"Really, I know this . . . "
“I’ll tell you: It’s three agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone: Commerce, education and, the, uh, what’s the third one there? … Commerce, education and the uh, the uh…,” before being interrupted by a question. “The third agency of government I would do away with — the education, uh the, uh, commerce, and let’s see — I can’t… the third one, I can’t. I’m sorry … oops. No wait, I’ve got it — the Department of . . . Tony Bennett!!!!”
A big thank you goes out to all of you who expressed concern for me on the advent of my surgery. Everything went along, right on schedule yesterday. I came out of the anesthesia on time and as expected (last time they kept calling me Jon, and, of course I have never responded to my first name). Although I didn’t speak with the surgeon afterwards (he had an off-site appointment), I did learn that he took care of two distinctly different hernias on the same side during the same procedure. I have yet to learn the full medical explanation for this, but apparently it was all successful and that’s all that matters.
After returning home about 6 pm and getting settled, I had a big beautiful steak for dinner (I was starving; no food for 18 hours at that point). The pain, although intense at times, seemed manageable with the Oxycodone prescribed for me, and I had no trouble falling asleep. Unfortunately, I woke up out of a dead sleep at 1 am with a bad case of heartburn, (which of course), made me cough like a banshee and swear like a sailor. (For those of you unfamiliar with the sensation, I do not recommend it.) And of course now, even this morning, I am prone to more coughing fits. So I am keeping a small pillow with me here in my den chair, and I pull it tightly into place when the coughing resumes. I just hope I don’t “bust a gusset” somewhere.
The surgeon reinforced that we are looking at a full week’s recovery before returning to work. I am hoping to make a “limited appearance” at rehearsal next Monday. The current plan is for Matt and I to split the rehearsal. You already have Puszta, and his part of the rehearsal will center on that piece. I will read through as much of the rest of the program as possible. I can’t promise cartwheels on the podium, but I intend to give it my best shot.
Finally, thank you again for Sunday’s dynamic and energetic performance. No concert is perfect, but you accomplished so much with this fall repertoire:
I must apologize for forgetting my usual row-by-row acknowledgement of the band at the end of the encore. I also forgot to invite Joe and Rick back up on stage. By that point, my “core” had been overworked, and I just wasn’t thinking straight. Last spring, I think we found the right combination for acknowledging percussion, and I was disappointed that I didn’t take advantage of that. I will make the effort to correct that in February.
So, my plans for the week include sitting (a lot), grading papers and entering grades, communicating with the Marching Band faculty about our game on Saturday, studying scores, and – oh, yes – trying to relax. Thank you all once again for your thoughts and prayers.
How am I conducting? Call 800-396-8888.
Terrific work today! Thank you for a full-throttle experience for our first concert of the season. The audience — the largest I’ve ever seen at Tarrytown — was certainly with you all the way, and you really delivered an exciting performance.
Thanks to go our guests, Joe Greco and Rick Henly, for contributing their experience and superb musicianship to today’s program. Thank you also to Gary, Katrina, and Bjorn, and the entire Tarrytown Music Hall staff, for their kind assistance. Thank you as well to our WSW Board, including Eric, Marge, Rachel, and Claudia, who work tirelessly on our behalf to produce these concerts.
But most of all, thank you to you, the performing members of our ensemble, for your devotion, practice, dedication, and belief in our organization. It is this strong sense of belief and pride in yourselves that has truly made a difference in the last four years. I am so lucky to be making this journey with you, and I extend my most sincere thanks to you all.
We start work on our February program a week from Monday, on November 14, at TMH. You already have the Puccini (for Kyunghee) and the van der Roost (which Matt will be conducitng). We will have new music to switch into the folders and old music to collect. We are renting one work this cycle, and it may not arrive in time for the first rehearsal. Please devote available practice time you have this week to the van der Roost; Matt will definitely be working on this piece next Monday (Puszta is for April & May), and we will read through as much of the rest of the February program as time allows.
I will be incommunicado for a few days this week beginning on Tuesday (a little surgery trip), but expect to be back up and running for our rehearsal on November 14. Thank you again for such a wonderful day. Have a great week!
A number of you have asked about this Flow Study for your own band students. I’ve downloaded the set of parts and score from the Band Directors Group repository, and created a zip file. Download it here, then unzip it to extract the parts and score. I am excited about trying it out with my NVOT Wind Symphony. If you use it and like it, please comment to share your experience. I also intend to give it a try at a future WSW rehearsal.
See you Sunday at 1:00 pm for our sound check and first concert of the 24th season!