I shared November’s performance recording of Vignettes with the composer, David Avshalomov. Look what he had to say in an email he just sent!

Wow, a good performance indeed, so many nice things. I particularly liked:

1. The great dynamic range in Our Leader
2. How the accompaniment nailed the rhythmic feel of the overdots/quintuplets in Grotesko
3. The lyricism in Snowy Mountain–the drawn-out long tones and long phrases, the smoothness of the expression. What a sound!
4. The surprisingly brisk tempo of Robots–I’ve never heard or imagined it at that speed–but it worked (except perhaps for the sixteenth-note solo figure in clarinets at the end). I had thought this movement was too long (at the original tempo) and have already done a revised version that cuts a half minute–but I may have to rethink that. Also, the dynamics were great, and the articulations, and the long swells. Oh, and your tom-tom soloist was terrific, really got the feel (clearly had fun . . .)
5. The oboe transition of MoonSong, fine player, nice feeling.
6. Dragon dance was crazed and wonderful, right to the last held-over tamtam ring at the end. A little fast, but it still worked.
7. News/Weather was tight and just right.
8. The phrasing/placement of the ending of Valentine.
9. The controlled frenzy of Ice Wars, you really brought that off. (The tight percussion helped.)

If you ever want to play them again, I could provide a few notes (little things here and there). Also revised versions of a few movements.

Best,
D A

I have links (below) of formidable performances of our May repertoire to share, and an invitation to share from Jessica Slotwinsk (percussion section).

First, from Jessica Slotwinski (WSW percussion): her husband has written a play which will be produced in Midtown from February 27 – March 9. Here’s the information and an invitation from Jessica to attend My Father’s Ashes: The Sisters Play.

My husband, a writer and theater teacher, wrote the play, and I am working on the set. Our theatre company is growing, and our mission is that we believe that the greatest art comes from that which connects us all. To that end, we are a community first, producing original work that brings joy and offers insight into the world, ourselves, and the human condition. We believe all artists should actively work for the betterment of that community, and as such, our members are encouraged to perform acts of service, as well as acts of creativity, for the good of the community at large.
Breathing life into the author’s work is our highest priority, which frees us to focus on forging those human bonds with each other and our audience that are the soul of all great performances, and from which we all learn and grow.

A bit about the show:

MY FATHER’S ASHES: THE SISTERS PLAY is a new dramatic play by Tom Slot that explores the issues of love, grief, and family. On the one-year anniversary of their father’s death, three sisters return to their childhood home to scatter his ashes. But a brutal winter snow, their judgmental mother, and years of unresolved baggage threaten to derail the memorial before it even begins. As secrets and insecurities are exposed at every turn, can these three sisters overcome their sibling dynamic long enough to mourn their father? Or will the night leave their relationships so fractured that they can never go home again.

Ticket info and additional details can be found at:

www.myfathersashes.com
www.originalbinding.com

If you’re like me, you’ve spent half your life’s disposable income on reeds, reed knives, thumb rests, hydrators, mouthpieces, mouthpiece pads, reed trimmers, reed duplicators, reed rush, blank reeds, swabs, double cases, triple cases . . . and ligatures. Well, maybe we could have saved a lot of money by skipping the ligature completely and just used a shoelace.

Rich Simons, who has played string bass with us on a couple occasions, is mounting an orchestral performance of the deMeij Lord of the Rings Symphony. We performed the first movement, Gandalf, during my first season. If you have the time and inclination, it sounds like a worthy opportunity. Here is Rich’s information:

The Cortlandt Chamber Orchestra is performing Johan de Meij’s Symphony No.1 (“Lord of the Rings”), and I’m looking for more players.  I hope there might be some people who would be keen to play the orchestral version of this symphony, since it is so often done in the original concert band version.  We already have a bunch of people playing, but as you might expect, we do have parts to cover, mostly brass and percussion. Players may contact me directly, and can get all of the concert info from our website: ww.cortlandtmusic.org/cco.html

You’ll find Rich’s email on the website referenced above. Contact him for rehearsal dates and more information.