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Hi everyone. HUGE CONGRATS on a very successful concert on Sunday!!! I look forward to debriefing in person this Sunday (11/20).

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RECAP (November 10, 11, 12, 13)

• We had a busy week with our weeknight/Saturday additional rehearsals and our Sunday sound-check and concert. Despite some attendance challenges, we managed to have efficient and productive rehearsals that were conducive to a fun, dynamic, passionate and engaging concert.
• REMINDER: don’t forget to practice what we did in the last rehearsal during the first half of your week. Then, after Tuesday, you can focus on what we’re doing at the next rehearsal.

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NOTES ABOUT PART ASSIGNMENTS / SEATING AUDITIONS

There will be no seating auditions to define part assignments for our January 8 concert.

Winds/brass: There are 5 short films in this concert, so we will have a rotation similar to the YCP pieces from our fall term, where everybody gets to play different roles (1st, 2nd, or tacet). I will be creating part assignments in the coming days.

Tutti: please keep an eye out for an e-mail tomorrow or Friday with a seating chart for our January concert.

There *will be* seating auditions to define part assignments for our March concert. The due date for these short video auditions will be Wednesday, January 11. The audition excerpts will be announced in the coming weeks.

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REHEARSAL PLAN FOR 11/20

(see below in red for percussion)*

• Debrief on 11/13 concert
• Watch Eric Carle short films (January 8 concert)
• Listen to Jennifer Higdon “Cold Mountain Suite” (March 2023 concert)

— break —

• Project Back Pocket!! (2 volunteers)
• Read through Pirates of the Caribbean
• Read through 2 of the Eric Carle pieces

* PERCUSSION ON 11/20

Percussionists:
– You will be with the full orchestra the whole time this week.

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Thank you, and happy practicing!

Dr. G. 

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Hi everyone! It’s concert week!! I’m excited to work together this week for a thrilling concert on Sunday.

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REHEARSAL RECAP (11/6)

• In the first half of rehearsal, you worked with guest conductor Deanna Tham on sections of the 1st and 4th movements of the Dvořák Symphony.
• In the second half, we worked together on movements 3, 1, and a bit of 4.
• REMINDER: don’t forget to practice what we did in the last rehearsal during the first half of your week. Then, after Tuesday, you can focus on what we’re doing at the next rehearsal.

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REHEARSAL PLAN FOR CONCERT WEEK

(see below in red for percussion)*

Thursday, November 10 – 7pm-9:30pm

@ The Madeleine Catholic School – 3240 NE 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97212

• Dvořák, Movements 2 and 1
• YCP: Mississippi Delta Reel, Minuet

Friday, November 11 – 7:00pm-9:30pm

@ The Madeleine Catholic School – 3240 NE 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97212

• Dvořák, Movements 3 and 4
• YCP: Waltz in C# Minor, Swinging 60’s, Courante

Saturday, November 12 – 2:00pm-5:00pm

@ The Madeleine Catholic School – 3240 NE 23rd Ave, Portland, OR 97212

• RUN-THROUGHS: YCP (no percussion)
• RUN-THROUGHS: Dvořák (no percussion)

Sunday, November 13 – call time 5pm

Please, please, please be on time. We have VERY limited rehearsal time on stage. The call sheet is here if you need to reference it, though you should have a hard copy and you may also find it on the website.

* PERCUSSION ON CONCERT WEEK

Percussionists:
– You will be with the full orchestra on Thursday and Friday evenings.
– On Saturday, you have your MYSticks concert. You will not be at the Symphony Orchestra rehearsal. Instead, please show up at your call time (3:30pm at the latest) at the concert venue (Rose City Park Presbyterian Church) for MYSticks set-up, soundcheck and concert. Call Sheet for Saturday here.
– On Sunday, please get to the Schnitz at 4:45pm to be ready to help unload the truck and set up the stage right at 5pm.

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Thank you, and happy practicing!

Dr. G. 

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Hi everyone! I hope you had a fun Halloween. Great rehearsal on 10/30. Recap below.

REHEARSAL RECAP (10/30)

• In the first half of rehearsal, we rehearsed Waltz in C# Minor and Mississippi Delta Reel. These are our final parts, so please mark them up for yourselves and practice. We will continue work in our last few rehearsals to get everything up to tempo.
• Then, we did some very detailed work on the trio and coda of the 3rd movement of Dvořák. Next time we play this movement, we should clean up the transition between the scherzo and the trio, with a very gradual, imperceptible tempo adjustment.
• After the break, we took a few minutes to write on index cards for Nancy Ives, and Project Back Pocket.
• Finally, we worked on the 1st movement of Dvořák
• REMINDER: don’t forget to practice what we did in the last rehearsal during the first half of your week. Then, after Tuesday, you can focus on what we’re doing at the next rehearsal.

REHEARSAL PLAN FOR SUNDAY 11/6

(see below in red for percussion)*

4:00pm-5:30pm – Dvořák, select spots in movements 1 and 4 (guest conductor: Deanna Tham, pictured below).

— break —

5:45pm–7:00pm – Dvořák, Mov. 2 and 4

* PERCUSSION ON 11/5

Percussionists:
4:00pm-5:30pm: MYSticks repertoire rehearsal downstairs
5:45pm-7:00pm: full orchestra
Please make sure to GET THERE EARLY SO YOU CAN BE SET UP IN TIME FOR OUR 4PM START! I would recommend getting there at 3:30pm at the latest. Hopefully you can do some pre-setting up upstairs, then head downstairs for MYSticks, then come back up at 5:45pm.

LOOKING AHEAD: CONCERT WEEK!

• Please double-check you have our weeknight and Saturday rehearsals on your calendars!!
• Thu 11/10 and Fri 11/11, 7pm-9:30pm; Sat 11/12, 2pm-5pm
• Soundcheck rehearsal and concert on 11/13 as per the call sheet.

Thank you, and happy practicing!

Dr. G. 

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Dear MYS Symphony Orchestra,

Wow! You made me very proud in the way you worked with Oregon Symphony Music Director Laureate Carlos Kalmar. WAY TO GO! Sounded great. He was very impressed.

REHEARSAL RECAP (10/23)

• In the first half of rehearsal, we read Margot Pullen‘s untitled first draft. This is already a very detailed score, with wonderful textures and colors. We will perform this piece in our March 2023 concert.
• We also rehearsed 3 out of the 5 YCP Dances for our current program: Courante, Minuet and Swinging 60’s. These are our final parts. Please add this music to your practicing (with a particular focus on getting things up to tempo).
• After the break, we went over the 4th movement of Dvořák, and then you worked on it with Carlos Kalmar.
• REMINDER: don’t forget to practice what we did in the last rehearsal during the first half of your week. Then, after Tuesday, you can focus on what we’re doing at the next rehearsal.

REHEARSAL PLAN FOR SUNDAY 10/30

(see below in red for percussion)*

4:00pm-4:10pm – Project Back Pocket. No wheel-spinning, but I would love to hear 2 or 3 people, including winds, brass or percussion on Sunday! Also, keep it EASY, short (1 min), simple and effective. The goal of this is not to show off your chops, but to connect with a diverse audience.

4:10pm-4:45pm –  YCP: Waltz in C#, followed by Mississippi Reel.

4:45pm-5:30pm – Dvořák, Mov. 3

— break —

5:45pm-5:55pm – write on index cards for Nancy Ives

7:00pm – Dvořák, Mov. 1 and maybe 2.

* PERCUSSION ON 10/30

Percussionists: you’ll be with the full orchestra the entire time this Sunday. Please make sure to GET THERE EARLY SO YOU CAN BE SET UP IN TIME FOR OUR 4PM START! I would recommend getting there at 3:30pm at the latest.

LOOKING AHEAD: 11/6

• OMG IT’S CONCERT WEEK!! As I mentioned already, please double-check you have our weeknight and Saturday rehearsals on your calendars!!
• Thu 11/10 and Fri 11/11, 7pm-9:30pm; Sat 11/12, 2pm-5pm
• Soundcheck rehearsal and concert on 11/13 as per the call sheet.

Thank you, and happy practicing!

Dr. G.