As discussed — and agreed to — last week, we’re starting 15 minutes earlier at 7:15 pm this week so we can take a normal stretch break, finish rehearsal at 9:30 pm, and clear the room by 9:45 pm, as requested by the New Rochelle administration. And don’t forget to follow these directions, not GPS, so you can find the Band Room on this very large campus. We’re rehearsing ACB rep this week: Cichy, Gjeilo, and Holsinger.
And don’t forget to nominate your favorite work for band for our 2019-2020 Repertoire Bracket Challenge! Click here to nominate one or more pieces. We have to collect nominations before we can set up the bracket and begin voting. Nominations will be accepted through March 25.
Here are the details for the two repertoire projects I described last evening at rehearsal:
And We Were Heard
First, here is the link to the site for And We Were Heard, the project that supports new compositions for wind band by female and minority composers. Please check out the link, I think you will find that this is an interesting, forward-thinking, and worthwhile project for us.
Bracket Repertoire Project
In the past 11 years, one of my goals has been to support ensemble participation, and I think it’s a great idea to utilize member ideas in programming. A few years ago I polled the band to find the most popular work that the ensemble wanted to program the following year. It was a failure, because I got 56 responses and 56 different titles. In the end, I cast the deciding vote – the March from Symphonic Metamorphosis, by Paul Hindemith.
This time, the project will involve bracketed choices, two works at a time, drilling down to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and two final choices. You can submit multiple works for consideration if you’d like, but know that I have veto power for any work that I believe is too difficult or inappropriate for the group’s growth, or that we have played recently (five past seasons or so). I hope every member will submit at least one nomination. And this project is intended just for our members, not the whole world. (Otherwise, we could end up playing the Baby Shark Dance!) So don’t hesitate to tell friends how cool this is, but let’s keep the nominations and voting “in the family,” please.
For each piece you nominate, please include the composer, arranger (if applicable), title, movements (if applicable), and the URL to a quality recording. When I set up the brackets, you’ll be able to listen to works with which you’re not familiar, and gain some insights into rep you don’t know. It’s a win-win!
When you finish, you can click to submit another nomination if you wish. I’ll keep the nominations open until Tuesday, March 26, then set up the bracket. I’ll then create a separate Google Form for the actual voting. The end goal is to program the winning composition during the 2019-2020 season!
I just received this message from Megan, the Stage Manager at TMH:
Heads up. We had a kids show today, and they are storing equipment in dressing rooms / around stage and in wings. Please don’t pull up spike tape on floor. If there are issues with the scenery (don’t think there will be) be gentle, it’s card board!
So please be aware that we are sharing the space on and off stage this evening with equipment from this show. Please be aware that there is scenery around and about the stage, and spike tape (important to their performances) on the stage floor. Please take extra care when moving chairs, stands, and percussion, and lift items as necessary on stage so as not to rip up the spike tape. Our access time before rehearsal is not affected.
This children’s show continues production next week, and that is the reason we had to move the March 18 rehearsal to New Rochelle.
Yes, it’s an all-French rehearsal this week. We’re rehearsing all five movements of the Milhaud and the Les Miz medley.
On Wednesday, I discussed a project with the Board, to engage all of you with talking about and listening to great works for band. The project will involve an NCAA-like bracket, and the end result will be the group making a decision about programming one work in the 2019-2020 season.
11 days until Spring. Hang in there. See you Monday.
