérables, for band and vocal soloists, which we expect to premiere in May.

WSW accepted for 2019 ACB!

I’m very pleased to announce that we have been accepted as a featured ensemble for the 2019 Association of Concert Bands National Convention! And, we landed a first-class performance slot – Saturday afternoon, April 27 at 4:00 pm – the final day of the convention!

Our letter of acceptance from Tom Siebenhuhner, Audition Chair, included this statement:

Acceptance to this national conference was a very competitive process and we scrutinized each application carefully. It was the opinion of my committee that your submission represented both technical mastery and artistic merit. We have accepted your ensemble because we think that your performance at the Big Apple Convention will be a make an important contribution to the conference and will support both the ACB’s Mission Statement and musical goals and objectives.

Click here to see the full list of accepted bands.

Please expect a dress rehearsal during the week leading up to the convention on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 pm. Please check your calendars for both the dress rehearsal and concert date, and we will ask everyone to indicate their commitment for this performance when we see you at our first rehearsal on September 10.

We have 50 minutes total stage time, just as we did in 2012 in Poughkeepsie. I have to allow 3-4 minutes for the ACB representative to introduce us and 2-3 minutes for the plaque presentation before our finale. That leaves us about 40 minutes for music, comments, and transitions. I’ve assembled a tentative program that pulls the best of our season’s repertoire into this performance (or did I do it the other way around?), and will publish that rep list as soon as possible. The earlier I submit our selections, the better our chances of avoiding any duplication of selections.

Congratulations on what this invitation indicates — your dedication, consistency, and musicianship. I continue to be so proud to be associated with you all!

Enjoy the rest of the summer! See you in September!

Reflections on Caramoor

Well, well, well — another season is in the books, and you were all SPECTACULAR on Wednesday evening! I have no idea how all of you played so well in that humidity. I actually forgot about it during each piece, but I was sure aware of it in between! When I finally got home, I had to peel off my clothes. I’ve never had an experience like that before.

Once again, you peaked during the performance. Somehow you continue to do this time and time again. I don’t expect it — but it sure is great that it happens! There’s no such thing as a perfect performance, we all know that, but the issues here and there that did occur did not detract in any way from the impact the music had on the audience. They were swept away by your energy, musicianship, and drive. There were three standing ovations, after the West Side Story medley, after 1812, and after Stars & Stripes. They loved Miles and Meredith and Matt’s arrangement. There were so many compliments for The Music Man (Matt Podd said, “Damn, that’s a great arrangement!”) If you saw the 1812 video I posted on our Facebook page, you noticed that the audience started applauding five measures from the end, and were standing well before the release of the final chord. You have completely won over this high-end, discerning, and knowledgeable audience. It’s really quite amazing.

I sent Ryan Silverman a quick note before the concert, just to let him know that I was thinking of him. He replied:

You may have heard that Martha Stewart and Denis Leary were in the sixth row. The next day I sent out a tweet to them both, and Denis replied! He enjoyed Michael Markowski’s piece the most. Take a look:

And Martha Stewart replied via Instagram with 2 posts on Instagram:

Jeff Haydon, Caramoor CEO, and Kathy Schuman, VP for Programming, both spoke to me afterwards and were clearly thrilled. Both said they can’t wait for next year. I hope you are all basking in your success. It is well deserved. I don’t have words to accurately describe my respect and admiration for you all. This organization has had a stellar pattern of growth in the last several years, and your hard work and dedication is a real boost for me.

Looking ahead

So, I’m already thinking and planning for next year. I recognize that there were several mega-projects for the 30th anniversary in 2017-2018 (among them Brooklyn Bridge, Music for Prague 1968, and more), so I am trying to balance works that will be special for both you and our audiences, and at the same time challenging but not over-taxing for you. In the complex web of programming, this is yet another challenge, but finding the right path is very important for us all. And one last reminder — I can’t really start this process until I have an accurate accounting for the returning roster. If you haven’t completed this form, please do so immediately. 

Our next Board meeting is on Thursday, July 26, at 7:30 pm at my house. Our annual auditions will be held in early September, probably on Tuesday, September 4 (if our usual audition space is available and confirmed). If you know of players interested in full-time or substitute membership, please pass their names/contact info on to David so he can set them up for an audition. Our first rehearsal will be Monday, September 10 at TMH. I recognize that this is the second night of Rosh Hashanah, but my High Holy Day experts suggest that we rehearse that night rather than a non-Monday, and simply excuse anyone who is observing with family that evening. Keep this in mind as September draws closer, and contact David as necessary.

As for the summer, Tim and I will be heading out to the beach house on Fire Island as time permits between Tim’s weddings and my roller coaster excursions. My big trip, coming up next Sunday, will take me to six parks in six days (or at least that’s the plan).

I will be posting photos to Facebook and also to my own blog at http://jce.ebernet.biz. Feel free to visit that blog to follow my coaster craziness.

I am so proud of all of you, and so happy to be associated with this ensemble. I’ll be eager to see you all come September! Enjoy your summer!

It’s hard to believe that this is our fifth concert at Caramoor — amazing! Our dress rehearsal is set for this Monday at 7:30 at TMH. Meredith and Miles will be attending, and we’ll work with them on the West Side Story medley first, then work through the rest of the concert in program order. No confetti, ping-pong balls, etc. until Wednesday night!

Please arrive on the grounds at Caramoor on Wednesday by 3:30 pm. Sound check rehearsal will begin promptly at 4:00 pm, dinner is 6:30 pm, concert is 8:00 pm. White tops/black bottoms, no jackets or ties for men.

We realized that we need to collect concert commitment info before we all depart next Wednesday. Please complete the form below by Monday. Use the form embedded below or click here to go to the form page directly.

Finally, there’s a great jazz concert coming up on Sunday, July 15 at 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
The New Rochelle Jazz Orchestra
Ruby Dee Park – Library Green, New Rochelle, New York 10801
Featuring WSW players David Church, Ed Herko, Susan Winthrop and Al Silverman

Thanks for completing the form. See you Monday and Wednesday!

Rehearsal last night

Thanks for another productive rehearsal last night. As we close in on our fifth Caramoor appearance, I need to ask for your help, especially when the air conditioning is on. The AC is loud. With it, it’s difficult for me to hear, plus it forces me to use my “outdoor voice” constantly for more than two hours. If at all possible, I’d rather not ask Andre to turn it off. But in order to make that work, I need to respectfully ask that we eliminate the constant murmur completely during all rehearsals — AC or otherwise. It’s just too much to process audiating everything required in the scores, as well as listening around the talking plus the rush of the wind. This should be the standard anyway; it’s even more important with the AC on. I appreciate your professionalism in this matter.

Rehearsals on June 25 & July 2

I’ve already posted the rehearsal plans for the last two rehearsals. This is because I’m checking into the Grand Hyatt tomorrow through Sunday, to conduct the National Middle School Honor Band rehearsals and performance at Carnegie Hall Saturday night. Then I fly to Chicago early Sunday morning for Marietta Paynter’s memorial service, and return Monday morning. There’s just no time in there for planning rehearsals. So I had to do it today.

Two comp tickets for Saturday night

If anyone is interested, I have two unclaimed comp tickets for my Carnegie Hall performance with this national honor band on Saturday night at 8 pm. In addition to the national honors choir and string orchestra, my program includes:

• Saucedo – American Barndance
• Sheldon – Lindbergh Variations
• Balmages – Rippling Watercolors
• LaPlante – In the Forest of the King
• Saint-Saëns – Pas Redoublé

If you’re interested in the two comp tickets, please email me. I’m happy to reserve them in your name for pickup at the box office. They should be very good seats.

Otherwise I’m going “off the grid” until Monday. Please focus your practice on the spots you know are the Achilles heels in this program! See you Monday.