Hello Bytown Band Musicians,
In this email:
- Dates to Note: CONCERT DEC. 7 schedule and Dinner Event Dec 13
- Note and tips
- Lost music stands
- John is creating a list of emails to share.
1. Reminder: NO Rehearsal Tuesday, Dec. 6!
(Why not get together with a fellow musician or section and practice for an hour?)
Wednesday December 7 at 7:00pm:
Dress: All black, with a hint of festive sparkle if you wish (jewelry, tinsel, scarf, tie, socks, shoes?)
4- 4:30 Eat a plain, energy rich, light dinner (sandwich, small pasta dish with tuna, etc). Milk and spicy foods should probably be avoided.
5:00 p.m.: Stage set up Gary and Barry, plus four volunteers from two other bands. (Six other volunteers will do pack up) PLUS all percussionists on hand to help
5:30 musicians arrive at DC and drop of food/juice donation in the kitchen by entrance.
Assemble, warm up, store your cases and coats in Woodside Hall behind the black curtain at the back of the room, but plan to leave valuables at home, with your fans in the audience, or wear a small purse onstage.
5:50 On Stage! (Warm up, tuning, checking tempo, beginnings and endings)
6:30 Leave stage for bathroom, water
6::55 take your place on stage (a bit earlier if you are in the middle!)
7 pm Bytown Beginners perform
7:15 move offstage (large instruments can be taken out and left in Woodside Hall – quiet off stage, please) and sit with your fans or with Bytown friends, enjoy the rest of the concert! Each band will perform for 15 minutes, with a brief 10 minute break for the Jazz Bands to set up (around 8:20)
9:00 – 9:40 Reception following the concert for musicians, family, friends
We also need two or three helpers for setting up the food between 5:45 – 7 (Not musicians! – maybe your significant other, or a mature high school student looking for volunteer hours?) Please let Cathy know by email.
Tuesday, December 13: Dinner at Mama Theresa Ristorante 6-8pm, 300 Somerset St W (at O’Connor). Over 40 musicians from Bytown Beginners and Elgin Encores have reserved a seat! We have a private room upstairs. Thank you, Sue and Gary, for organizing this joint event for the Tuesday bands!
2.Practice wisely! You may be tempted to put in more time on your instrument. In music, as in sports, it takes time and regular training to be in shape for the performance events. Keep your practice to a maximum of a half hour at a time, and sip water between each piece. You can practice two or three times a day if you wish, but make sure to take a break between sessions.
You have worked hard, you are well-rehearsed and prepared, so relax and enjoy the performance! Your best is good enough! That said, a professional musician friend says “When in doubt, leave it out”. If you hear you are not right in sync with the band then drop out and watch the conductor and your music. Look and listen for a place where you feel confident to get back into the music.
This week, we rehearsed in the Sanctuary and in Fellowship Hall. When playing in new locations with different acoustics musicians can often hear parts that were not noticed before, which can be confusing. The Sanctuary really is a lovely acoustic, and the effect will be different next Wednesday at the concert, when there is an audience filling the space (and absorbing sound waves instead of the nice feedback that we experienced at our “dress” rehearsal – you may not be able to hear yourself playing, which can be disconcerting! Listen to the links, and also practice hearing the music and your part in your mind, as you go through each piece. As in the performance, picture yourself ”freezing” at the end of the piece, and lower your instrument quietly when the conductor’s baton is lowered. A big sigh at the end of the piece (is it relief or frustration at not playing it as well as you can?) is something to avoid.
- A couple of stands were left after the Wednesday Dress rehearsal, and a couple of stands went home with the wrong musician. Please check that you have your own stand.
- PLEASE EMAIL john.telner@gmail.com to let him know if you wish to be INCLUDED on the band list that will be circulated to all for the purpose of sharing email addresses within our band!
Happy Practicing….don’t overdo it!
Cathy and Felicia
