Musical Musings

And then there were 4

2008-02-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

Four regular rehearsals, plus a dress rehearsal before the concert. No time to get sick or mess around!

We're diving into our new friends, Arpad and Istvan. It's going to take a few more read throughs to really understand the scope of this work. It's also all totally going to change when we get to the dress rehearsal - because there's quite a bit of piano, string bass, percussion and harp we're not hearing right now. However, what we do have, I must say I mostly like. The melodies are beautiful, and there are interesting sectional juxtapositions. I think the audience is going to love it.

We're also working on polishing the other pieces. We all had a good laugh this week while running through John William's Olympic Fanfare. It started with such vigor - valiant engergy. After the fanfare, it started to drag. John cut us off and I was like, "Why are we slowing down?!" Regardless of whether John heard me, that was the reason we stopped and everyone was thinking it. He said "We're slower, because the band is getting older..." We had a nice chuckle and tried it again. It was better. But I'm still not positive it remained at the tempo it should have. I also might have had one too many cups of coffee that day.

Arpad and Istvan have arrived!

2008-02-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while. I missed rehearsal on 1/30 due to a travel mishap. We all missed rehearsal on 2/6 because of the blizzard. The break might have been worth it, because we saved another week of waiting. That's right, when we returned this week, we part of what we'd been waiting for: two movements of Jan Van der Roost's Sinfonia Hungarica - 2. Arpad and 3. Istvan.

Before you get your hopes up, you should know due to unforeseen circumstances (that are too complex for this editor to get into), we will not be performing the first movement 1. Attila. It's slightly disappointing, but we're all going to have to get over it. Afterall, Arpad and Istvan have a lot to offer on their own. I can say that already, and we've only read them each once.

If you've ever been in a band, you know how sight reading goes. It's kind of like ice skating. You're unsteady at first, and although you're propelling yourself forward, there's no real ease or grace about it. You are generally tentative. After a few strides, you get a little more confident. But then, something comes in your path - a rough patch of ice, some kid that can skate circles around you, and you fall. With the music, instead of the rough patch of ice or kid that can skate circles around you, you encounter difficult technical passages, tempo changes, key changes, etc. Each one (potentially) throwing you off a little.

I have to say, it wasn't that bad. Yeah, we stopped along the way to regroup, make sure we were all in the same place, etc. We got a sense for each one - and in talking with my neighboring musicians, we think we're really going to like these pieces. I can't fully speak for the rest of the band, but I'm not sure these pieces are that technically challenging, but they are more what we like to call "lip busters". Lots of blowing. But again, I think we'll really enjoy them when they come together. And, almost more importantly, the audience is going to enjoy this concert.

The Wait Continues

2008-01-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

The first-half of the concert still isn't here. John has had some serious dialogue with the higher-ups, and they've promised it will be here in a few days. After a series of promises, though, John thinks it won't be here until Thursday of next week (1/24) - i.e. the day AFTER we rehearse. Nice. So, there's that...

We spent the majority of the first half of rehearsal on The Man Who Invented Music. It's going to be fun, because it features narration! and he tells her how he invented music. The music is charming, and full of little inside jokes that most everyone should get. You can read an article about the piece from a 1949 issue of TIME by clicking here.

The challenge right now is working out the timing. Poor John is reading the musical score, and the dialogue, and trying to make sure they sync up. They probably do in his head, but they'll likely change with the real live narrator. So, we've got to get to know it well enough to be flexible when the time comes.

The other major focus for the week was William Tell. We were a little sparse in attendance this week, and we still don't have any bassoons - so no opening solo. We made our way through from start to finish again, and then John gave us a taste of some real tempos that we need to strive for. The thing about these orchestral transcriptions for band - they don't get performed very often, because they have to be great. The melodies and the real tempos are too well known to fake any of it. If you're not true to the original, you know every discriminating ear in the place is saying, "Well, they tried". Every non-discriminating ear is saying, "I think I know that song..." Bottom line is, we know we need to work hard, and we will.

I'd personally like to give a shout out to fellow clarinetist - Mary. She rocked the treetops during the Allegro - all by herself! I'm surprised there weren't sparks flying out from her mouthpiece. Nice, nice!

New Year, New Attitude

2008-01-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

Well, we're back in rehearsals and it feels great! The program for the April concert is going to be a crowd pleaser. Very heroic. I'll give you more insights to that as the weeks progress. I've got to keep you reading this somehow ...

The most precious moment of the rehearsal for me this week was the very first downbeat (post-tuning). We started with "The Dam Busters" March (from the Associated British Picture "The Dam Busters"). John starts conducting, and after a beat or maybe two, cuts us off and says (slight paraphrase) "Uh, No." We started again, and it was good enough to move on, but it was quite funny.

Later on, during "The Man Who Invented Music", we got to the section where the trumpets are invented. John either let them finish, or stopped half way through (I can't quite remember...) and said, "Let's invent those trumpets again."

I thought to myself, "Wow, well, I guess John's New Year's Resolution for the band is to be harder on us. Or at least to be blatantly honest with us." I like it, though. It's good for us. It builds character.

In all seriousness, this program is looking to be quite good - and we only have the second half so far. We're still waiting for that piece from overseas - which will take up the whole first half of the concert! John is optimistic that it will be here for next week's rehearsal. It has to be, because it sounds like we don't have a plan b, and we need as much time to put this all together as possible!

In the meantime, you can check out a musical preview and the opening credits of "The Dam Busters" on YouTube.

Last Regular Rehearsal

2007-11-16T21:11:00.001-08:00

Well, this Wednesday was it. Our last rehearsal before the dress rehearsal. One last shot at polishing it up before we get into the actual concert hall. Because, if you've been with the (or a) band before, you know rehearsing in a band room is one thing, rehearsing on stage is another. Even if you've played that particular hall before, there is a whole new set of variables to get used to. You might have to back off on the forte dynamics (and in turn your piano dynamics), your staccatos might have to get crisper. It's just more things to be mindful of - on top of watching John, listening around the ensemble and nailing all of the technical passages.

Overall, I think we are in pretty good shape. I think all of us have been challenged with this concert - between the Sousa Symphony and Sidus. I don't know if any of us are like "Yes, we're going to nail this, and it's going to be perfect!" But, together we are making some really nice musical moments. It's like that teamwork poster on the right. :)

Hope to see you there on Sunday. Afterall, it's not any fun performing without applause coming back at us.

Repertoire

2007-11-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. I had to miss rehearsal last week, so I can't comment on what happened. So, I thought I'd use this post to list the pieces we'll be playing at our concert - Hands Across the Sea (not necessarily in this order).

The White Rose - Philip Sparke
Sidus - Thomas Doss
The Immovable Do - Grainger
Divertimento for Wind Orchestra - Jindrich Feld
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair - Debussy
Hands Across the Sea March - John Philip Sousa
Symphony on the Themes of John Philip Sousa - Mvt. IV, after "Hands Across the Sea" - Ira Hearshen

Should be a good one - we hope to see you there! And, if you haven't yet purchased your tickets, visit this page to find out how, and get $1 off!

Woodshedding

2007-11-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

So, we're working on hard on "woodshedding" (i.e. making sure things are very accurate, and attempting to add finesse) parts of the Hearshen (see previous post on Symphony on the Themes of John Philip Sousa). There's a tricky measure, where there's a lot of back and forth play between sections - beats one and three belong to one group of voices and beats two and four belong to another.

John has us work on it slowly - to make sure the notes all fall in line. It's the kind of thing you do over and over a few times and it gets better. But can you believe - the nerve! He wanted not only the right people to play at the right time (in tempo), but wanted all the right notes too! I might have mentioned this before, too, but there are accidentals all over this piece.

Speaking of accidentals, I'm starting to second guess myself with them. Sections I think I know, and I'm sure the F's are sharp and the B's are natural, suddenly I'm not sure. Oh vey.

I need to get my act together - and so do the rest of the woodwinds at 306! It sort of fell apart there this week when we worked on it. Instead of working us to death on it, John just trusted that it would work itself out. I hope he's right - for our sake and the audience!

My growing admiration

2007-10-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

One of the main works on the Fall program is Sidus, by Thomas Doss. Born in Linz, Austria, with both parents as professional musicians, he has been studying music since age 7. He's been composing since age 11.

I gotta say, the guy is good.

Sidus is growing on me, big time. Now, there are some non-traditional parts of this piece. Measures that are 'timed' in terms of seconds (eg 15-sec, 20 sec), rather than your traditional four-beats. There are also measures where the band sings, hisses (part reads "S___" and you say "Essssssssssssss"), shushes (part reads "Sh_____" and you say "Shhhhhhhhhh") and even whistle. It's different.

I think this was slightly intimidating to the ensemble at first, because we started rehearsing at this section with little to no context about the piece. But after a few times of running the whole thing down, it starts to make sense. Sidus has all the elements of a great film score - lush melodies, action-oriented musical sequences and brilliant fanfares. This piece changes character so many times over it's course, you might think it needs psychiatric care. But, I know it will have you on the edge of your seat.

You can hear a sample of Sidus by clicking here

Perhaps the composer said it best...
"Music makes us grasp our finiteness and glimpse at infinity. "

- Thomas Doss

Progress

2007-10-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

The 4th Movement of Ira Hearshen's Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa has proven to be quite challenging, and a pain point for most folks across the band. Looking at and listening to some of the challenging licks, we know this piece isn't an homage to the performers in anyway shape or form! But, we're persevering.

Aside: that's Mr. Hearshen on the left. I can't get over the fact that this is the guy who wrote music for Toy Story2 and a Bug's Life. Such nice, sweet movies. I'm sure the scores are challenging, but I'm not sure they are as challenging as this!

Last week, we started rehearsing at measure 250, which I had nearly forgotten about, because I was so concerned about 306 (more on that next week, I'm sure).

Even amongst the midst of sixteenth notes, sextuplets and boat loads of accidentals, I could hear things coming together. Not only are we getting more and more accurate (and faster - at least closer to the intended tempo), but we're paying attention to things musically.

In other news, we have another month to polish it up!
Our next concert: November 18th!

Welcome to Musical Musings

2007-10-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! My name is Heather and I'm a member of the clarinet section in the Knightwind Ensemble. I'll be using this space to share thoughts and perspectives on our rehearsals and general band happenings.

Hopefully this will give you a little insight into the amount of effort we put in to make this all look effortless during the performance! Our goal is to foster, encourage, and develop the appreciation of wind music in the community.

Check back for more details on how we're progressing. I might even share an inside joke or two from our maestro, John Steinke.

Countdown to concert: 39 days ... 6 rehearsals, including dress. :)