For your convenience, and for you to add to your parts, please see the reference list below. Please add measure numbers to the left at the beginning of each line in your part.
Format: [Rehearsal Number]. [Measure Number]
(movement 1) m.11
m.27
m.55
75
103
125
153
177
209
237
261
280
297
313
337
353
(movement 2) m.9.
m.24
39
55
71
87
105
112
122
137
148
(movement 3) m.43
m.65
83
122
150
180
214
256
288
326
368
394
Presto: 426
Maestoso: 431
Risoluto: 459
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Bain News Service, publisher – Library of Congress
Thanks for a solid read-through of most of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on Sunday 11/17, as well as a great first pass at Frazar Henry’s Seas of Glass. Below is our rehearsal plan for Sunday 11/24, plus a link to our friend Richard Kolbell’s photos from our 11/10 concert.
Rehearsal Plan for Sunday, November 24
4:00pm-5:00pm – Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 – finish reading the 3rd movement, from reh #34 to the end. PLEASE PRACTICE THE SECTION that starts at #34. Metronome goal is half note = 126.
5:45pm-7:00pm – Dvořák, Violin Concerto (movement 3) – no soloist
Add bar numbers to EVERYTHING (and your name too)
Please make it a habit to write your name on each of your parts, and add measure numbers at the beginning of each line. This is good for everything you play, ever, now and forever 🙂
Bonus: this post with reference measure numbers for Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2.
Come support MYS colleagues at Oregon Symphony masterclass this Saturday (11/23)
Leena Karmarkar and Elizabeth Shen will perform in a masterclass by OSO guest soloist Vadim Gluzman. Saturday, November 23 from 10:30am-noon. Location: 851 SW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97204 – 1st floor – entrance is on the corner of SW 6th and Taylor.
Photos by Richard Kolbell from 11/10 concert
Richard Kolbell’s photos can be accessed below. If you use any of the photos for any purpose (social media, websites, etc), please be sure to credit him (e.g. “photo by Richard Kolbell).
If you misplace your parts and need to print replacements, or need access to PDFs for any reason, you may go to our Online Music Library to find digital files of everything we’re playing.
We have Thanksgiving weekend off. But please do practice! Remember this is a shorter concert term compared to our other 3 concerts, and we have a long break for the holidays. Individual preparation is key.
Happy practicing,
Dr. G.
MYS Symphony Orchestra | Photo by Richard Kolbell, Nov 10, 2024
Excellent work with David Danzmayr on Sunday. As I mentioned, he was impressed and I was proud of you. I hope you felt proud of yourselves as well.
This is the home stretch before our concert on Sunday, November 10th: the season opener for our 50th Anniversary Season. Please do practice at home, and be strategic with how you spend your time. I know you’re all very busy with school and other extracurriculars. Make sure to get enough sleep too.
Recap of Sunday and plans for the whole week are below. Please make sure to arrive by 6:45pm for each of our upcoming evening rehearsals.
RECAP of 10/27 rehearsal
Tchaikovsky with David Danzmayr.
Crain-Keddie’s Innamorata: letter [R] to end.
Mazzoli: letter [U] to end of piece.
Beethoven: we were only able to work briefly on the introduction.
Rehearsal Plan for Thursday, 11/7
6:45pm arrival
7:00pm-8:20pm: Beethoven
8:20pm-8:30pm: break
8:30pm-9:30pm: Mazzoli
Rehearsal Plan for Friday, 11/8
6:45pm arrival
7:00pm-7:45pm: Crain-Keddie’s Innamorata
7:45pm-9:00pm: Tchaikovsky (with 10-min break somewhere in the middle)
Thank you to everybody who submitted auditions for this season’s Concerto Competition. All the submissions showed hard work and talent. It wasn’t easy to narrow it down for the final round on November 1st. Below are the finalists (in alphabetical order by last name) and one alternate finalist.
Leah Almeida (cello) – David Popper, Hungarian Rhapsody for Cello
Tai Friel (trombone) – Ferdinand David, Concertino for Trombone and Orchestra
Ciela Heiles (bassoon) – Henri Tomasi, Bassoon Concerto, Mvt. 1
Soren Holbrook (viola) – Cecil Forsyth, Viola Concerto in G minor, mvt. 1
Leena Karmarkar (violin) – Antonín Dvořák, Violin Concerto in A minor, mvt. 3
Kaden Prichard (clarinet) – Carl Maria von Weber, Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, mvt. 3
Alternate finalist: Rowan Furrer (cello) – Joseph Haydn, Cello Concert No. 2 in D Major, mvt. 1 (performs on 11/1 if a finalist is unable to participate)
————————
Congrats to all! The rest of us: let’s make sure to mark our calendars for Friday, November 1st at 7:00pm at The Madeleine at 3123 NE 24th Ave, Portland, OR 97212. Come support your friends!
Dr. G.
Ian Ko, cello – one of the winners of the MYS Concerto Competition 2023-2024
Very good rehearsal on Sunday (10/20). Good work all around. This coming Sunday (10/27), we’ll be two short weeks away from the concert. It’s time to kick into high gear. Also, a reminder that David Danzmayr, Music Director of the Oregon Symphony, will visit our rehearsal and will conduct Tchaikovsky on Sunday, 11/3.
RECAP of 10/20 rehearsal
Group photos!
Innamorata, from the beginning to letter [D]
Tchaikovsky, from K to the end.
Beethoven: whole piece
Rehearsal Plan for Sunday, October 27
4:00pm-4:30pm – Elishiya’s piece Innamorata [D] to end
4:30pm-5:15pm – Mazzoli: whole piece
5:15pm-5:30pm – break
5:30pm-7:00pm – Tchaikovsky (entire piece, in preparation for 11/3 David Danzmayr visit)
Concert dress check make-up
If you didn’t wear your concert clothes last Sunday, please remember to wear them to rehearsal this Sunday. You may bring clothes to change into after you get your concert attire checked and approved by Group Managers.
Reminder: LISTEN to our repertoire constantly
It’s always a good idea to find several different versions of each of the pieces we’re playing. Add them to your regular listening rotation. You can always start with the recordings that I’ve shared on the sidebar of this blog. The more variety you find, the more informed your own performance will be.
Extra/replacement parts on the MYS website
As always, you can find practice PDFs or print your own replacement parts on your Online Music Library. The password is playmys.
I enjoyed our rehearsal on Sunday, October 6th. By the time we get to our next rehearsal (this Sunday, 10/13), we’ll be less than a month away from our first concert. Please continue planning your practicing very strategically, so that concert week is enjoyable and not stressful.
RECAP of 10/6 rehearsal
We read the first draft of Elishiya Crain-Keddie‘s piece Innamorata. Thank you for your great reading and very valuable input for the composer. We will hand out the final parts this Sunday. The next rehearsal of this piece will be on Oct. 20.
We worked on Missy Mazzoli‘s Orpheus Undone. We worked backwards from the end of Part 1 back to letter [X]. Good work on this. Keep practicing!
SECTIONALS
Woodwind sections worked on Mazzoli and Tchaikovsky as needed.
Strings, percussion and brass worked with me on Tchaikovsky, focusing on the following sections:
Q to U
508 to end
J to K
M to 367 (playthrough only)
Rehearsal Plan for Sunday, October 13
4:00pm-4:45pm – tutti: Part 2 of Missy Mazzoli‘s Orpheus Undone
4:45pm-5:15pm – tutti: Tchaikovsky (entire piece)
5:15pm-5:30pm – break
5:30pm-7:00pm – Beethoven!! (entire piece) — we need to make a ton of progress on Beethoven. Please practice and listen to recordings!
Reminder: LISTEN to our repertoire constantly
It’s always a good idea to find several different versions of each of the pieces we’re playing. Add them to your regular listening rotation. You can always start with the recordings that I’ve shared on the sidebar of this blog. The more variety you find, the more informed your own performance will be.
Reminder: Concerto Competition
The webpage for our Concerto Competition is now live. You’ll find all the information you need, including deadlines, rules and forms. The registration deadline is Monday, October 14. Video entries are due Friday October 18.
Extra/replacement parts on the MYS website
As always, you can find practice PDFs or print your own replacement parts on your Online Music Library. The password is playmys.
————————
Happy practicing,
Dr. G.
MYS Musicians photographed by Sheepscot Creative | September 2024
Thank you to Mr. Adam Eccleston, who subbed for me on Sunday 9/15. I don’t expect to miss any more rehearsals! We will begin sectionals this coming Sunday, and will have them for the next three weeks in different combinations.
Rehearsal Plan for Sunday, September 22
4:00pm-5:30pm: Work on Missy Mazzoli‘s Orpheus Undone, Part 1: Behold the Machine (O Death).
5:30pm-5:45pm: break
5:45pm-7:00pm: SECTIONALS on Tchaikovsky. All sections should aim to cover the following passages:
Allegro giusto (m. 112) to m.164
Letter K to m.285
Letter L to m.307
Letter O to m. 368
Letter S to Letter U.
Sectional split for 9/22:
Violin 1
Violin 2
Viola
Cello/Bass
Winds/Brass/Percussion – Tchaikovsky (whole piece) with Dr. G.
LISTEN TO “Orpheus Undone” as you practice for Sunday
Please listen to the whole piece and follow along with the full score. Here’s Part I and here’s Part II. As you read above, we’ll focus on Part 1 this coming Sunday (9/22). You can also find links on the side bar in this page (or at the bottom if on mobile).
Concerto Competition
A reminder that the MYS Concerto Competition will be earlier this year. Pieces must be approved by me (e-mail me with questions). They should be 10 minutes or shorter. More details will be e-mailed in the coming days.
Friday, October 18: videos due for preliminary round (accompanist required)
Friday, November 1st (evening): final round (with live audience)
Extra/replacement parts on the MYS website
As always, you can find practice PDFs or print your own replacement parts on your Online Music Library. The password is playmys.
Program Note for “Orpheus Undone”
Orpheus Undone, an orchestral work commissioned in 2020 by the Chicago Symphony, is an exploration of two brief moments in the Orpheus myth – the moment that Eurydice dies, and the moment that Orpheus decides to follow his lover into the underworld. Constructed of two connected movements, Behold the Machine, O Death and We of Violence, We Endure, this work explores the baffling and surreal stretching of time in moments of trauma or agony. The movement titles come from Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus and this work uses small fragments of material from my 2019 ballet Orpheus Alive.
-Missy Mazzoli
————————
Happy practicing,
Dr. G.
MYS Symphony Orchestra Musicians photographed by Mike from Sheepscot | September 2024
4:00pm-5:30pm: Tchaikovsky, Romeo & Juliet: beginning to letter [K] (goal tempo for fast passages for now: quarter note = 112)
5:30pm-5:45pm: break
5:54pm-7:00pm: Beethoven, Leonore Overture No. 3: Allegro (m.37) to m. 272. Goal tempo for now: half note = 100)
Optional Leadership Auditions due Thursday, 9/12
If you’re interested on principal chairs, solos, or just want to show me your progress for future assignments, you’re welcome to send me a 3-minute video of your current best playing by the end of Thursday, 9/12. I will update our seating charts based on these optional auditions. Send your links to rgomez@playmys.org with the subject line “Leadership Audition.”
PDFs for “Orpheus Undone” now on the MYS Website
As always, you can find practice PDFs or print your own replacement parts on your Online Music Library. The password is playmys.
Missy Mazzoli’s Orpheus Undone is now on the online PDF library.
Please listen to the whole piece and follow along with the full score. Here’s Part I and here’s Part II.
Program Note for “Orpheus Undone”
Orpheus Undone, an orchestral work commissioned in 2020 by the Chicago Symphony, is an exploration of two brief moments in the Orpheus myth – the moment that Eurydice dies, and the moment that Orpheus decides to follow his lover into the underworld. Constructed of two connected movements, Behold the Machine, O Death and We of Violence, We Endure, this work explores the baffling and surreal stretching of time in moments of trauma or agony. The movement titles come from Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus and this work uses small fragments of material from my 2019 ballet Orpheus Alive.
I hope you had a wonderful summer. Welcome back to returning musicians and welcome to new members of MYS Symphony Orchestra!! Also, congratulations again to those of you who were part of our Spain and Portugal tour.
I typically send e-mails to the orchestra on Tuesdays. These e-mails include specific rehearsal plans for the following rehearsal. This information allows you to strategize your practicing so you’ve already learned your individual parts by the time you get to rehearsal.
We’ll talk about this and more topics on Sunday. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the posted rehearsal time.
Rehearsal Plan for Sunday, September 8
4:00pm-4:45pm (approx.): Introductions, welcome message, information about season, etc.
4:45pm-5:15pm: Listen to repertoire together
5:30pm-5:45pm: Break
5:45pm-7:00pm: Read Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet
Temporary Seating Chart for this Sunday
A temporary seating chart can be found here (or on the sidebar of this webpage)
Percussionists: We’ll have assignments by Sunday.
Optional Leadership Auditions due Thursday, 9/12
If you’re interested on principal chairs, solos, or just want to show me your progress for future assignments, you’re welcome to send me a 3-minute video of your current best playing by the end of Thursday, 9/12. I will update our seating charts based on these optional auditions. Send your links to rgomez@playmys.org with the subject line “Leadership Audition.”
Practice PDFs on the MYS Website
You can always find practice PDFs or print your own replacement parts on your Online Music Library. The password is playmys.
This message is for string players. I’ve updated our seating roster to include rotations for each of our 4 concerts, whenever possible. Please click the button below.
