I had lunch today with Roger Zare. He arrived the day after the Kol Ami concert, and we found time to meet today for some Thai food and conversation (I-Thai in White Plains is excellent, by the way).

We talked quite a bit about several of his compositions, including his current work while in residency at the Copland House at Merestead. He’s here until mid-December, and then he heads back to Evanston.

We also discussed our two recent performances of Mare Tranquillitatis, and the plan to reprise it at the Exchange Concert on June 19. He’s very excited that we’ll be playing it one more time on that program! I asked him several questions about the motives and themes, and he was kind enough to show me several instances of the initial motive which recur throughout the piece, which never surfaced during my score preparation. It was a great meeting, and I appreciated the opportunity to ask him direct questions about the composition, which I know will pay off in spades in June.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and you’re ready to dive in tomorrow night. Percussion is meeting as a separate sectional at Eastchester, all of the rest of us are meeting at TMH. Check the rehearsal plan if you haven’t already, and please try to listen to the two clips from the previous post, “Mackey & U2.” I think these will really help you appreciate Mackey’s work to its fullest.

See you tomorrow night!

Gratitude

On this Thanksgiving holiday, I am particularly thankful for you, the members of WSW. For the past 8 years you have challenged me, enriched my life, given me hope, and thrilled me. I wish you and yours all the best for your own Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Winter cycle

We’re starting the next cycle on Monday at TMH, and there are many challenges ahead of us. Please read and complete the short form below, then continue to read down the post to see the two short YouTube videos I’m asking you to watch (or just listen) before Monday. One of them is U2!

• On November 30, the percussion are meeting offsite for a separate sectional to organize and work on their solo piece, Black Rainbow. So we’ll be reading through the entire program sans percussion.
• The program, “Spirit & Fortitude,” is made up of four “standard works” and four unusual and challenging works. But I think it will be one of the most fulfilling and enriching programs to date.
• We have four rehearsal dates coming up when TMH is not available, including the last Monday before the concert. Jim and Rachel are hard at work to secure an alternate rehearsal site for the four rehearsal dates, but losing Monday, February 22 at TMH is a special concern. Our current plan, as I described last Wednesday, is to cancel that Monday rehearsal, have a regular rehearsal on the currently scheduled Dress Rehearsal date (Wednesday, February 24), and move the actual dress rehearsal to Saturday, February 27, 10 am – 1 pm, when TMH is available. IMPORTANT: Please complete the short form below by Monday.

I played in the 92nd Street Y Orchestra for 10 years. The conductor, Yaacov Bergman, once said, “No one should ever sight-read Brahms.” He didn’t mean it literally, but he did mean that no one should play Brahms for the first time without some understanding of his writing beyond the printed notes. It’s in this spirit that I want to ask and encourage you all to listen to two pieces in preparation for Monday. You’ll find the links below.

One of the four unusual and challenging pieces on the program is John Mackey’s Aurora Awakes. In it, John acknowledges and quotes the final chord from the Holst Chaconne (also programmed on this concert) and the recurring guitar riff from U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” He uses the guitar motive from U2 to create an incessant, vibrant, and infectious energy throughout the latter half of the piece.

Please take the time to listen to both of these pieces to understand this U2 reference, give you a feeling of what the work will sound like with percussion (since they will be offsite on Monday), and help us all grasp the richness of this piece right from the start. The links are below. Feel free to comment – I think you’ll find the relationship to be very similar to Mars & Star Wars!

Have a great holiday, and we’ll see you Monday.

CONGRATULATIONS! I am so very, very proud of all of you for the musicianship, intensity, and dedication you brought to last evening’s performance. It was exciting and thrilling and moving and more!

I invited Rachel to share her thoughts. This is what she sent to me to share with you:

Curt, words cannot express my gratitude, pride, joy, elation and utter exhaustion today… my thoughts? 

• What a performance – everyone brought their A game…like we were all more comfortable in our shoes. As if the repeat pieces had a chance to settle in…we really showed the best of what we do (even my improv on S&S lol).
• What an audience – well over 200 people – they were completely engaged and energized when we started… and completely blow away by the time we were done. I felt the excitement the entire hour…the entire temple was buzzing about it today.
• The soloists – they were sizzling with excitement – David is over the moon.
• And what a reception – I loved mixing the two groups together – the love flowed both ways. Some of the comments i heard…
  • “We should do this again… every year”
  • “We want to hear more”
  • “I can’t believe you are not a professional group”

From our oldest congregant who is 102 – she said she felt like she was back in Vienna and she knew we were playing just for her – this is how they did it back then…

I lost count of the number of “Thank You… you guys were amazing!”

I could go on and on… I am honored and proud to share the stage (and all the praise) with such an incredible group of musicians and friends. 

Especially to you Curt – for letting me run with this idea and truly getting how important this was to me.

I’d also like to point out that Marge left a stack of brochures at the welcome table, and all of them were taken by evening’s end.

Thank you, everyone. I really feel that the performance last evening helped to assert WSW as a leader in community outreach.

I wish everyone all the best for a wonderful Thanksgiving! See you next on Monday, November 30 at TMH for the first reading of our Winter cycle!

Tonight – dress rehearsal at Congregation Kol Ami, 252 Soundview Avenue, White Plains,(914) 949-4717. Everyone must bring his/her own folding music stand to this rehearsal (and again for the performance)!

7:30 pm downbeat — see you then!