Thanks for such a great dress rehearsal last night. I appreciate and am grateful for your patience through the process of bringing in the chorus members and tweaking the movements to get the balance and coordination to a workable point.

I know there are still points to address in all the pieces. There’s one specific place in Carmina I’ll rehearse in the warm-up on Saturday evening. But otherwise, I vote to buckle up and let it ride.

I am also writing to pass on this unique opportunity. Jeff Ball, the conductor of the Brooklyn Wind Symphony, which performed at the Midwest in 2013, is conducting a performance of Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Funèbre et Triomphale – declared “one of the great ceremonial pieces of all time” by critic Virgil Thomson – in Bryant Park in Manhattan on June 21. This is going to be one huge massed band, and it looks like a great experience. Apparently West Point players and other professionals are involved. You can read more about it and register at:
http://makemusicny.org/blog/come-play-in-berliozs-symphony-for-band-in-bryant-park/

I’m on the verge of signing up myself to play. If you do register, please do note Westchester Symphonic Winds as your home ensemble — we’ll get program credit.

Otherwise, I’ll see you Saturday at 6:00 pm for what promises to be an epic event.

This week’s rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday are pivotal as we prepare for our concert on Saturday evening. Please continue to care for your health so you are in fine form for the week.

Monday’s rehearsal begins as usual at 7:30 pm, but please remember that Wednesday’s dress rehearsal begins at 6:30 pm. This was necessary because of the AP exams this week and the need to get the NV-Demarest students home as early as possible. Please plan on arriving at 6:15 pm, we cannot get into the hall before 6:30 pm, but will need to set up quickly. I’m not concerned about the time to set up, as it will take some time to organize and the 120 voices settled. (We are rehearsing Carmina first.)

I never shared this YouTube video of a performance of the Fantasia in G on the original instrument. It’s interesting to note that the first and third sections of this piece are almost completely melodic with no supporting chord structure, that the Fantasia as we know it is nested in the middle, and that the piece as we know it ends on a diminished seventh chord. Goldman constructed the ending with plenty of suspensions to match the rest of the piece (like all those theory assignments all of us music ed majors did in undergrad theory). It’s also amazing how the orchestration makes it much more expressive. Clearly, Bach didn’t allow for an extra hand to change the stops during the Fantasia!

You can also examine the full score in the Petrucci library.

Happy Mother’s Day to all, and I’ll see you Monday.

Please remember to go to Scarsdale Middle School tomorrow night for rehearsal. Directions are on the Rehearsal This Week page.

Elizabeth Weissman asked me to pass on this notice about a bassoon for sale. Contact information is included if you are interested. Please pass it on.

I am selling my son’s bassoon since he upgraded to a professional Puchner while studying at Michigan. If you know anyone who may be interested, or may have students interested, in this bassoon please forward the Craig’s List listing.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/msg/4448499466.html
Thank you in advance for your assistance,
Kerry Tilden
Kerry@LoveTheOcean.com
973-903-8989 (mobile)
Maplewood, NJ

We do not have access to TMH this week, and Jessica Slotwinski was kind enough to help us book Scarsdale Middle School for our rehearsal. This is not the Scarsdale school where we rehearsed in the dead of winter (that was the high school). Please note Scarsdale Middle School is on Mamaroneck Road, not Mamaroneck Avenue.

Click here for the Rehearsal This Week page, which has detailed directions and a Google map. Click on the Directions tab, enter your starting address, and it will create directions (and travel time) for you.

We are rehearsing sections of all four works on Monday, and Shelley will be working with you again on the Bernstein.

See you Monday at Scarsdale Middle School.