21st century media

Undoubtedly you’ve noticed that we have not taken CD orders nor have distributed concert recordings since 2019. The combination of the pandemic shutdown and the decreasing use of CD’s/increasing use of streaming media made all this more complex. The board has been aware of this schism and we are very grateful to Eric Milkie for his extensive research and work in this area.

Introducing Bandcamp!

Although Apple Music (iTunes) is currently the industry standard for distributing artists’ streaming content, the service is expensive and cumbersome for artists and ensembles like WSW. Eric’s research found that Bandcamp is our best choice for an alternate streaming service. Click here to read Bandcamp’s corporate overview page.

We started with a sandbox trial of Bandcamp for the board only, which was very successful, and we have now launched our first album – the 2022 Caramoor Concert! Just click this link or the graphic above to see all details and purchase the album. After this initial offering, we will be adding additional concerts, one at a time, until we’ve offered all the concerts since our last CD. At that point, we intend to highlight past premium concerts.  Recordings will be available as ‘albums’ (entire concerts).

Payments/Options

• The cost per concert album download is $10; individual tracks are available for $3. CD’s used to be $15, so this is a bargain!
• Purchasers can pay with PayPal or any credit card.
• We will be adding Bandcamp to our website, so our regular patrons will be able to access these recordings as well. (Look for a separate post soon from that site and on our social media sites to advertise this.)
• Once you’ve visited the WSW page Bandcamp.com, we encourage you to click the “Follow” button, so you’ll get automatic announcements when we release future albums.
• You can also purchase an album as a gift for someone else. All you need is their email address.
• Patrons who are especially generous may also add a donation to the album purchase.

Listening options after purchase

So once you’ve downloaded a concert, how do you listen to it? You have several options:

• Listen to it directly as streaming media in a browser on the bandcamp.com (on a laptop or mobile).
• Listen to it on the Bandcamp app (available for both Apple iOS and Android) through earphones or by sharing to Bluetooth speakers. (It sounds great on my Sonos system at home!)
• Download the audio files to your computer (in one of many different available formats (AIFF, MP3, M4A, and many more), and then add to your computer’s media player. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, you can upload the files to Apple Music (iTunes) and then share them as a playlist on your iPhone. If you are using a PC, a different media player, or an Android phone, we recommend listening directly via the Bandcamp app, but we have started this Bandcamp FAQ’s doc to help anyone who has technical questions for uploading/sharing files to mobile devices.

Can I still buy a CD?

The answer is Yes and No.

• Yes – We have surplus CD supplies of selected past concert recordings. Contact me with your request and we’ll do our best to connect you with your requested recording.
• No – Moving forward, we are no longer going to offer CD’s of concert recordings. The market has moved from hard-copy media to streaming digital media. Fewer and fewer people own CD players in their cars and connected to their home audio systems. And by changing direction, we are being environmentally-conscious by making a smart, sustainable choice to help stop adding more plastic into our landfills.

The board and I hope that you will be very excited that WSW has made this dynamic move forward. We encourage you to share the WSW Bandcamp link with family and friends, and follow WSW on Bandcamp as described above.

If you have questions, please contact me. We’ll come up with answers, reply to you, and share the questions and answers on the FAQ page.

I needed a couple days to process the successes of this year’s performance at Caramoor before writing to everyone to extend my congratulations and gratitude. It’s clear that Saturday was outstanding in many ways. But I wanted to step back from it first to recognize the full extent of your work.

The most significant impact of Saturday, for me, was the clear focus and energy that you brought to the stage. We had an active soundcheck rehearsal (we played more than I wanted to), but that was not detrimental to your performance. You connected with Saturday’s audience in an authentic and visceral manner. Their response clearly indicated that they were with us all the way. The two evocative works – Shenandoah and Make Our Garden Grow – were especially meaningful for the audience, in both musical and symbolic ways. I heard more than once that — with the pending rain forecast — many audience members thought it had actually started to rain during Shenandoah. It doesn’t get better than that. You played with energy, enthusiasm, and determination, and this was evident from the first note of Pre-Americana through the last note of Stars & Stripes. I’m especially grateful for the musicianship of our vocal soloists, Chrissy & Thomas, our agile marimba, tuba, and piccolo soloists in the Sousa, and for everyone’s work on Barton’s challenging arrangements — it all came together exactly as I had hoped.

Thank you again for sticking with us through all the pandemic obstacles, along with everything else that has been tossed in our path since March 2020. Saturday’s performance was a true sign of WSW’s ability to thrive under the most challenging conditions.

I hope to finalize details soon about distributing recordings of concerts since our last CD was produced in February 2020. Once the details are ironed out, I think you’ll be pleased with what we are planning to offer.

Lastly, we are all grateful to the sub players who made Saturday possible. David Church will be touching base with those subs who have indicated interest in full-time membership, in order to schedule auditions on September 6 (location to be announced). Our first fall rehearsal is Monday, September 12; the Fall Concert is Sunday, November 6 at 3:00 pm.

I wish you all a truly wonderful restful and healthy summer.

Thank you once again for a terrific dress rehearsal on Wednesday night. The recording I tried to make stopped after only 10 minutes (it’s never done that before), so I will share the notes I have put together directly with you during the sound check tomorrow.

See the map below for parking. This path will take you all the way around the campus to the other side of the Venetian Theater, but in the long run it’s the closest parking possible.

This is a rain-or-shine performance. I recognize that they are calling for isolated thunderstorms tomorrow as the front comes through. We simply have to roll with it.

I’m guessing that they will not be interested in us hanging around on the property afterwards. If anyone knows of a watering hole in Katonah where anyone who’d like to might gather, please let me know.

Once again, call is 12:00 pm tomorrow, percussion players are welcome to arrive as early as 11:00 am, which is when I plan to be there. (Percussion has already been delivered.

I want to start this post by recognizing that we’ve all been through a lot in the last couple years. Just when you think it can’t get worse, it does. We are all dealing with overlapping pandemics of different health, social, economic, and civic natures, and this past week was especially difficult for many people.

It is at a time like this that we be especially mindful of the good we can do in our capacity as a respected American community band. We have an unequaled opportunity over the coming week to inspire and motivate 1800 audience members at this Independence Day celebration to think, to feel, to weigh, to envision, and to be a power for good. I hope you will keep this in mind as you practice, prepare, and rehearse with us on Monday and Wednesday, working together to cultivate the best performance possible as we close out our 2021-2022 season on Saturday.

The rehearsal plan is posted. Please remember again to complete the health screening form before coming to TMH. If you have not yet completed the the 2022-2023 Personnel Commitment Form, please do so by Monday (you should also have received a reminder from David Church). Check the Caramoor website as needed for directions, parking info, etc.

Be safe and enjoy this beautiful day.