Well, I’m later posting this than I’d anticipated. A busy work week combined with the stress of having broken my favourite (only) baton has slowed me down. But, here I am, and I have a lot to talk about today!
First off – I continue to be extremely pleased with our progress as an ensemble. There are so many great things happening! As I expressed on Wednesday, I remain convinced that we are set up to surpass the level of playing from last year. You continue to give me your best effort, and it’s really paying off!
Now, for the line up I expect to run on Wednesday – this is not in order:
1 – The 80s
2 – Michelle/Eleanor Rigby/Yesterday
36 – Space and Beyond
40 – Windjammer
58 – Les Miserables
59 – Super Mario
63 – Hallelujah
64 – Bolero
NOTE: I have changed the way I conduct the final section of MARS in #36 -“Space and Beyond.” Starting at bar 82 (Rit and Broaden – 4 before 86), the whole band plays exactly the same thing: a triplet, a quarter note, then a mix of quarter notes and rests. Beginning on beat 2 (the quarter note after the triplet), I will only be conducting the notes you play. That means, every quarter note you see from 82 to 86 should be treated as though it has a fermata on it and I will cue you for each note. No rests will be conducted. This worked FAR better in our rehearsal last week, and eliminates anyone playing in the rests. (I worry about where the silences should be).
I strongly encourage everyone to take a few minutes and listen to Windjammer at the following link (this is from the publisher – so I’m confident it’s professional studio musicians):
Windjammer – Robert Buckley
Here’s a link to a university band performing it (they tack on a coda, which is a change):
Windjammer – Capital University – 2014
And here’s one from a high school performance (I’m including this because I heard something here that I really like – I plan to work that out next rehearsal! Here’s a hint: it’s an accompaniment part):
Windjammer – Jesuit High School
And, finally, we have 3 rehearsals left before our first concert. Boy, does the time fly by! I expect that next week, I should be in a position to provide a repertoire list, although perhaps not in concert order quite yet.
I hope to see you all on Wednesday!
Happy playing!
Elizabeth.