I’m copying the three important items I just emailed to everyone, without David’s number, to make sure that everyone has access to this information.

First, I’m writing to remind you that, starting this coming Monday, we’ve been asked to close/lock all entry doors while we rehearse.

So, as announced, we will lock the front marquee doors at 7:30 pm when we start rehearsal, and lock the back door (near the dressing rooms) at 7:45 pm. If you have an unexpected delay and are late, arriving between 7:30-7:45 pm, just come in the back door. If you are later than 7:45 pm for some reason, contact David Church by text or phone (text preferred, because we’ll be rehearsing at that point) and he will send someone to open the back door for you. This plan will allow us to follow Karina’s directive, but still create a manageable plan for anyone who can’t find a parking spot at the last minute.

Second, the weather is far from tropical for the weekend. Please plan ahead to protect yourself, your family, and your property. I understand the big concern this weekend is icing, strong winds, and potential power issues. We fully expect to rehearse on Monday, but I’ll email everyone again by 5:00 pm on Monday to confirm the status of rehearsal. If you don’t have mobile access to email in the afternoon, plan to call a friend who can check email so everyone will be aware of the plans for the evening. Hopefully, the holiday will play in our favor this time.
The rehearsal plan is published on the home page of my blog at wsw.ebernet.biz, but here it is as well:
7:30 – Zdechlik with Lt. David Regner
8:00 – Reed I (with HHHS off-stage band players)
8:25 – Reed II
8:40 – Stretch
8:45 – Villa-Lobos with West Point soloists

Third, I am going to cancel the February 4 rehearsal, which was intended to be the first reading rehearsal for Caramoor. I’m cancelling because one of the tunes is out of print, and we haven’t found a source for parts yet (American Originals by Sammy Nestico), Matt Podd will not have the vocal arrangement completed until April 1, and all the other pieces are reprises from this season or previous seasons. My plan had been to introduce the three overlapping concerts in reverse order (Caramoor, Spring, ACB Convention) but that plan now seems unwieldy and impractical. Instead, we’ll concentrate on rehearsing the shared repertoire between the Spring and ACB concerts at our next rehearsal on February 11, and then move forward with the new Les Miz arrangement on February 25 (there is no rehearsal on February 18 for Presidents Day). I’ll review this on Monday, but I wanted to put it in writing so you can be aware of the change.

Stay warm, stay dry, keep the lights on! See you Monday.

Thanks for a great rehearsal last night. I was especially happy with the Gjeilo, and I think we all felt it. Next Monday is our last working rehearsal, and as I announced, all the additional players will be coming on Monday night.

I forgot to post the Winter Concert flyer. Please share liberally!

• Flyer – JPG (for Facebook, twitter, inserts for other media)
• Flyer – final hi-res PDF (for printing)

And if you are you looking for concert details: Press Release

And here’s the information on the job openings Mislav described on Monday evening. Please contact him if you have someone to recommend.

I recently started working at Music & Arts in Bedford Hills, and there are two job opportunities that I’d like to forward to the ensemble:
1. Teaching private piano lessons on Saturdays from 10 AM to 6 PM (mostly in the earlier part of the day) with flexible pricing.
2. Full-time retail associate – 40 hours/week.
Both of these jobs are the Mt. Kisco Music & Arts which is located at 720 N. Bedford Rd. in Bedford Hills, NY.

You can expect Zdechlik, Villa-Lobos, and Reed Monday night. I’ll update the rehearsal plan by the weekend. In the meantime, have a great week!

It’s hard to believe that our Winter Concert is two weeks from tonight. All this will pull together very quickly when our soloists, guest conductor, and off-stage band members all arrive next Monday for rehearsal and Wednesday for dress rehearsal. Please arrive in plenty of time to park (remember we can use the bank parking lot!), talk with friends, help set up, and warm up carefully, so we can hit the ground running at 7:30 sharp. Monday’s rehearsal order is posted; I’ve now assigned time slots for each section of rehearsal.

I neglected to share this page from Westchester Magazine, which Tim Allport gave to me 2 weeks ago. Their Best Bets section also promotes the best food and events the county has to offer. In November, the first page of this section featured WSW, to promote the Fall Concert, along with Conan and Puddles the Clown. Perhaps the editors were sending me a subtle personal message?

Lastly, we received this invitation from Sheila Murphy, Director of Philanthropy at TMH, to promote a special Valentine’s Day concert at TMH on February 14:

Dear Curt,

On behalf of The Music Hall, I would like to invite you and members of WSW to join us this Valentine’s Day at 8pm for a very special classical concert event by celebrated Carnegie Hall pianist Katya Grineva. Ms. Grineva has the special distinction of performing more times at Carnegie Hall than any other solo female pianist and for one night she will be at The Music Hall to play our amazing new Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano with her unique style and passion.  

The performance will include the option of a post-show VIP reception on the mezzanine with a Champagne toast, chocolate & desserts and an opportunity to meet Ms. Grineva. 

If you could share this event with your WSW members, we would be grateful. This is going to be a memorable evening of classical favorites at The Music Hall.   Thank you!

Kind Regards,

Sheila
======================
Sheila Emery Murphy
Director of Philanthropy

See you all Monday night. Don’t forget the bank parking lot is open!

January rehearsals

We start up again on Monday, but remember that, as announced, the rehearsal on January 7 will be held at New Rochelle HS. Be sure to use these directions; do not follow your GPS.

I’ve posted the rehearsal plan for Monday, as well as the overall plan for the remaining Monday rehearsals and Wednesday dress rehearsal. See the entire plan here.

The Midwest

The Midwest Clinic was just amazing. For the first time in 30+ years, I didn’t feel hurried or compelled to attend events, but I still went to everything I wanted to attend, including the CSO Brass concert . The clinics presented by Tom McCauley and Shelley Axelson were extremely well attended and both were amazing in their own unique ways. The concert by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School was moving and of extremely high quality. Although their program was colored by the school shooting tragedy last February, it did not dominate the event. And I can’t say I’ve ever heard a high school band with such a warm sound, combined with technical virtuosity and emotional breadth. I heard a number of pieces throughout the weekend I want to consider programming, most by current living composers.

An idea to consider

Driving back from Pennsylvania between Christmas and New Year’s, I listened to several TED Talk podcasts. One focused on the difference between questions posed by investors to promoters of new startups. In her research, the speaker found that questions posed during investment presentations to male promoters focused on the promotion of the startup (“How do you envision growth of this company?”), whereas questions posed to female promoters focused on prevention of loss (“How do you expect to protect our investments during the first year?”). The speaker’s theory was that female promoters were questioned with a negative focus, compared to their male counterparts. Although not centered on gender, it occurred to me that rehearsal comments/questions, both from the podium to the group and vice versa, mostly focus on prevention, both in our ensemble and in most others: “That sounds terrible at m.13!” “Sarrusophones, we’re missing notes at letter D.” “Do we have to play so loud here at the mezzo piano?”. Instead, in the New Year, I will do my best to address issues via questions and comments of promotion — “Can you speak to me at the break about a possible wrong note at m.13?” “Sarrusophones, what can we do to improve the accuracy at letter D?” “What would a meaningful mezzo piano sound like here?” If you’re on board with the idea, I hope you’ll consider asking questions with the same intent as we move forward.

Creative practice fundamentals for your students (and you)

Marc Tartell found and shared this site, constructed by Gregg Goodhart from California, who has done research and presented clinics on creative practice. His site contains many innovative ideas for approaching practice, and includes this PDF, which suggests routines to assist students with improving practice skills. These could be great resources for your students — and also great ideas for your own practice.

Parking news

Lastly, when we return to Tarrytown on January 14, it appears that the parking lot behind the abandoned Citibank branch at 1 South Broadway will be open again for public use — happy news for us! See this article from The Hudson Independent, found by Eric Milkie.

See you Monday in New Rochelle.