About 25% of the band came to pick up folders last week, so we should have a good foothold on reading down our first program, this Tuesday, September 15, at 7:30 pm at TMH. (If you responded that you cannot attend via the Concert Commitment form, consider contacting someone in your area to bring the folder for you, if you did not pick it up last week. We’re already aware of who cannot come on Tuesday, so you don’t have to contact Claudia separately.)

The only music not currently in the folders are for the three numbers for two guest sopranos. All three have reduced instrumentation, and I’ll hand these out on Tuesday night.

The first rehearsal is always a challenge, as we convene again, greet everyone, introduce new members, and get to work. Please anticipate this — come a little earlier than usual, help set up, and allow enough time to warm up adequately! For those of you who haven’t played a lot over the summer, dust the cobwebs off those horns, and spend some time playing long tones before Tuesday. Otherwise, you could experience some serious embouchure fatigue before the end of the night!

Last piece of news: We’re in the process of updating the WSW public website and are aiming for a launch by October 1. I’m grateful to Tom Sweezey for his flexibility as we move to a new server and a new WordPress platform, and to Chona Freedman, who is helping us gratis to set up the site. I hope you’ll be excited with the results.

See you on Tuesday this week, Mondays from then on.

Music folder pickup

There’s no rehearsal this week, but you can pick up your music folder at the Music Hall on Tuesday, September 8 between 7:30-8:00 pm. Many thanks to Nancy Mattson for preparing all the folders for the Fall season.

Jim Savage and I will greet you at the front of TMH and give you your Fall cycle folder if you stop by. We hope to see you! Some of the music is challenging, so you may want to review it before we read through the program at the first rehearsal on Tuesday, September 15.

Members’ news

Mislav asked me to share the job opening for music director/organist at St. John’s Episcopal Church in South Salem. Read the job description at the end of this post.

Do you have great news to share from your summer experiences? Buy a new instrument? Get a new job? Attend a great workshop? Play in a great performance? Ride a new roller coaster? If so, please email me, and I’ll include some time at the first rehearsal to allow some time for you to share your news.

Library move

Since 1988, our library holdings have been kept in a secret location (OK, it was Rachel’s office in Port Chester). Last month, at long last, we finalized arrangements to rent a storage space in White Plains. On August 25, with the help of Marge Hone, Mislav Forrester, Ullyses Torres, Rachel Eckhaus, Rachel’s sons (Benjamin & Daniel), and myself, and with a donation of 4 additional filing cabinets from the Mackie Family in Irvington, the entire library was moved to White Plains. The new location will allow for better access, and once completely catalogued, will provide efficient and safe storage of our growing library holdings. Many thanks to the Board for making this possible. We’re looking for the donation of a 6-foot folding table and two folding chairs to make the new library complete.

Job Description for Music Director/Organist – St. John’s Episcopal Church

St. John’s Episcopal Parish in South Salem, New York is seeking candidates to succeed our beloved Music Director/Organist who is retiring after 20 years.   Joy-filled liturgy and worship are important to us.

Our preference would be for a musician familiar with the Anglican liturgy, who can work with and grow our choir and coordinate the music program. The ideal candidate will be an energetic, creative individual who is willing to:

• Become familiar with Anglican worship if he or she is not already
• Work with our parish priest, taking the lead in planning Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies
• Plan rehearsal times with the choir
• Be open to coordinating music for our family and children’s services
• Enjoy playing our magnificent Peragallo & Sons two-manual pipe organ, Opus 645 at St. John’s Church on Sundays. This was dedicated in a joyful service in 2003 and has been well-maintained since.
• Encourage and support our thriving guitar-based music program at St. Paul’s Chapel services on Saturdays.
• Have the “right of first refusal” to play at all unscheduled services, such as weddings and funerals, with the terms of compensation to be determined by the organist.
• Have use of the church facilities, with the permission of the Vestry, for private lessons for students

Salary commensurate with experience for an average of 10-15 hours per week.

Responses should be sent to stjohnsch@cloud9.net attention Music Director Search Committee.

The summer is almost over, and it’s just about time to get our season started!

We have a significant number of players who cannot attend one or both of the opening Tuesday rehearsals. It doesn’t make sense to have two rehearsals with compromised attendance. So, I made this recommendation to the Board, which has been approved:

• We will eliminate the rehearsal on September 8. Instead, members are invited to stop by TMH that evening, 7:30-8:00 pm, to pick up music folders. Jim Savage and I will be on hand to hand them out to anyone who’d like to stop by to pick them up.
• We will have our first rehearsal on Tuesday, September 15, starting at 7:30 pm. This will be our usual read-through of the entire program.

We still have several members who have not responded to the Concert Commitment Form. If you have not done so, please follow the link and reply immediately. We need this information in order to make final preparations for the season.

Last call for anyone interested in the Apprentice Conductor program! If you are interested, contact me directly as soon as possible. I want to make these adjustments to the season schedule before the first rehearsal.

Enjoy these last days of the summer!

November 8 performance will begin at 5:00 pm

Tarrytown Music Hall has confirmed 5:00 pm for our performance time on November 8. The Hall will be available to us to set up chairs/stands at 2:30 pm, and our sound check will begin at 3:00 pm. (We’d hoped to move the concert closer to our usual 3:00 pm performance time, but at least this is earlier than the original 6:30 pm starting time.)

Have you completed the Concert Commitment form?

Many of you were waiting for the concert time announcement for the Fall concert. If you have not completed the form from the previous post, scroll down the blog or click on this link. Please complete the form as soon as possible. If we don’t receive a submission from you by next week, we’ll be contacting you to urge you along!

First rehearsal – Tuesday, September 8 at 7:30 pm at TMH

Yes! The rehearsal plan is already posted! I’m looking forward to seeing you then!