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I hope everyone’s had a good break from the routine!

There are a few newsy-type items to share:

1. We DO have a rehearsal on Wednesday, August 9. I did blog the program (it’s another dress rehearsal!) after the last gig we had, so that’s up on the website.
2. There is a CHANGE to our final performance!! We are now going to perform on September 9 at Bourkevale Community Centre starting at 4 pm. I have updated the relevant web pages – here’s the link to the schedule (for band members): http://www.mbmillenniumband.com/index.php/members/2017-schedule/
3. We now have a ratified Millennium Band constitution! (Makes us all official and such!) Our constitution is pretty much in line with what other bands in the city have set up, with a couple of adjustments due to the nature of our ensemble. Part of the constitution states that it will be available to members at all times. After some computer wizardry, the constitution is now on our website under the Members page. We will ensure that, as the constitution is updated, older versions are always available. Here’s the direct link: http://www.mbmillenniumband.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Millennium-Band-Constitution.pdf

That’s all I’ve got for developments at this stage!

I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday!

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.

Wow!!! What an excellent first performance we had this week! I’m so proud of all of you! There were a couple of hiccups, but they were not of the “we were unprepared for this” variety, but more under the heading of “momentary lapses.” (Those can happen anytime – it was a hot room, and I know that can play a role in losing focus! We were set up a little differently, so you were likely hearing some new sounds, etc). The point is, we were able to recover from them smoothly, and that’s really what the rehearsing should prepare us to do.

There was so much just good playing happening! Each and every one of you had a moment to be a superstar.

One thing we’ll have to pay better attention to is the cut-offs. We had some ragged endings – several of them, in fact. I’ll be contemplating this over the break, and I hope to have some ideas to test out next rehearsal to help us.

A couple of highlights:

I was really pleased with The 80s – that is not an easy piece with its lightening-fast changes and general weirdness (but, that’s kind of how the 80s were). You handled it with aplomb and it came off really well! This is a bit of a showstopper of an arrangement. I think it’s going to play very well at Victoria Beach!

Windjammer got off to a rocky start – sort of. I guess it goes to show that the trumpets don’t need me anymore. (They played it perfectly with each other – but not with me). This is a blow to my ego, but I’ll survive. All in all, it came off really, really well. Trumpets – you nailed the inner echoey bits (where your parts are different from the opening). I was also really pleased to hear all three of the lines happening in the busy-ness at the end – the A theme, the B theme and the water all were there, your sound was full, but not spready/shrieky/blatty, and it didn’t feel like the wheels were going to fall off. I got chills in the bar where there’s the dovetailing sixteenth note descending line that gets passed around and ends with the pick up into the main theme – every note of every part was just perfectly placed and the effect was of a little eddy in the calm water before the main theme returned – it’s a short moment, but a really lovely one.

You made me cry in “Hallelujah.” It was just unbearable, heart-breakingly beautiful. Your control and restraint were bang-on. We didn’t rush (although I know we were fighting the urge!) and we really did well to hold our course and make the climax the actual dynamic climax (but even that didn’t get away from us – we had a strong, beautiful forte – not a spready, blatty, shrieky mess). So, please keep doing THAT. While I can’t be certain (because I was in the midst of my own emotional moment), I do feel that this had a strong impact on our audience – I think I heard a few sighs from behind me.

All in all, it was a really strong outing and it bodes well for the rest of the summer! See! I told you that we were ready!

I was approached by a couple of ladies after the concert who wanted to make sure that I passed on their appreciation to the band. One wanted to know the exact date we’re coming back, so I’d say that’s a pretty ringing endorsement! The other says that she’s starting to recognise people and that she really enjoys our concerts and she would like to see us back as well.

You know, we pulled a tricky programme together in 7 rehearsals. That’s pretty spectacular. Please, do take a little time and give yourselves a solid pat on the back – you have worked really hard and it shows.

So now we have a bit of a break.

Our next rehearsal, on August 9, is another dress rehearsal!

The plan will be similar to our previous dress rehearsal: we’ll do a shorter warm up, a sight-reading piece, then we’ll run the tentative program (below). We will take some time to polish a couple of trouble spots, and I hope we’ll be able to run a couple of pieces that we’ll likely perform at Victoria Beach.

Without further ado, here’s the TENTATIVE programme:

11 – Cartoon Symphony
59 – Super Mario
2 – Michelle/Eleanor Rigby/Yesterday
17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik
64 – Bolero
58 – Les Miserables
40 – Windjammer
63 – Hallelujah
36 – Space and Beyond

Run – will be on Victoria Beach programme:
25 – Blue Orchid
4 – Standard of St George
9 – Arabian Dances
1 – The 80s
22 – The Stripper

To those of you who are off to Band Camp: have a wonderful time!

To those of you who will be playing in Folklorama: break a leg!

To everyone: I’ll be thinking of you!

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.

EDITED TO ADD: Special shout-out to Christina who gave the seating chart a valiant effort. Thanks for looking after who should sit where and ensuring that no one’s turf was invaded! You did a fantastic job – I know how hard it is!

Here are the details for our first concert of the year!

Where: Shaftesbury Park Seniors Residence
905 Shaftesbury Blvd
When: Wednesday, July 19 – Warm up starts: 6:55 pm sharp

Please do your best to arrive at 6:30 pm so that we have time to do perform the Band Shuffle before our warm-up.

Please be aware that there is an extremely limited number of visitor parking spots on the property, but there is a sidewalk that runs from Litchfield Blvd (turn south onto Litchfield from Taylor) to the residence. Parking on that street has traditionally been reasonably easy. It is a bit of a hike, so please allocate some extra transit time to account for the constitutional.

Concert Dress:

1. Millennium Band (forest green) t-shirt and black lower body covering – this is preferred.
2. Forest Green top, black lower body covering.
3. All black

If you would like to purchase a snazzy, fashion-forward, Millennium Band t-shirt, one can be yours for the low, low price of $12. To help us get organised amid the chaos that is concert preparation, please email info@mbmillenniumband.com and include both your name and your t-shirt size no later than Monday, July 17. Get ’em while they’re hot!

Concert Programme:

Bb Scale (we’ll play this a couple of times – fair warning!)
11 – Cartoon Symphony
9 – Arabian Dances
2 – Michelle/Eleanor Rigby/Yesterday
1 – The 80s
58 – Les Miserables
40 – Windjammer
17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik
63 – Hallelujah
(22- The Stripper – spare – if time requires – I don’t expect we’ll play this)
36 – Space and Beyond

We have SO got this! We knocked the dress rehearsal out of the park! You have all put in a lot of hard work this year, and it’s really showing.

I know that some of you are on the fence about whether to play or not. In some cases, there may be some discomfort about mastering the whole program. I understand and I appreciate the sentiment. (Someone very dear to me once told me that “being nervous is good. It shows you care about what you’re doing.” More than 25 years later, that’s still among the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received. Another, regarding playing fast passages on Horn, is “close your eyes and wiggle your fingers – the notes will come out.” Slightly less good advice, but now you have been enriched by it – or not). To you, I say:

Thank you for caring so much about what we’re doing. However, and I say this from my heart: you belong. You are the Millennium Band just as much as everyone else, and the loss of one person does impact the whole band’s sound. You bring something unique that adds to the magic of this ensemble (and it is magic – I promise you). Here’s the thing: in music, stuff happens: a cue gets missed, a reed breaks, the brass cacks (Sorry, Brass). There’s not much we can do other than recover as quickly as possible (and pretend it never happened). While I believe that musicians should always aim for the highest standard, there’s always going to be something to improve, so we have to draw a line in the sand and call it good enough. After all, the whole point of what we’re doing is to share the music. So, please, if you are able, share in the music and do your best, as you always do. I am confident that we are all ready for this performance.

See you at 6:30 pm on Wednesday!

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.

Ah, half notes.

The problem with half notes that we see them and immediately think: Aah! a lingering peace from the hustle and bustle of the black ones!

But that is a lie. It’s a vicious, vicious lie, because what half notes really tend to do is drag. us. down. Down to the bottom of the ocean in muck, where we get sucked down beyond salvation – we’re all just lobsters. Hopeless, cold, lonely, lobsters. Or maybe clams. Nope – too happy. Lobsters it is.

What we really need to be thinking is this:
Half notes = High alert

Playing half notes an incorrect length – it’s usually too long (except in Bolero – there you’re probably cheating the note value) – really throws the whole band off. We all want to play together. It hurts us all – and our audience’s ears – when we don’t! But, I’m right – even when I’m wrong, I’m still right. You MUST follow me. I am your (plural) safety net and I can’t help anyone if you’re going all rogue and independent on me.

It is every single person’s responsibility to pay attention to whether they are with the rest of the band, and if you (singular) are not, it is your job to get back on track as quickly as you can. How, you may ask? Well, start by looking at the crazy lady at the front who’s waving and dancing. She’s trying to help. Honest. Also, listen to what’s happening around you – if your note sounds wrong (as in, not what you usually hear) you’re likely playing your half notes too long, so you’re probably a bit behind everyone (except in the aforementioned Bolero – in that case, you’re probably close to a full bar ahead).

In most cases, half notes are not the most interesting thing happening, so they should be approached with a certain sense of reservation. However, when they are played dynamically appropriately – not overpowering the melody – and shaped in relation to both the structure of the melody and their own pattern, they not only support the melody, but enrich it. (A side effect is that you will likely make me cry from the beauty of it. That might actually be a good game to play: can we see Elizabeth’s tears today? For my part, I’m not ashamed that beautiful music makes me weep, so consider the gauntlet thrown!)

Bear in mind that music has to flow forward – even longer notes have to have some sense of direction (either building towards something or pulling away from it). There is always a musical momentum. You may have noticed that I am prone to playing fast and loose with respecting tempo markings. This is generally a conscious choice on my part to help you find the natural internal motion of the piece (most pieces have a sweet spot for tempo where it’s easiest to feel that momentum).

One way to help you find the momentum is to look for anacruses (pick-up notes) within your line. Trust me, they are there – even if you have whole notes. Firstly, figure out where the line is going – what’s the most important note of the phrase? Then it’s a matter of determining what leads to that note – is it a step-wise motion or does it jump around a bit? (There are other hints that can help as well, but they would require a much more intense lecture on Music Theory than I am prepared to give today. If you have questions about a specific line, please feel free to email me with some details so I can look it up, or speak with me before/after/at rehearsal break and we can talk then). Incidentally, this sort of analysis works at a meta level (where is the whole piece going?) as well, which is something that I do as part of my role (in case you were in doubt that I think about these things at 11:00 pm on a Saturday night when I should be asleep).

So, to tie all this chatter together for you, here are the main considerations when approaching half notes:
– Keeping time – this means subdividing your counting, feeling the eighth notes (if it’s moderate to slow pace) or quarter notes (if it’s in cut or a quicker pace), and placing your notes carefully in time.
– Supporting – this means playing sensitively, balancing dynamic level across the band so as not to overpower the melody, and ensuring that there’s coverage (i.e. no unwritten gaps in the sound).
– Shaping – this is about knowing the direction (often slight dynamic variation within a short section) of your line and how it relates to the melody. Shape your phrase in awareness of how the interactions should happen – your own shaping should support and enhance the piece and shouldn’t ever be at the expense of the melody line.

As always, I’m happy to talk about this in more detail if you have any specific questions or concerns.

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.

Once again, thanks to everyone for a very productive rehearsal this week! It’s all coming together nicely, and I feel very confident that we’re ready for our very first gig of the season – on July 19!

Since Wednesday is a dress rehearsal, there will be a variation in our pattern. Our warm-up will be a bit shorter than usual. We will still sight-read a piece, but we’ll do shorter scale work and try to jump into phase 2 fairly quickly.

Phase 2 of rehearsal will be to run the tentative concert program (coming up momentarily!) with only minimal spot-checking where I can’t possibly avoid saying something. I hope that will take us to shortly after the break.

The final phase of our rehearsal will be to review and perhaps do some work on the pieces we’re working on for later performances.

Without further ado, here is the tentative concert programme (IN THE CORRECT ORDER – I’ll publish a final version after rehearsal in case we need to make any corrections):

11 – Cartoon Symphony
9 – Arabian Dances
2 – Michelle/Eleanor Rigby/Yesterday
1 – The 80s
58 – Les Miserables
40 – Windjammer
17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik
63 – Hallelujah
(22- The Stripper – spare – if time requires)
36 – Space and Beyond

Phase 3:
59 – Super Mario
64 – Bolero
25 – Blue Orchid
4 – Standard of St George

This is also our last rehearsal before – what I affectionately call – The Gap. Yes, we’re already there. I can’t believe it either! So, I’ll see you on Wednesday the 12th, we’ll have a concert on the 19th, and then I won’t see you until August 9. Bummer.

Please note that we have confirmed August 26 for Victoria Beach! (The website pages have been updated to reflect this).

I hope to see most of you on Wednesday!

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.

Since the publisher was not kind enough to give you insight into what you’re playing when, here’s a list of where songs appear in The 80s:

Bar 1 – One Moment in Time (Whitney Houston)
Bar 8 – 12 – previews of Somewhere Out There & ET
Bar 13 – Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
Bar 19 – Bad (Michael Jackson)
Bar 31 – Material Girl (Madonna)
Bar 50 – segue into Somewhere Out There (Linda Ronstadt/James Ingram)
Bar 65 – Don’t Worry Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin)
Bar 87 – segue into Flashdance (Irene Cara)
Bar 107 – Uptown Girl (Billy Joel)
Bar 115 – Physical (Olivia Newton-John)
Bar 133 – Faith (George Michael)
Bar 151 -Memory
Bar 165 – Olympic Fanfare and Theme
Bar 174 – segue into Chariots of Fire
Bar 184 – The Phantom of the Opera
Bar 202 – That’s What Friends are For (Dionne Warwick)
Bar 214 – We Are the World (Live Aid)
Bar 223 – Theme from ET

Here is a list of pieces that I am reasonably certain will make up our first concert on July 19:

1 – The 80s
2 – Michelle/Eleanor Rigby/Yesterday
9 – Arabian Dances
11 – Cartoon Symphony
17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik
36 – Space and Beyond
40 – Windjammer
58 – Les Miserables
63 – Hallelujah

Again, this week’s rehearsal was SO good! We’re starting to really click together as an ensemble! You are all doing really great work, and I’m so excited to hear all the growth that’s happening. I could single out every single one of you for the contributions you make.

I’m especially pleased because you are all now transferring tidbits from one piece to another – listening to the balance, bringing out interesting inner parts, shaping your part, making room for other sections to shine. These are skills that fall under “general musicality” – they apply to everyone (regardless of ensemble size or instrumentation) and they elevate your playing no matter the level of technique (it’s doing these things that make a technically easy piece sound beautiful and not “phoned in”). “Hallelujah” is not a hard arrangement, and this week, you all put every ounce of musicality you could into it by doing the above things. It was so moving and beautiful that, well, it moved me very nearly to tears. I guarantee, if we perform it like that, it will do the same for our audiences.

On deck for our next rehearsal will be (again, in no particular order):

1 – The 80s
9 – Arabian Dances
11 – Cartoon Symphony
17- Eine Kleine Rockmusik
40 – Windjammer
58 – Les Miserables
59 – Super Mario Brothers
63 -Hallelujah
64- Bolero

I’ll be setting up a list of our concert repertoire and a breakdown of songs in The 80s under separate cover – it will be easier for you to find them in the future!

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.

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.

I’m putting these in a dedicated spot so they’re easier for you to find!

I recommend that you take some time to refer to these over the summer in order to help you get a feel for the direction I’m hoping our pieces will take.

Super Mario Brothers – Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra

Windjammer – Robert Buckley

Bolero – Ravel (arr. Jay Bocook)

Hallelujah – Cohen (arr. Michael Brown)

Space and Beyond – John Moss

Happy playing!

Elizabeth.