In this post:

• Rehearsal schedule for the week
• Concert ticket sales push
• Carpet cleaning at TMH this Monday
• Ukraine Fund-Raiser
• Upcoming member performances

Schedule for this week

We have a full rehearsal on Monday at 7:30 pm, dress rehearsal on Wednesday at 7:30 pm, and performance on Saturday, starting with the sound check at 6:00 pm/performance at 8:00 pm. Check the homepage for all details. And please be sure to complete the health screening form each day you come to TMH.

Looking ahead, there is no rehearsal on May 9 and TMH is not available on May 16. Our first rehearsal for the Caramoor cycle will be Monday, May 23 at 7:30 pm at TMH.

Concert tickets

Marge will have Friends & Family half-price tickets ($10 each) available for purchase again on Monday & Wednesday this week. Please help us fill the house for our first concert in 6 months! Folks who live out of the area will be able to watch the livestream again on our own website at www.westchestersymphonicwinds.org, and it will be archived after the concert on our YouTube channel.

Carpet cleaning at TMH on Monday

Although it seems like they just did this, they are cleaning the carpets at TMH again on Monday during the day. Continue to use only the backstage door for entry/exit. Plan to use the backstage area or wings for storage of all coats and cases on Monday. Please do not go out into the House at all on Monday; things will revert to normal on Wednesday. Thank you.

Ukraine Fund-Raiser

As announced, we’re opening the concert on Saturday with the Ukrainian National Anthem, which we rehearsed last Monday, followed immediately by the Star-Spangled Banner. We are donated our 50% of the proceeds from this concert’s 50/50 raffle to the GoFundMe campaign – Support Displaced Ukrainian Musicians. This is the same organization which was the beneficiary of the recent sold-out fund-raising concert at TMH.

Member performances coming up in the next week

On Sunday, May 1, Chris Carbone and the Bear Mountain Brass are playing from 1:00-2:00 pm at the New Rochelle MuralFest, NewRo Park, 255 North Avenue at Main Street in New Rochelle. WSW members include Ben Acrish and Stan Serafin on trumpet, David Church on bari, Michael Lucke on trombone, Chris Larsen on drums, Chris Carbone on helicon. Our set will include everything from New Orleans standards to Radiohead, Performance is free. Stay for the second band and hear Larsen for another hour!

On Friday, May 6 the Rich Dashnaw Eclectic Project will be performing Blues, Jazz, Classic Rock, and Funk at the Peekskill Brewery. Click here to reserve a table. Players include: Rich Dashnaw – guitar/vocals; Michael Lucke – trombone/ piano; Chris Larsen – drums; Austin Day- tenor sax; and Andrew V. Craig – up/electric bass, vocals.

Rehearsal Monday in Auditorium at White Plains HS

Rehearsal this Monday, April 25 at 7:30 pm will be held at White Plains HS, 550 North Street, White Plains, NY 10605. There is ample parking right next to the Auditorium. Click here for the Google Map and directions. As usual, the rehearsal plan is posted.

A new production of Schwanda, the Bagpiper

Yes, it’s true. The Komische Oper in Berlin has mounted a new production of the opera which centers on the Polka we’re playing on May 7. Read the New York Times article here.

Steve Cohen performs William Bolcom with NU SWE

Our good friend and master clarinetist, Steve Cohen, will perform the William Bolcom Concerto for Clarinet and Band with the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble tomorrow evening, Friday, April 22 at 7:30 CDT/8:30 EDT. Music for Prague 1968 is also on the program. Watch the livestream via this link. Since we performed the Bolcom Soprano Saxophone Concerto, as well as Prague, this will be an interesting performance for sure.

This is Steve’s final solo performance at Northwestern, as he is retiring at the end of the school year, and moving back to hometown area in Western Connecticut. Hmmm . . . that’s really close to us . . .

Masterclass with Eric Whitacre

Hal Leonard is sponsoring a virtual masterclass, “The Beautiful Mess: Masterclass in Composition and Creativity,” including an appearance by Eric Whitacre on Tuesday, May 3 at 6:00 pm. Click here for the registration.

Rehearsal on Monday evening

We are excited to welcome three additional percussionists joining us on Monday for this concert, which is a very percussion-oriented program. The rehearsal order is posted; please take a look.

Caramoor tickets

Tickets are already on sale for July 2. Click here for the Caramoor ticket site for our concert. Good news: they are continuing to honor our ticket coupon code for 20% off in tiers 4 & 6 (the $75 and $40 tickets in the rear section of the Venetian Theater). It’s the same coupon code as years past. I’ll reinforce the coupon code in rehearsal rather than posting it on the site.

No rehearsal on Monday, April 11

Please remember that we are not rehearsing tomorrow evening, April 11, because of the public schools spring break.

Supporting Ukraine

The Board voted last week to support the people of Ukraine in these ways at the May concert:

• We will add the Republic of Ukraine National Anthem at the beginning of our program. You can find PDF’s of the parts here; we will hand out hard copies at rehearsal on April 18. US Department of State etiquette requires that the US national anthem must follow the playing of a foreign nation’s anthem, and so we will follow the Ukrainian anthem with the Star-Spangled Banner (Sousa/Damrosch version, which should already be in the folders).
• We will donate our half of the 50/50 raffle proceeds to the Displaced Ukrainian Musician Fund.

Next rehearsals

We’re coming down to the end of rehearsals before the Spring Concert performance:

• Monday, April 18 at TMH (concert flyers and Friends & Family tickets will be available)
• Monday, April 25 at White Plains HS, 550 North Street, White Plains, NY 10605. There is ample parking right next to the Auditorium. Click here for the Google Map and directions.
• Monday, May 2 at TMH (both Joey Bello and Matt Podd will join us)
• Wednesday, May 4 at TMH – dress rehearsal
• Saturday, May 7 at TMH – 6:00 pm sound check, 8:00 pm downbeat

Caramoor program update

Kathy Schuman and I have come to an agreement regarding the music to substitute for 1812 this summer. We ultimately decided that a reflective work by Bernstein and the tried-and-true medley of armed services hymns was best. Here is the revised program for July 2 (total program time is 49:00):

1. ​Pre-Americana/Star-Spangled Banner – John Stafford Smith, arr. Barton Green (4:00)
2. ​Selections from Kiss Me Kate – Cole Porter, arr. Barton Green (6:00)
3. ​Shenandoah – Omar Smith (8:00)
4. ​American Salute – Morton Gould (4:30)
5. ​On the Mall March – Goldman (4:00)
6. ​Being Alive – Stephen Sondheim, arr. Barton Green – Thomas West, baritone (3:00)
7. ​Send in the Clowns – Stephen Sondheim, arr. Barton Green – Christine Price, soprano (3:00)
8. ​You’ll Love Tomorrow/Love will See Us Through – Stephen Sondheim, arr. Barton Green (4:00)
9. ​Make Our Garden Grow – Leonard Bernstein, arr. Clare Grundman (3:30)
10. ​Armed Forces Salute – arr. Bob Lowden (5:30)
11. The ​Stars and Stripes Forever – John Philip Sousa, arr. Keith Brion and Loras Schissel (3:30)