On deck for rehearsal this week: the Warrington Concerto — soloists, please be ready. I’d also like to plan for a sectional rehearsal with the soloists in two weeks on October 7 at 6:30 pm (prior to rehearsal). Soloists, please check your calendars and advise me of your availability on Monday.
If you haven’t picked up your CD set, we hope you will plan to purchase one this week.
If you haven’t paid your dues yet, please consider taking care of this with Marge this Monday.
We will rehearse next Monday, as noted on the schedule. I recognize that it is the second night of Rosh Hashanah, but as I understand it, this is not as significant as the first night. If you have holiday plans that evening, please let David know.
Update: David has reported that he is recovering without complications. You can call/email him with any personnel issues as needed.
I expect to have the 2018-2019 CDs in hand on Monday. Cash, checks (payable to WSW), and debit/credit cards all accepted. Sets are $30 each. We’ll also start to accept annual dues ($100) by the same means on Monday.
If you are interested in seeing the second American Prize posting, you can find it here. You’ll note that Joe HIggins was named as an Honorable Mention in the university category (without any T-rex’s in sight).
Please note, as in the past several years, we have several rehearsals during the week leading up to the Fall Concert, including Monday, November 4; Wednesday, November 6; the dress rehearsal on Saturday, November 9; and the concert on Sunday, November 10. We need the Wednesday rehearsal to accommodate a rehearsal for our guest conductor. It’s my hope to cancel the Monday rehearsal, but that will depend on many factors, including our rehearsal progress and (I hate to say it) the weather.
The Resources page has been updated with the new season repertoire, new season brochure, season repertoire, updated Member Handbook, and ad form. Please visit the page, download these forms, and share them liberally. Ads for the new season (resubscribed and new advertisements) will be due on Monday, October 14, so please start to think about these ads. You may want to consider soliciting ads from friends, family, or your workplace to congratulate you, your section, or the band as a whole for winning The American Prize. Please consider this angle.
The new season brochures were labeled last week and should be in the mail soon.
The two-CD compilation from last season is currently in production by Candlewood Digital, and I expect to have copies ready to sell ($30 per set) at rehearsal on September 16. We didn’t take pre-orders this year. Just bring a check or use your debit/credit card to purchase. The best of all five concerts (including ACB and Caramoor) are included. Also, check out the Candlewood website; we are listed among their featured performers.
If you didn’t see it already, you can read the announcement noting our win of The American Prize. Even though the deadlines for submission for 2019-2020 have passed, we are still waiting on the remaining two nominations. When we hear about our standing on all three nominations, we will send out a big press release as well as an email blast to our website subscribers.
Update on Mislav Forrester: He landed on his feet in Chicago. He has a new job in the Chicago Public Schools, and he was accepted by audition as a new member of the Northshore Concert Band. We wish him all the best!
There’s more to share, but that’s enough for now. Enjoy the weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday evening for a prompt start at 7:30 pm!
Can you believe this ad dates from 1996? It seems like yesterday. And so it goes with the summer — it’s almost gone!
Our auditions are on Tuesday, September 3 (contact David if you have someone to recommend for an audition). Our first rehearsal is Monday, September 9 at TMH. And with it we will kick off our 32nd season. And it promises to be an amazing season!
32nd Season
This year, we will be able to promote the band as an award-winning ensemble! Capturing The American Prize is a huge milestone. We’ll be promoting this with special public relations announcements as soon as we’ve heard about the results of the two remaining nominations.
The entire season’s repertoire is published here. Our guests include apprentice conductors Rich Dashnaw and Nate Brewster, guest conductors Dr. Albert Nguyen (pronounced “Win”), Dr. Patricia Cornett, and Joey Bello (who performed with us previously as a euphonium soloist), and soloists Jenn Dashnaw (clarinet), Pete Friedmann — yes, as in Friedmann Fanfare (narrator), Joshua Pierce (piano), and Chris Creviston (alto sax). We’ll be featuring a student brass quintet composition by Grace Dashnaw (Ithaca College ’21) and several member soloists on our Fall Concert. And the whole season wraps up with Maslanka’s monumental Symphony No. 4 in May. “Get your tickets now!” as they say.
Another great opportunity to see WSW members in action!
The VOB Film Festival will be screening the silent film classics “The Great Train Robbery” and Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.” accompanied by live music. The ten-piece orchestra will include WSW members Deb and Rich Dashnaw, Mark Dodge, Chris Larsen and Ryan Cerullo, and will be conducted by Nate Brewster. And while the films may be old, the scores are new, composed by Craig Marks (2014) and John Muccino (2013).
There are two showings, on Friday August 30 at 7:30 pm and Sunday September 1st at 7 pm at Drew Methodist Church in Carmel, NY. You can go to www.vobfilmfestival.com for tickets, and more info on the entire festival, or just click the flyer.
