The Ridgewood Concert Band is performing John Barnes Chance’s Symphony No. 2 tomorrow evening, December 7 at 8:00 pm at Westside Presbyterian Church. The concert features renowned conductor Frank Battisti as well.
If you examine the site, you’ll see they are performing 5 major works by John Barnes Chance through the entire season. Wow, what a great idea. It’s so good, in fact, that we’ve already done it! (Newcomers: the anchor of our 2009-2010 season was six Chance works, 2 per concert. The spring concert included Symphony No. 2).
In any case, this is a great opportunity to hear this amazing piece. If you can’t get over to Ridgewood, go to www.westside.org, and click on Videostreaming. You can watch the concert live.
I’ve posted the rehearsal plan for tomorrow night on the Rehearsal this Week page. Remember that this week’s rehearsal is at Pelham MS/HS!Click here for directions. The link is also on the rehearsal schedule page.
Have you checked our Facebook page lately? We’re trying to inspire more comments and discussion, photos, etc. We need more “buzz!” Check it out. Thanks go to Denise Ruchala for spearheading the effort to make this page more active.
See you tomorrow night. Come ready for a memorable rehearsal!
Lots of news here! Be sure to visit the sight by following the link to read this entire post. I will post information about Monday’s rehearsal, including directions to Pelham, separately over the weekend.
First, I want to clarify the information I posted about the SUNY-Purchase Symphonic Winds rehearsal and concert. The email was not written by me, but rather was from Graham Ashton, the Chair of Brass Studies at SUNY-Purchase (and was forwarded to me by Ben Acrish). In my haste, I failed to copy/paste his signature. I regret the omission and apologize if anyone thought that I had written the message or that I was conducting the concert.
Second, congratulations to WSW President, Jim Savage, who was honored by the First Bank of Greenwich at a reception last evening. WSW was represented at the affair by a brass quintet comprised of Denise Ruchala & Mary Eberling, trumpet; Tim Takagi, horn; Mandy Rimm-Hewitt, trombone; and Scott Rimm-Hewitt, tuba. Other WSW’ers in attendance: Rachel Eckhaus, Matt Kowalski, and Andrew Anello.
The quintet sounded wonderful! They played several arrangements from the Salvation Army brass books, which are wonderful. In the ensemble, we now have a saxophone quartet, a brass quintet, and a few “pop up” woodwind groups. I would love to see more of these ensembles as we expand our program in the coming years.
I am playing the clarinet solo part on the Joseph Turrin Concertino for Eleven Instruments and WInd Ensemble, this coming Saturday night at 8:00 pm at Kassar Theater at Montclair State University. Dr. Tom McCauley, one of our favorite WSW guest conductors, leads a concert subtitled “Students and Teachers.” All eleven soloists are practicing music educators, and the program includes the Schönberg Theme and Variations, opus 43a! Click here for directions, and here for more concert information.
Lastly, the internet if packed with stupid videos — but this one caught my eye today. Len Martello also saw it and passed it on to me, so I thought I’d share it with everyone. It’s just plain clever and fun: The Music Theory Song. And perfect for the season! (I love the “Meet the Flintstones” reference!)
I’ve posted the rehearsal schedule for tomorrow night. Please note the rep for the evening’s rehearsal, and that this is once again a delayed-opening type of rehearsal. Please be on hand at 7:30 pm so we can set up quickly and start no later than 7:45 pm.
Ben Acrish forwarded me this information about the SUNY Purchase Symphonic Winds concert this Wednesday. If you’re available Tuesday for the rehearsal or Wednesday for the concert, I recommend this!
On Wednesday, November 28th at 7.00pm, virtuoso trombonist Tim Albright will be performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Trombone Concerto with Purchase Symphonic Winds at the Purchase College Performing Arts Center Recital Hall. Also in this program of ‘Russian Winds’, is Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, and the world premier of my new arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition for symphonic winds.
So mark your calendars! And if you’re in the area the day before on Tuesday, November 27th, I will be conducting an open rehearsal with PSW of all three pieces from 6.00-8.30pm in the Conservatory of Music Orchestral Rehearsal Room (0078). Mr. Albright and I will be available to answer questions and talk about the repertoire at this rehearsal, so please feel welcome to come by.
