It’s taken me a couple days to process the concert on Sunday. The breadth and depth of your concentration and focus through a challenging program with three conductors, one soloist, and our first-ever 30-minute work was truly amazing. As some of you noticed, I was feeling pretty good as Pictures developed (pun intended) through all the programmatic and emotional twists and turns, and landed squarely at the Great Gate. It was a milestone concert in many, many ways. I’m grateful to all of you, and hope to have the chance to look each of you in the eye to say thank you in the coming weeks.

Remember that our next rehearsal is Monday, November 14 at TMH. Meet by 7:30 pm at the front door, and be ready to move in quickly when Random Farms clears the stage. Please plan for the possibility of staying until 10:00 pm if necessary. Jeff Ball, our next guest conductor, will lead you through the entire Winter program (except the Hanson). I’m going to ask that we collect Pictures from everyone that night, in order to expedite the return of the loaned parts. Please pass all your parts to your principal, and in turn, pass them to Nancy.

Our friends in the Connecticut Symphonic Winds have a concert this coming Saturday night, November 12 at 7:30 pm. Please see the flyer for details. I hope some members of our group might be able to attend. It looks like a terrific program.

With the change of concert cycles comes new music, new challenges, new interpretations. Sometimes it’s difficult to accept that change is actually the norm, musically and otherwise. It will be a formidable task to take on these challenges with a buoyant heart and forward-looking mind. I hope that together, in both the immediate and greater realms, we can make sense of these changes together. I will be clinging to the amazing impression of your Sunday performance of The Star Spangled Banner in the days, weeks, and years ahead. It is truly a gift, and I am extremely grateful for that.

Have a good rehearsal on November 14 with Jeff, and I will look forward to seeing you on November 21.

Saturday’s dress rehearsal, 10 am – 1 pm

We’re ready to roll tomorrow with our dress rehearsal for Sunday’s concert. The rehearsal plan is posted; note that I expect that we’ll be done by 12:30 pm, but please keep your schedules open until 1:00 pm, just in case. The good news (well, really, it’s fantastic news) is that the stage is already set with the risers and shells, and everything can stay in place after Saturday’s rehearsal for Sunday’s performance. There’s no show at TMH Saturday night, and Megan and her crew acted proactively on our behalf. John Palatucci will be with us to run Carnival, and Brad Ethington will join us, with an extended period of time to rehearse and run the Holst.

Winter Cycle

We expect to have the Winter folders ready to hand out tomorrow, so you will have a chance to look at these parts before our first rehearsal on November 14. These next three rehearsals on November 14, 21, & 28 are Random Farms Theater performance dates, so we won’t have access to TMH until they are done at 7:30 pm. As before, we’ll move quickly to set up, and hopefully start before 8:00 pm. This next cycle is a short one, with two weeks off in the middle, and with winter comes the possibility of weather woes. With all this combined, please plan on rehearsal going 15 minutes later until 10:00 pm each of these three nights. If it’s possible to end earlier, we will, but we need this cushion, just in case. Lastly, I will be be teaching and conducting at Syracuse University, November 13-16. I have invited Jeff Ball, our guest conductor for January, to lead the entire rehearsal on November 14, including his piece (Maslanka – On This Bright Morning).

Media Alerts

It’s been a busy and successful month with WSW in the news! Rachel Eckhaus was featured this past week in an excellent spotlight article in 914 magazine, a division of Westchester magazine. And our Fall Concert was featured on page 213 of the November issue of Westchester magazine. And, we made the rolling broadcasts of News 12 yesterday. I’ve been looking for a video link, but none has come up on their site yet.

Lastly, if you’re a fan of the movie Whiplash, I hope you’ll enjoy this parody we shot at The Masters School, as part of our Halloween celebration this past week. Apparently, I was typecast. And WSW makes a guest appearance at the beginning. (WSW video credit – Eric Milkie.)

See you tomorrow! I’m truly excited to perform this program with you!

News and updates for our rehearsal on Wednesday:

• I visited the New Rochelle HS campus on Monday, and took some photos to help guide you. See below.
• The Board will meet in the Band Room at 6:15 pm. Rehearsal will follow at 7:30 pm.
• Through a connection with our Exchange Concert host, Kendra Farn, we are now expecting a Channel 12 news crew to be visiting rehearsal tonight. They are expected at 7:00 pm; I have no idea how long they will stay, and I don’t know how distracting they will be. We will have to finish the Board meeting when they arrive, and it’s my goal to minimize their impact on the effectiveness of our rehearsal.
• New, unfamiliar site + Channel 12 + final working rehearsal = leave early, allow plenty of time!

Click here for directions supplied by NRHS. Remember, DO NOT USE GPS to go to the school’s street address. The directions in the linked document are very good for getting you to the entrance onto campus at North Avenue at Braemer Avenue.

Drive onto campus at Braemer:

Drive in past the tennis courts and park in the parking lot at the north end of the “new wing,” labeled the Museum of Arts and Culture:

Walk along the length of the lake side of the wing, passing the doors that say “Faculty Entrance Only” and continuing to the far corner of the building:

Go around the greenhouse and head for the “keyhole:”

Walk through the “keyhole,” and look for the double doors on the right:

The Band Room is just inside, first doors on the left:

See you on Wednesday!

On the front page/Rehearsal This Week: I’ve added the complete rehearsal plans for Wednesday’s rehearsal at New Rochelle HS (including directions), Saturday’s dress rehearsal at TMH, and Sunday’s sound check and concert at TMH.

Please take care of yourselves this week! Avoid heavy lifting, children who sneeze, and spouses who cough. We need each and everyone of you to be at the top of your game at our final rehearsal, dress, and concert. I’m looking forward to the great music we’re going to make together this week!

Rest, practice, and I’ll see you Wednesday!