Since I missed this week's rehearsal and won't be able to tell you the play by play of what happened, I'll use this post to list all of the pieces we'll be performing at our upcoming concert.
Partita - Edward Gregson
Elegy for a Young American - Ronald Lo Presti
Lollapalooza - John Adams
Pictures at an Exhibtion - Modest Moussorgsky
The Padstow Lifeboat - Malcom Arnold
Can't wait to see you there, Sunday November 23rd, 3:00 pm @ Wisconsin Lutheran College's Schwann Hall
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
More goodness...
One of the gems on our upcoming concert is Malcom Arnold's March: The Padstow Lifeboat. Everything about it is charming. The tempo, the melody, and the big loud boat whistle noise the band gets to make together (ah, bonding).
John instructed us to be as obnoxious as possible with this boat whistle! I think it's a great way to blow off steam (hah, get it?) at the end of the day. AND, during the concert, it will ensure audience members stay awake!
Seriously, though, there's a victory at sea-ish part, a zippy little coda and overall a lot of charm. I can't wait to perform it!
John instructed us to be as obnoxious as possible with this boat whistle! I think it's a great way to blow off steam (hah, get it?) at the end of the day. AND, during the concert, it will ensure audience members stay awake!
Seriously, though, there's a victory at sea-ish part, a zippy little coda and overall a lot of charm. I can't wait to perform it!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
And the beat goes on...
Rehearsals continued this week and the mood is tense. Well, only when we work on Lollapalooza. So great that John chooses to end the rehearsal with this piece, so we leave with a catchy, singable tune in our heads Seriously, I think the piece does have potential, it's just hard to imagine it right now.
We also spent a good chunk of time working on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. This piece was originally written for piano, and is quite the showpiece for virtuoso pianists. There are also countless orchestral arrangements, and I think that's how many people have learned the piece (hearing the orchestral version).
Both of those things said, pulling off this piece, as a wind ensemble is going to be challenging. You have to do these famous pieces really well, or not at all.
We also spent a good chunk of time working on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. This piece was originally written for piano, and is quite the showpiece for virtuoso pianists. There are also countless orchestral arrangements, and I think that's how many people have learned the piece (hearing the orchestral version).
Both of those things said, pulling off this piece, as a wind ensemble is going to be challenging. You have to do these famous pieces really well, or not at all.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Let's get it started
Rehearsals for the 2008 - 2009 season started last night and it looks like it will be a great program. The only way John says we can sum up this program is with the word "pastische", which is a really fancy way of saying "hodgepodge".
We've got 12 rehearsals to put the show together (which is Sunday, November 23rd, 3:00 pm, at Wisconsin Lutheran College), and looks like we are going to need all 12. One piece in particular, John Adams's Lollapalooza is going to be the culprit that takes up most of our time. Adams is a minimalist who uses a lot of repetition, but then he tricks you and throws an extra rest in or changes a pattern ever so slightly! The result? A piece that's annoying to play during the first few run throughs, but after you get in a groove, probably sounds pretty cool. John said he'd heard it a couple of times and was just blown a way, so I guess it will get better.
As I was sightreading it, I felt as though my part was a mismash of technical etudes I should have spent more time on in college. I also made a mental note that I will need to spend much time with my part, my pencil and my metronome. Sadly, most of the music is new and still needs to be stamped with the Knightwind Logo, so we couldn't take our folders home to practice. :( Guess I'll have to wait a week for that quality counting time!
We've got 12 rehearsals to put the show together (which is Sunday, November 23rd, 3:00 pm, at Wisconsin Lutheran College), and looks like we are going to need all 12. One piece in particular, John Adams's Lollapalooza is going to be the culprit that takes up most of our time. Adams is a minimalist who uses a lot of repetition, but then he tricks you and throws an extra rest in or changes a pattern ever so slightly! The result? A piece that's annoying to play during the first few run throughs, but after you get in a groove, probably sounds pretty cool. John said he'd heard it a couple of times and was just blown a way, so I guess it will get better.
As I was sightreading it, I felt as though my part was a mismash of technical etudes I should have spent more time on in college. I also made a mental note that I will need to spend much time with my part, my pencil and my metronome. Sadly, most of the music is new and still needs to be stamped with the Knightwind Logo, so we couldn't take our folders home to practice. :( Guess I'll have to wait a week for that quality counting time!
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