Thank you all again for a spirit-lifting performance on Sunday. I’m saving some time at the beginning of rehearsal on Monday to invite you to share your thoughts regarding the concert.

Rehearsal Monday at White Plains HS

TMH is not available on Monday. Please plan your travel for our rehearsal at White Plains. Be sure to download/print your new parts from the Winter Concert Google Drive folder, and bring these Winter parts to rehearsal.  I’ve updated the rehearsal plan on the homepage to reflect the rehearsal plan for Monday at White Plains.

West Point concerts

We will soon be putting out a commitment form for our collaborative concert(s) with the West Point Band. Please note these dates:

• Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 pm – Concert at Eisenhower Hall (snow date March 10 at 2:00 pm). This concert is confirmed.
• Saturday, March 16 at 2:00 pm – White Plains High School (snow date March 17 at 2:00 pm). This reprise performance is still tentative until we agree on our shared financial commitment.

Commander Toven suggested the reprise concert as a vehicle for bringing the West Point Band for a performance here in Westchester County, something they have not done in several years. I’m hoping to talk again with the Commander soon so I can share complete details with you. In the meantime, please assess these dates in your personal calendar.

Pedro’s new recording

Pedro Díaz has a released a new solo album on Spotify, featuring members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and including the Donizetti. He asked that I share the album link, and encourage you to have a listen. Just following the link will help promote his album – please consider doing so.

I’m so very, very proud of all of you! Sunday’s concert was a truly amazing success all around, from the quality of your performance to the size of our audience. Many thanks to Andrew Hill, Brian Doyle, and Pedro Díaz for their artistry; to Ruthie Garcia for the coordination with A.Laubin; to Oscar Portillo and the TMH crews; to Andrew Merelis for the video production; to Richard Price for the recording engineering and production; and to Eric Milkie and Rebecca Weissman for their assistance in getting the video launched.

Please visit our website to see the concert — /www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org. The video is available as of 8:00 pm tonight, and we’ll keep it up on the site through the weekend. After that, you can send friends and family to our YouTube channel to watch this and all our other performance videos.

Enjoy the concert!

Dress rehearsal and performance

We had a great rehearsal with the Double Reed Ensemble last night. We are all set for Saturday’s dress rehearsals and Sunday’s performance. Please check the home page for the schedule for both days. I’m asking everyone to arrive at TMH by 8:30 am on Saturday — both to help with the setup and because of arrival/parking on Saturday morning. On Sunday, we have access to TMH at 12:00 pm; please arrive at TMH by 12:30 pm on Sunday. The sound check on Sunday is rather complex because of all the moving parts, so I need to start at 1:00 pm on the dot, and I want to end at 2:00 pm promptly to allow everyone to rest. Please anticipate parking delays on both days and be proactive with your travel plans!

No rehearsal November 6; Winter cycle rehearsals begin on November 13

We will read all of the Winter Concert rep on Monday, November 13. Please download/print parts from the Winter Cycle folder. We’re over the hump of reading the Bernstein for the first time, so I’m hopeful and excited for this initial reading. Two library notes: 1) Puccini – Nessun Dorma will be posted as soon as it’s ready. 2) You only need m.1-68 of the Les Miz medley (we’re only performing the Bring Him Home portion).

Denise Ruchala Meltzer recital on November 9

Former WSW member Denise Ruchala Meltzer will present a trumpet recital next Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 pm at Larchmont Avenue Church in Larchmont at 6:30 p.m. Some current WSW members, as well as alumni, are also performing on the program. WSW tuba sub Nik Seger and former trombone member Mandy Rimm-Hewitt will join her for two works for brass quintet. This is a 45 minute, family-friendly concert. The program is half classical music and half pop music, with a female empowerment theme. Please consider joining Denise for this program!

• Performance week notes
• Practice habits from the Marine Band podcast

This week / Fall Concert

As noted on the home page, this coming week looks like this:

• Monday, October 30 at TMH: 7:30-9:45 pm
  7:30 – Donizetti with Pedro Días
  8:30 – Kozhevnikov
  9:30 – Day
• Wednesday, November 1 at TMH: 7:30-9:30 pm – Double Reed Ensemble only: Handel, Mancini, Mercury. Separate email reminder is being sent to these players today.
• Saturday, November 4 at TMH, 9:00-11:00 am – WSW Dress rehearsal
• Saturday, November 4 at TMH, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm – Double Reed Ensemble Dress rehearsal
• Sunday, November 5 at TMH, 1:00 pm sound check, 3:00 pm performance, 5:00 pm reception for all at The Tapp. The reception is sponsored by A.Laubin. Please thank Ruthie for helping to coordinate this!

Marine Band Podcast

Chris Carbone recently shared this: “I’ve always felt that practice techniques are a missing piece for me, especially now that I need to maximize the time that I have,so I shared my process and progress on facebook.  One of my friends, who plays clarinet in the President’s Own, shared a podcast they put out. This one specifically focuses on practice techniques.  Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that these parts are easy for everyone but me, but here they debunk that and share some really good tips.”

With the Bernstein and Hindemith on the horizon, effective practice is something everyone should think about. Thank you for sharing, Chris!

Click below to listen to this podcast episode. Or follow/subscribe to the Marine Band podcast, Marine Band Offstage.

Does anyone read my posts all the way to the end?

I booked Taylor Swift for our Fall 2024 concert! She will sing Barton’s arrangements of French Mediterranean folk songs. The concert will be sub-titled “The Rivi-ERAS Tour.”