Rehearsals restart on Monday at UUFNW

Rehearsal on Monday

Our first rehearsal for Caramoor is this coming Monday, June 1 at UUFNW, Please check the home page for the read-through rehearsal plan. Caramoor parts are ready. Click here for the folder.

June 19 volunteers and a bass drummer

We are looking for volunteers on two fronts. Please consider if you can help us with the equipment move on June 19. Also, I don’t think we have a bass drum volunteer yet; we need a reliable high school percussionist who could bunt as the bass drummer for The White Rose at Caramoor. Contact Eric or Curt if you are interested.

Happy Memorial Day!

Remembering our heroes

Amidst the picnics and trips, please take a moment at some point this weekend to remember our veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live the lives we enjoy. I’d like to offer a note of gratitude to all the current WSW members who served in our military as well. Please think of them especially on Monday.

Upcoming rehearsals

We have no rehearsal again on Monday, Memorial Day. Our next rehearsal is Monday, June 1 at UUFNW, for the Caramoor read-through. Please check the home page for further schedule information. Caramoor parts are ready. Click here for the folder.

Percussion opportunity

We are short one percussionist to play bass drum for the White Rose March for Caramoor. Do any member band directors have an exceptional percussionist you’d like to nominate to join us? One Monday rehearsal, the dress, and the performance required. Contact me if interested.

Volunteers needed for the last move out of UUFNW and TMH on June 19

We need volunteers to help us on Friday, June 19 to move the remaining WSW equipment from TMH and UUFNW to storage and to Hackley. (We chose this date because it is a Federal holiday [Juneteenth] and many businesses will be closed.) Please speak to Eric or Curt to volunteer. The tentative schedule for that day calls for volunteers from 9:00 am to approximately 12:15 pm. We welcome volunteers for some or all of those 3ish hours!

  • 9:00 am: Volunteers meet at UUFNW.  Load truck.
  • 10:00 am: Unload truck into basement storage at Hackley Lower School.
  • 10:45 am: Load risers and 70 chairs at TMH into truck.
  • 11:30 am: Unload chairs to second floor storage area at Hackley, .
  • 12:15 pm: Unload risers to storage in White Plains. Volunteers done!

The 2026-2027 Season Schedule & Personnel Form

We will soon put out the Google Form to collect personnel information for next season. Form submissions will be due on July 1 at the dress rehearsal before Caramoor. In the meantime, please add these dates to your personal/family calendars:

Fall Concert/Diller Hall

    • Wednesday, November 18, 2026 – Dress Rehearsal, 7:30 p.m.
    • Sunday, November 22, 2026 – Performance, 3:00 p.m.

Winter Concert/Diller Hall

    • Wednesday, January 27, 2027 – Dress Rehearsal, 7:30 p.m.
    • Sunday, January 31, 2027 – Performance, 5:00 p.m. (This is not Super Bowl Sunday, and it is later than usual in the afternoon to accommodate another Hackley performance at 1:00 pm.)

Spring Concert/Diller Hall

    • Wednesday, May 5, 2027 – Dress Rehearsal, 7:30 p.m.
    • Saturday, May 8, 2027 – Performance, 8:00 p.m.

Caramoor 2027: (Tentative until confirmed by Caramoor)

    • Wednesday, June 30, 2027 – Dress Rehearsal, 7:30 p.m.
    • Sunday, July 4, 2027 – Performance, 8:00 p.m.

Adult music camp/travel opportunities

  • Col. Holtan mentioned the adult music camps in June 2027 at Susquehanna University, near Harrisburg, PA. Click here for the info on that program. There are two different weeks available.
  • American Music Abroad – My friend Keith Kelly is taking an adult band, orchestra and choir to Ireland in the summer of 2027. Click here for info. There are three different tours available and it looks amazing!

Masters Commencement Brass & Percussion Ensemble

I sent out reminders and scanned parts (so you could review) to everyone who has committed for this gig. Meet me at Follett Hall at 9:00 am for rehearsal. I will have the hardcopy books on Saturday.

No rehearsal tonight

I hope everyone is enjoying the weather!

There is no rehearsal tonight, nor is there rehearsal next Monday, Memorial Day. Instead, please thank a veteran or active duty US military personnel serving our country, and keep them in mind over the next two weeks.

I’m writing to the handbell choirs for July 4. If you know a handbell group we have not used in the past, please alert me!

I will close with this email, sent to me after the May 9 concert. I think it sums up your successes quite well.

O………M………G!!!
What. Did. You. Do???
There are no words, but I will try, Curt.
Thank you, and my thanks to the ensemble for such  a wonderful journey, a roller coaster ride of epic proportions.
From the start, a real treat. Loved the Sousa. The vocal experience was lovely, and the arrangements sparkled.
An emotionally satisfying melange of style, emotions and colors. The color shifts in the Maslanka were astounding. I could not get over the subtlety of sounds, phrases, and harmonies tied together expertly.
What a concert, what an ensemble. What you have done together takes my breath away. Top notch musicality throughout.
My sincerest thanks for sending the music my way. My jaw is still on the ground, and it may never leave there. Congratulations to you and WSW!