It’s with a great deal of sadness and concern that I’m writing to say that the Board just met via conference call and has decided that it is in the best interest and safety of the group to cancel rehearsal tonight.

IMPORTANT: If you are on the roster for the current cycle, please contact your section leader as soon as possible to verify receipt of this message. They in turn will pass the responses on to David to insure we’ve reached everyone. (The full list of section leaders is at the end of this post.)

This cancelation is for tonight only. The Board and I will review the situation to week to week as we move forward. The reasons include, but are not limited to:

• Input from Ron MacKenzie, clarinet, who is a physician at Hospital for Special Surgery and has been keeping me abreast of communications to their hospital faculty/staff
• Direct feedback from the Westchester Department of Health (call to them made by David Church, describing our membership size and demographics)
• The Head of The Masters School, Laura Danforth, canceled all classes for this week, saying, “Weighing the potential consequences of staying open versus the potential consequences of closing the school for the week, I had to rely on the principles of health and safety. Staying open felt a bit like playing with fire.”
• At the heart of our ensemble is our love of music and our care for each other. These are uncharted waters, and the last thing any of us want to feel is regret.

It’s my hope that you’ll find solace in practicing the sections which I planned to rehearse tonight, including these passages from the Maslanka symphony: 

Section 1: m.30-359
Section 4b & 4c (review from last week): m.572-711
Section 5 (mirrors Section 1): m.732-801

I’m working with Eric Milkie to correct the issues we’ve had with some emails not going through. In the meantime, please help us by reaching out to anyone you know that may have had receipt issues in the past weeks, and contact your section leader to confirm you’ve received this message. 

Flutes – Deb Dashnaw
Oboes – Gina Serafin
Blassoons – Liz Day
Clarinets, including Eb, Bb, bass – Geoff Katin
Saxophones – Tom Sweezey
Trumpets – Stan Serafin
Horns – Kathy Davis
Trombones – Rich Williams
Euphonia – Marc Tartell
Tubas – Chris Carbone
Percussion – Eric Milkie (on behalf of Mark Dodge, since Eric is on the Board and already working with us on this; better to send all responses to one recipient)

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Here are the headlines this week. See details below. 

• See below for an important message about our response to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. As of this morning, we are planning to rehearse as planned on Monday. But I encourage you to monitor your email and check the front page of wsw.ebernet.biz through Monday, and regularly in the weeks ahead, just to be sure.
• The Chappaqua Orchestra performs at TMH tomorrow at 1:00 pm, celebrating International Women’s Day.
• NYSBDA has their annual symposium this weekend

NOTE: Because I feel this particular post contains particularly important information, I’m going to send it as a regular email to everyone as a backup. If you receive this twice, apologies — it’s because you received the post successfully in addition to the backup copy.

COVID-19

I wrote the following message with input and support from our WSW Board:

Everyone is very sensitive to the ongoing public health situation with COVID-19. I’m sure you’ve read correspondence from your local school district and have been watching the news. At this point, we’re all pretty much limited to being proactive, taking recommendations from local authorities seriously, and staying on top of the developing situation.
 
Many of you may be wondering what is going to happen with rehearsals over the next weeks. In short, we don’t know yet. We can’t make a specific plan, because we can’t forecast the extent of how this will affect the public. If local schools close, will it be for two days? Two weeks? Two months? A plan of action for any of these schools, other public institutions, and our WSW organization is entirely dependent upon the circumstances and duration of this public health situation. We do not want to panic. Then again, we want to do the right thing should we reach a point of “critical mass.” You can find official information from the CDC here on their website.
 
Bottom line: We want to continue to gather together and rehearse as long as it appears to be the safe and sane thing to do. I’m tied into the information pipeline at Masters, which I trust, and I will continue to share that information with this Board. I’m doing my best to adjust rehearsal plans/expectations to expect some rehearsal time will likely be lost. According to officials, the chance of infection is low, but keep these things in mind:

• If you don’t feel well, especially if you experience flu-like symptoms, don’t come to rehearsal. Contact David as soon as possible so we can anticipate and cover your absence if we can.
• If you simply do not feel comfortable coming to rehearsal, please contact David and be honest about your concern. No one will ask you to attend if you are not comfortable. Understanding how the membership feels about the developing situation is important to us gathering information and making good decisions.
• If you are comfortable coming to rehearsal, but want to bring some Clorox wipes to wipe your chair/stand, or if you want to bring your own stand instead of using our WSW stands, please feel free to do so.
• Obviously, do not share mouthpieces, reeds, or other personal accessories with other players.
• Please observe health-conscious etiquette.
  • When you have to sneeze or cough, do so into your elbow/sleeve
  • Wash your hands frequently with hot water and soap, at least 20 seconds (sing Happy Birthday twice).
  • Avoid touching your face/hair. (a huge challenge, I must add).

If you are unsure if you are receiving any emails, go to wsw.ebernet.biz > Weekly News Posts, and check for the latest news. Right now, we’re planning on rehearsing on Monday night, and I am working now on updating the rehearsal plan. This situation is fluid and requires us to be cautious, flexible and nimble. I appreciate your patience, support and understanding as we navigate these uncertain times. In short, being prepared is the best advice we can give you. Be patient, wash your hands, and wait it out — with the rest of us. We’ll stay in touch with you as often and as thoroughly as we can.

The Chappaqua Orchestra performs tomorrow at TMH

The Chappaqua Orchestra has scheduled their first concert at TMH tomorrow, Sunday, March 8 at 1:00 pm. You can find ticket information here. In the spirit of full transparency, they will be using about 40 of our chairs/stands (as part of our ensemble-in-residence agreement with TMH), but none of our percussion. I don’t see this as an issue, but felt I should be honest in sharing it.

NYSBDA Symposium this weekend

In 2017, we performed at the NYBDA State Symposium as their featured performance ensemble. Marc Tartell pointed out to me that the weekend in Syracuse features a much that touches our WSW world:

• Central Winds: a Music Educators’ Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Andrew Perry and James Tapia. Program focus – David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 4
  Saturday’s keynote speaker: Matthew Maslanka (David’s son)
• Rehearsal and conducting techniques with High School Honor Band conductor, Paula Holcomb (she is on my upcoming guest conductor list)
• Living Legend: Northwestern University’s Mallory Thompson, clinic and conducting workshop with the Directors Band
• Play in the Directors Band that will serve as the demo ensemble for the conductors working with Dr. Thompson

I just sent reconfirmation emails for my blog, as I announced in rehearsal, in an attempt to stop the blocking of blog posts that many members have reported. Please DO click the link to reconfirm your address.

Here’s a reminder of the schedule and address for Saturday’s concert. Remember that we’re wearing concert black (like all our TMH concerts), and that you must bring a music stand to the performance.

Saturday, February 29 at Kol Ami – Performance
252 Soundview Avenue, White Plains, NY 10606
3:00 – Percussion rental delivery
5:00 – set up in auditorium (please arrive no later than 5:45 pm)
6:00 – sound check
7:00 – break
8:00 – performance and reception

Tickets are available for Saturday’s concert. Send friends and family members to www.nykolami.org/concert for tickets. See you Saturday!

Rehearsal this Monday, February 24

As announced, we rehearse the Kol Ami program this Monday, and it’s the only rehearsal for this concert. And this rehearsal is for Kol Ami concert personnel only. Rehearsals for the full ensemble performing the May 16 concert resume next Monday, March 2.

The program for Kol Ami once again is:

• Sparke – Jubilee Overture
• Giroux – One Life Beautiful
• Warrington – Original Dixieland Concerto (same soloists as November, except Uly is taking Chris’s place on tuba and there is no string bass)
• Rodgers & Hammerstein Medley (from Caramoor 2019; this time with Kol Ami soloists David Rosen & Lenora Eve)
• Svanhoe – Steampunk Suite (all movements)
• King – Barnum & Bailey’s Favorite

Nancy will swap out old music/swap in new music on Monday.

Please review the technical sections of these pieces before Monday so our rehearsal is productive and positive. Remember, this is a one-rehearsal performance!

Details for the concert on Saturday, February 29 are posted on the front page, and I will review everything on Monday night.

Slight program change for May 16 / Spring concert

Although I felt that Alfred Reed’s Alleluia! Laudamus Te is the perfect opener for the the concert that features the Maslanka Symphony No. 4, I am concerned about the strain it will put on the brass for this emotionally and physically draining program. A number of brass players have confirmed this concern. And so I’ve decided to defer the Reed to a future program. In its place, we’ll perform the Bach Fantasia in G Major. This will reflect a strong connection to the Maslanka, open the concert with the kind of strong, stalwart energy I’m looking for, but will not be such a chop-buster. The parts for the Bach will be among those passed out in the music swap.

Caramoor tickets are now on sale

Tickets for Caramoor went on sale this week. Click here to order tickets. They are continuing their 25% discount for us, for tickets in rows BB-KK. Use the same code as in the past. I’m resending this code in a separate direct email, so as not to post the code for all the world to see.

As promised

You can’t make this stuff up: I’m not sure which is more dangerous, the trombone or the piano illuminated with all those candles. Enjoy, but please do not attempt this at home.

See you Monday!