As usual, please click on the email link to read this entire posting.

The last month or so has been a blur. The 25th Anniversary Gala (have you seen the photos posted on our main site?), the clinic, the retirement dinner, the final Awards Concert/Kalinnikov, and the Lutkin Benediction. I only got through all this with your support and love, and for that I am so grateful.

Onward and upward to 2013-2014! Our first announcements are regarding the principal chairs for trumpet and oboe.

• Ericka Schlenkermann has elected to relinquish her principal chair in favor of a section position in the oboe section, because of ongoing professional performance conflicts with our schedule. She will continue to play in the section as her schedule allows.
• Steve Austin has elected not to return to WSW after his year leave of absence. Professional and family commitments, in addition to the long commute, necessitated his decision.

If you are interested in either of these positions, please contact Claudia for audition information and to schedule an audition in September, before our first rehearsal.

Our confirmed concert dates are:

• Sunday, November 10 at 3:00 pm (not November 3 as published in the May program; dress rehearsal is Saturday, November 9, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm)
• Sunday, February 9 at 3:00 pm (dress on Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30 pm)
• Saturday, May 17 at 8:00 pm (dress on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30 pm)

Important! I am guest conducting both the July 28 and August 25 concerts with the Sound Beach Concert Band in Greenwich, Connecticut. If you are interested in playing (and I hope you are!) please read and respond to message from the conductor, Barbara Freedman, below. Guest soloists will be Lois Hicks-Wozniak, alto sax, reprising her Top 40 cadenza, and Rick Henly, trumpet. Please contact Barbara ASAP if you can play. I hope to see you!

Lastly, there is a Connecticut Symphonic Winds Concert on Tuesday, July 2 at 7:30 pm at Paradise Green in Stratford. Call 203-386-1625 or email CTSymphonic@yahoo.com for more information.

Here is Barbara Freedman’s invitation to play with SBCB:

Hello one and all! This is Barbara Freedman, Music Director of the Sound Beach Community Band in Greenwich, CT. We are entering our 58th season, one of the oldest community/fire house bands in the country. I am happy to announce that Mr. Curt Ebersole will be our Guest/Co-Conductor for the July Binney Park and August concerts Roger Sherwin Baldwin Park concerts. Curt brings a wealth of knowledge about bands and band music and I am thrilled he will be joining me on the podium to share his expertise. This is a great opportunity for us to learn from Curt and each other as we explore the vast Band repertoire. For more about Curt, please check out his website: http://www.ebernet.biz/As a community band, we have players of all abilities and welcome those players 14 years old and up including professional musicians playing in the Greenwich, Bridgeport, Ridgefield and other symphonies in the NY Metropolitan area. This is a real community band with a commitment to playing great music and having a lot of fun! We serve the community in a variety of ways. If you have never played with us before, you are welcome to join us at any point during the season. You need not commit to the entire season, just to the performances that you are available and to the related rehearsals for that performance. Please make all the rehearsals that correspond to the performance that you would like to attend. If this is an issue, please let me know. Bring your musician family and friends and dust off those instruments! The dates are below. Please note the Mt. Kisco Parade for those who can march, pays $25 per person. It’s a pretty flat and easy parade with hot dogs and drinks (beer for those over 21) at the end!If you can only do one performance this summer, I do hope you will join me, and your friends to serve our community. Please email me to let me know if you will be joining us for any of the concerts. I hope to see you this summer!band@soundbeachband.orgIf you have not email us to let us know you will be joining us, please do so so we know what to expect for instrumentation. All rehearsals: Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department207 Sound Beach Ave, 2nd floorOld Greenwich, CT 06870Here’s a link to a Google Map with other performance locations for the season: http://bit.ly/14k0GkFBarb*********Thursday, June 27, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for Town Hall & FireworksTuesday, July 2, 7 PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for Town Hall & FireworksWednesday, July 4, GREENWICH TOWN HALL 8:30 AM Call. This is a one-hour ceremony for the Town of Greenwich from 9 -10 AMSaturday, July 6, FIREWORKS at Binney Park, 7:30 Call 8 PM – 9 PM performance (Rain date Sunday, July 7) We play a one-hour “pops” concert before the fireworks. Come early and bring your family and a picnic dinner. Friday July 12: Mt Kisco Parade: This gig pays $25 per person! Bus leaves the Sound Beach Fire House at 5 PM or meet us in Mt. Kisco. No rehearsal. We play a rotation of 4-5 pieces. Please let us know if you can march this parade. Not too long and mostly very flat. Hot dogs and drinks at the end of the parade!Thursday, July 18, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for July Binney ParkTuesday, July 23, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for July Binney ParkThursday, July 25, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for July Binney ParkSunday, July 28, 5 PM call, 7 PM Concert Binney Park (Rain Date: Monday, July 29?)Tuesday, August 13th 6PM (tentative time) ? St. Catherine’s, Show up and play. Date and time to be confirmed but please mark your calendar Tuesday Rain or shine, show up and playThursday, August 15, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for Roger Sherwin Baldwin ParkTuesday, August 20, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for RSB ParkThursday, August 22, 7PM – 9 PM Rehearsal for RSB ParkSunday, August 25, 5 PM call, 7 PM Concert RSB Park (Rain Date: Monday, August 26?)– Barbara Freedmanhttp://MusicEdTech.comMusic Education TechnologyEducator, Author, ConsultantAuthor of Teaching Music Through Composition: A Curriculum Using TechnologyOxford University PressISBN13: 978019984061865 High Ridge Road #167Stamford, CT 06905

Thank you for Friday!

Friday’s experience was great! I was sure that Mallory’s interpretation would be insightful, and she certainly delivered. I hope you enjoyed the experience and absorbed ideas that will propel us forward in the fall.

I’ll be in contact with you occasionally over the summer, including news about the opening of our 26th season. I hope you have a restful and enjoyable summer season.

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I am sure that all of you have received wonderful commendations for your performance on Saturday night. I want to share one special email, sent by Jeff Elliot, who played trumpet with us in the antiphonal brass. It is a beautiful tribute to your success.

I want to thank you for inviting me to participate in the 25^th anniversary WSW concert. I enjoyed playing the Kalinnikov again. What a great anniversary piece! Claudia, I’m not sure where you found all the antiphonal brass players, but I can say that those around me on Stage Right were really fine musicians, and it was an honor to be included among them.

From where I sat in the balcony, the concert was outstanding. While I would like to think that we sounded that good during my tenure with the band (years 2-19 maybe?), I doubt that was the case. I do not intend to cast any aspersions on those who participated back then; rather I applaud the fine work of the current WSW. The ensemble, intonation, dynamics all were first rate. (Actually, I can cast one aspersion – we never did dynamics!) As enthused as I was to play, it was equally exciting to listen to such a fine band.

As one among several who for many years advocated for a permanent home for the band, so that neither the band nor its sponsors needed to deal with location from one performance to the next, I am delighted that you have found one at Tarrytown Music Hall (although I still wonder how the fire marshal certifies the venue!). The acoustics were superb. And to play before a full house… Who can top that?

I also want to comment on the musical program. As one who often advocated (wrongly in hindsight) for simpler programming consisting of marches, show tunes and the like, which would find more mass appeal among audiences, I am delighted that the program did not stoop to that level (not that there is anything wrong with lighter fare). But you showed how really good pieces of music performed by outstanding musicians can delight a crowd.

And a final comment on the printed program. What a nice touch to include in the Personnel section the occupation and years of membership. Coupled with the history of WSW and the discussion of the founders, it was a very personalized touch emphasizing the “home grown” nature of the band. A very positive impression indeed.

Thanks again. Enjoy your summer,
Jeff

Jeffrey M. Elliott
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Iridian Asset Management LLC
Westport, CT