Thanks, everyone, for a great first rehearsal. I appreciate the fact that we pushed a great deal of music at everyone, and we got through it all — and no one got hurt!

As promised, I’ve uploaded the errata for the Avshalomov. Please follow that link, and transfer the appropriate notes into your part so you have them for next week.

I’m updating the rehearsal plan for next Monday. As I discussed, my Curriculum Night was rescheduled from Thursday to Monday, but I should be able to get to rehearsal by 8:45 pm. Matt will take the first part of the rehearsal; plan on playing Funny Girl and Pineapple Poll with him.

Here are some general rehearsal notes:

• Styne/Funny Girl – We need to put on our “orchestra pit” hats for this. In general the piece needs to sound more full and warm, and we need to get the swing section at m.129 to swing better.
• Mackey –  Lush sounds! We will want to work on listening skills to involve everyone in every line as we work on this piece.
• Avshalomov – The best strategy at this point is to prepare the notes and rhythms as best you can, until we are more familiar with the piece.
• Marquez – I suggest you watch this YouTube video of Dudamel conducting the piece at The Proms. Pay special attention to the dialogue of melody/accompaniment, and the general energy of the piece.
• Gulino – Balance will be the main issue here. We’re overplaying a bit.
• Whitacre – Concentrate on the technique of your own part for now. This is going to take work to pull this together. Just like with stage comedy, this kind of musical illustration is very specific, and requires just the right tweaking to carry it off.
• Sullivan – Get cracking on the notes, especially woodwinds! Be prepared for Matt to “woodshed” this considerably on Monday.

I’ve updated the Rehearsal This Week page to reflect Matt’s rehearsal plan, and will update it further by the weekend.

The 26th season starts with our first rehearsal tomorrow evening, Monday, September 9 at 7:30 pm. Please consider coming early (Rich usually gets to TMH by 6:45 pm) to greet friends and start to help set up. We want to lend a hand to our percussion friends as well, to help them bring equipment from downstairs (I have confirmation from Tom Thayer that all of it is downstairs, not in the Annex).

As I usually do, I intend to read through the entire concert program tomorrow night. I believe it’s very important to “lay it all out” for you so there are no surprises along the way. Personally, I hate the “This week we’re adding this,” and “Oh, I forgot my brother-in-law’s favorite march is this, so I’m adding it,” sort of thing. I like WYSIWYG at first rehearsals.

We’ll talk more about the season, our guests, our featured works, and more tomorrow evening. I’m excited to see you all again for my 6th season with WSW!

Click here to see the rehearsal plan for September 9.

Click here to see my spreadsheet plan of repertoire for the entire year. It is a Google Doc, but no sign-in is required. You can see various concert’s repertoire plans and instrumentation needs by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page.

Just in case any of you were concerned that I might have too much free time this year, please know that I have accepted a full-time position at the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry. I start on Monday.

Click here to read more. See you in a few weeks!

As always, please click the link in the notification email to reach my blog site and the full content of this message! Be sure to email Claudia Mickelson to confirm your commitment for the coming season!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Summer of 2013. I’ve been busy getting ready for Band Camp and the new season . . . wait a minute! I’m doing no such thing!!!! I’ve been relaxing on Fire Island, and scheming and planning with our guest artists for a fantastic new season with you!

25th Anniversary Wrap-up

The CD’s for our 25th Anniversary season have gone to pressing at Candlewood Digital! In compiling this year’s usual 2-CD set, it became very clear that it just wasn’t possible to fit all the deserving selections onto two 80-minute CD’s. So, with the Board’s approval, we have decided to produce a 2-CD set with the the majority of the season’s favorites, plus a Bonus Disc 3 with the remaining works from the season, which can be purchased separately. Information regarding purchasing CD’s will be forthcoming.

Principal openings for 2013-2014

The following principal chairs are open: Oboe, Bassoon, and Trumpet. If you would like to audition, or want to recommend someone, please contact Claudia Mickelson as soon as possible to schedule an audition.

The 26th Season!

Plans are in place for the coming season. It is filled with exciting new works, old favorites, challenging works, and wonderful guest conductors and guest soloists. We are planning our regular three-concert series at TMH, plus these special events:

• Side by Side Concert at Mahopac HS (tentative, waiting for final confirmation
• Volunteers (brass only) to play for Ars Musica holiday concert (in exchange for volunteers from that choir to sing with us in May; see below)
• ACB Convention performance (Allentown, Pennsylvania; application will be submitted in September)
• Out-of-this-world opportunity to perform on July 4 at a venue to be announced (top secret until confirmed!)

Season highlights include:

• Fall Concert, “Frolic and Whimsy” – Rich Guillen, guest conductor (Arlington HS) will conduct Danzon No. 2 by Marquez; Anthony Mazzocchi (Montclair State University), trombone, will be our guest soloist for Capriccio by Frank Gulino. This concert is filled with music that is simply fun, from the Overture to “Funny Girl” to Sullivan’s Pineapple Poll. We are also awaiting final confirmation from the Putnam Arts Council to participate in our first-ever “Side by Side” concert on November 20; music for this program will be pulled from the Fall repertoire.
• Winter Concert, “Images, Designs, & Textures” – Matt Kowalski, our assistant conductor, will conduct American Elegy by Frank Ticheli; Amy Wilcox, guest conductor (Northern Valley-Old Tappan HS) will conduct Passacaglia by Ben Hackett; Bill Owens, trumpet (West Point Band), will return as our guest soloist to perform the iconic Concerto for Trumpet by Alexander Artunian. This concert will be filled with works which will form the framework for our proposed participation in the Association of Concert Bands National Convention in late March (tentative until our application is reviewed), including Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Olympiada Fanfare by Samuel R. Hazo (just in time to celebrate the Winter Olympics!).
• Spring Concert, “Hymns Sacred and Profane” will undoubtedly be the most anticipated concert of the season! Dr. Shelley Axelson will return as our guest conductor, to conduct Profanation, the scherzo from Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony. Also on the first half: Bach’s Fantasia in G and Angels in the Architecture by Frank Ticheli. The second half of the program will be 14 highlighted movements of Carl Orff’s massive Carmina Burana, featuring the 100-voice choir from Northern Valley-Demarest, conducted by Leslie Mac Pherson. We are also in negotiations with Ars Musica, based in northern New Jersey, to add their adult voices to the mix. In exchange for their participation, they are asking for our support of brass players for their holiday concert on December 13 (see attached schedule). I will be looking for volunteers to fill those spots.
• July 4 Concert, “A Salute to America” – This concert is tentative until final plans are confirmed. But be assured: if this concert comes about, it will be a guaranteed sell-out and a milestone for WSW! My plan will be to pull substantial works from the 2013-2014 season, and add several patriotic works to complete the program. Please note the 5 added rehearsals in June. (Believe me, you’ll kick yourself silly if this concert does come about and you forego the opportunity to play!)

Download our tentative rehearsal schedule here (this version reflects the correction of date for the Spring dress rehearsal). Note that I’ve tried to cover all possible scenarios; none of the performances outside TMH is confirmed yet.

Please triple-check the concert dates, and email Claudia Mickelson to confirm your participation. This is going to be a watershed year!