La Celebracion!

So, I've raved in the blog so far about Russian Christmas Music. I've touted about The Irish Dragoon. If I haven't explicitly said it, I'm also stoked about the Shostakovich Symphony 5 Finale (which is the opener, by the way). The music on this program is great.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, it did. I saw John handing out parts to our oboe friends for ... wait for it... H. Owen Reed's La Fiesta Mexicana.

I thought I had heard John mention this (awesome) piece while he was hinting at what might be on the fall concert for 2009 (theme/name: Milestones, by the way). But, then it wasn't in the folders. Turns out this will be the smaller ensemble piece.

I will be playing on it, and am super excited and honored. But now I am seeing the massive amount of music in the folder and am realizing I need to work on my steel lip. Some of the concert is technically challenging, but I think overall it is going to be more of an endurance test. Which, if I were still in college, and practicing 2 - 4 hours a day anyway, would be easy peasy.

But alas, I'm a "big kid" now and a job, and an apartment to keep tidy, and a fiance to spend time with, and obligations, blah blah blah. I'm boring you. However, I did decide I am going to have to commit to 30 minutes of practice per day to ensure I'm "in shape". It's just like working out. Overtime you get stronger. :)

And again, I'm so excited to play this concert, I don't want to bring my "B" game. "A" game it has to be! Wish me luck.

Sousa - and NOT a march?!

Who would have thought I'd be playing a Sousa - that's right - as in John Philip Sousa piece that isn't a march?!

Sousa is "the march king", but he also wrote some operettas.  We're working on The Irish Dragoon - one that was never actually produced.  Rumors have it that it was likely because of libretto problems. 

As you might suspect from the title, the majority of the piece is (Irish) jig-like.  It also has some slower sections, that are love songs from the intended show. 

I'm having a great time with the piece so far.  Looking forward to sharing it with you on November 22nd! 

Below are some photos (taken with my phone) from rehearsals.  As you can see, it's kind of dark in there.  We're rehearsing on the floor in front of, rather than on the stage.  Something to do with lots of desks and chairs stacked up there that can't be moved yet.  So, it's been fun.  I really should get a stand light one of these days...

It's not a slop-let, it's a triplet

The title of today's post is John's funniest quote from last night.  I'm sure there were some other zingers, but that one was so entertaining, I actually wrote it down.

For those of you who read music, you know that a triplet looks like this:

The trumpets were practicing a part together, and rhythmically, it wasn't quite there.  So, in an effort to really get the best effort out of them, John says, "It's not a slop-let, it's a triplet."  We all had a good laugh, and just like you'd expect them to do - they eventually nailed it.

But, we all go through our paces of being called out like that (as sections or individuals).  It's part of the rehearsal process.

Overall, I think things are going pretty well for this concert.  There's a lot of GREAT music.  I think it will be an enjoyable concert to perform or to attend. 

Christmas is coming early this year

Well, kids - you heard it here first.  Christmas is coming early this year - at least for the Knightwind Ensemble and anyone attending our fall concert (Theme: Milestones).  That's right.  Christmas is coming early because Alfred Reed's Russian Christmas Music is on the program.


I first played this piece in college, with the St. Olaf Band (hi, Dr. Mahr!).  Thanks to the tradition of the band playing the chapel service during Christmas Festival, I got to play it four times.  I'm certain those four times changed my [musical] life. 


This piece has beauty.  It has grace.  It has glory.  It takes you through many emotions during its 15 minutes.  But it is something everyone should experience.


Now that I've been out in the real world, I'd like to think, that even though I don't play clarinet professionally, my playing has matured a bit since college.  So, I am very excited to play Russian Christmas Music again, through a different "musical lens", if you will.  I mean, quite frankly, after college, you find it hard to believe you'll ever play with a band of that caliber again.  And you'll never get to play that type of repetoire again.  But, with Knightwind we get both.  An ensemble of great players and great music. 


So, we read through it last night, and we have a way to go with it.  But it was still the highlight of last night's rehearsal for me, and glorious in its own way.  :) 

Let's get it started!

Rehearsals for the 2009 - 2010 season start tonight! I am very excited to see what our maestro has instore for this program. He hinted in the spring that it would be amazing, so I am definitely looking forward to checking out the folders.

Please keep checking back here for my thoughts on how things are shaping up. And, don't forget to check out the Knightwind website for concert details and more!

Counting down the hours... more to come after the first rehearsal! Whoo hoo!