Rondos Rehearsal Notes – March 27

Great sounds tonight, gang! Thank you for all the work you’ve put in, and thank you for speaking up about what’s not working and how I can help; I really appreciate that you’re invested in the music and honest about what you need. I don’t have a whole lot of notes for you below. Just keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s working!

Seating for April 3 rehearsal (left to right):

Front row – two flutes; Leslie, Rajiv, Stephanie, Dale, Mary
Middle row – two flutes; alto saxes; horns
Third row – tenor sax; bari sax; tuba; trombones; trumpets

And I Love Her

  • Clarinets from measures 1-4, double-check this rhythm (e.g., listen to the recording) and emphasize the syncopated notes (notes that occur on off-beats, i.e., not landing on beats 1, 2, 3, 4).
  • Everyone at measures 11, 21, 57, when almost the whole band plays in rhythmic unison (almost all parts are playing quarter notes together), put a little accent on each quarter note, and a little tiny bit of space between the notes – make them bounce more.

Allegretto

  • This piece has a slow, slow build to the climax in measure 75 – feel and play the suspense!
  • When we land at measure 91, the group dynamic is still a strong forte (f), but we will start to recede our sound – as if the band were getting farther away from the audience – at measure 92, until the piano (p) at measure 98.
  • I will conduct last two measures in 4 (instead of 2) – look up!!

How to Train Your Dragon

  • Percussion at measure 93 – you can lead this crescendo! Make it dramatic!
  • Low brass, bass at measure 106 – you can lead this crescendo! Make it dramatic!

Oy Vey Como Va

  • Good run-through! We’ll start with this one next week, so we can polish some things up. In the meantime, have a look at measures 5-8 (especially measure 8!), and measures 49-52 (especially the new rhythmic figures in flutes, trumpet).