[back to blog home]

---

COUNTDOWN before concert (as of Tuesday, November 7):

5 days!

---

Hi everybody,

Great work on Sunday. CONCERT WEEK is here!! Our evening rehearsals leading up to the concert are extremely important. Please practice very strategically this week, and if you’ve already let me know that you can’t make one or several weeknight rehearsals, PLEASE practice EXTRA hard. A few important announcements below.

• We now have (truly) final parts for the YCP piece. I’ve also bowed the string parts. We’ve simplified some rhythms here and there, added some missing details (trills, etc), clarified dynamics, and fixed some enharmonic spelling issues. We will hand out hard copies of these new parts on Thursday evening. However, if you’d like to download or print a practice part before then, you can find them here.
• The week after our concert (Sunday, November 19), rehearsal will be for STRINGS ONLY. That’s WIBC weekend, so too many winds/brass/percussion musicians will be missing anyway. This will also be the first rehearsal for new repertoire for our January 9 concert. PDF parts will be distributed in advance.
• On Saturday evening (our final rehearsal before Sunday), YCP staff will bring recording equipment to rehearsal to record Music for an Imaginary Cartoon. This will be our backup recording in case something unexpected happens on Sunday at the Schnitz.

---

Recap: 11/05/23

• 4pm-5:35pm: YCP
• 5:50pm-7:00pm:
  • Mussorgsky
  • Dukas
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid

---

Rehearsal plan for CONCERT WEEK

(subject to change! check this page for latest information)

Thursday, 11/9, 7:00pm-9:30pm

• 7:00pm: Totoro
• 7:20pm: Dukas
• 8:15pm: break
• 8:30pm: Beauty and The Beast
• 9:00pm: Little Mermaid

Friday, 11/10, 7:00pm-9:30pm

• 7:00pm: Poor Unfortunate Souls (with Zach)
• 7:20pm: Music for an Imaginary Cartoon
• 8:15pm: break
• 8:30pm: Mussorgsky
• 9:00pm: Dukas

Saturday, 11/11, 7:00pm-9:30pm

• 7:00pm: Music for an Imaginary Cartoon (recording!!)
• 7:30pm: Totoro
• 7:45pm: Mussorgsky
• 8:00pm: Beauty and the Beast
• 8:15pm: break
• 8:30pm: Little Mermaid
• 8:45pm: Poor Unfortunate Souls (no Zach)
• 9:00pm: Dukas

Sunday, 11/12, call time @ Schnitz: 5:00pm

• Consult Call Sheet here.
• 5:30pm-6:20pm: soundcheck rehearsal on stage
• Concert order:
  • Mussorgsky
  • Music for an Imaginary Cartoon
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Mermaid
  • Souls
  • Dukas
  • Totoro

---

Season Schedule

Consult our season schedule here.

---

On The Media

• “‘Music has to fill the soul and be fun’: The future of the industry with MYS and Raúl Gómez-Rojas”
• MusicWatch Monthly: Sounding Together (preview of our concert)
• Listen to MYSfits play live on the radio (performance at All Classical on 11/2)
• FOX12 coverage of our upcoming concert, with emphasis on “Music for an Imaginary Cartoon:”

---

Happy practicing and see you Thursday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

---

COUNTDOWN before concert (as of Thursday, November 2):

10 days!

---

Hi all!

Thanks for a productive rehearsal last Sunday. Please see below for a recap and rehearsal plan for this Sunday (11/5). We have a lot to get done!

---

Recap: 10/29/23

• 4pm-5:00pm: Beauty and the Beast
• 5:00pm-6:15pm: Little Mermaid
• 6:15pm-6:45pm: work on Poor Unfortunate Souls
• 6:45pm-7:00pm: Totoro

---

Rehearsal plan for 11/05/23

If you didn’t wear your concert dress last Sunday, please do it this week. If you need to, consult page 8 of the Student Handbook for attire guidelines.

• 4:00pm-5:00pm: YCP piece (Music for an Imaginary Cartoon)
• 5:00pm-5:30pm: Dukas
• 5:45pm-6:15pm: Mussorgsky
• 6:15pm-6:40pm: Beauty and the Beast (268 to end)
• 6:40pm-7:00pm: “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid.

---

Weeknight rehearsals coming up!!

Our pre-concert weeknight rehearsals are coming up. These are extremely important, so make sure they’re on your calendar (Thursday 11/9, Friday 11/10, Saturday 11/11).

Consult our season schedule for details.

---

If you missed it last week, check out this article about MYS on Oregon ArtsWatch

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

P.S. MYSfits will be live on the radio today (11/2) at 3pm. Tune in! – www.allclassical.org or 89.9 in Portland.

[back to blog home]

---

COUNTDOWN before concert (as of Tuesday, October 24):

19 days

---

Hi all!

I was very pleased with our rehearsal on Sunday. Keep up the great work!

It’s 19 days before our concert.

Please make sure to practice “Music for an Imaginary Cartoon” now that we have our final parts. String section principals: please add bowings this week.

---

Recap: 10/22/23

• 4pm-5:15pm: we read and worked on the final version of “Music for an Imaginary Cartoon.” We discovered some issues in the parts, particularly between [B] and [C]. Expect some kind of insert for this section.
• 5:15pm-5:40pm: read-through of Dukas (mostly good!!) and some work on this piece.
• 5:50pm-6:30pm: work on Poor Unfortunate Souls
• 6:30pm-7:00pm: Totoro

---

Rehearsal plan for 10/29/23

Concert dress check!!! If you need to, consult page 8 of the Student Handbook for attire guidelines.

• 4:00pm-4:45pm: Beauty and the Beast
• 4:45pm-5:30pm: The Little Mermaid
• 5:45pm-6:15pm: Mussorgsky
• 6:15pm-6:45pm: Poor Unfortunate Souls (with Zach Galatis!)
• 6:45pm-7:00pm: Totoro

---

If you missed it last week, check out this article about MYS on Oregon ArtsWatch

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

P.S. In case you missed it, click the photo below to watch a clip on KGW8 about the Oregon Symphony’s recent concert with Common, which I conducted (and am still starstruck about)

[back to blog home]

---

COUNTDOWN before concert (as of Tuesday, October 17):

26 days

---

Hi everyone!

Really great rehearsal on Sunday. I was very pleased with the progress we’re making on Mussorgsky and Dukas. We’re done with sectionals for the term. From now on, it’s all tutti work until our concert.

This Sunday, we’ll hand out parts of the final version of Music for an Imaginary Cartoon, and we’ll start rehearsing the piece. Please read on.

---

Recap: 10/15/23

• Tutti: excellent work on Mussorgsky (read-through, detailed work [W] to end, and beginning to [M]-ish.)
• Sectionals: woodwinds with coaches on Dukas, and strings/brass/percussion with me: [32] to retenu after [40] and [47 to 56]

---

Rehearsal plan for 10/22/23

• 4:00pm-5:00pm: Music for an Imaginary Cartoon (final version)
• 5:00pm-5:30pm: Dukas
• 5:30pm-5:45pm: break
• 5:45pm-6:30pm: Poor Unfortunate Souls
• 6:30pm-7:00pm: Totoro

---

Finally, check out this article about MYS on Oregon ArtsWatch

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

Hi everybody! We are now essentially a month away from our concert. By now, you should have had individual practice sessions of the entire repertoire. If you haven’t, please catch up ASAP!
We only have 4 more Sunday rehearsals before the concert. Individual preparation is crucial.

---

Recap: 10/8/23

• Tutti: First read-through of YCP’s Music for an Imaginary Cartoon
• Sectionals: brass worked with their coaches, and the rest of the orchestra worked with me on The Little Mermaid and Poor Unfortunate Souls.

Rehearsal plan for 10/15/23

4:00pm-5:30pm:

• Tutti minus percussion: Mussorgsky
• Mr. Schlossman with percussionists

5:45pm-7:00pm:

• Last week of sectionals for the term. Please focus on Dukas.
  • Flutes
  • Oboes
  • Clarinets
  • Bassoons
  • Strings, brass and percussion with me.

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

Hi everybody! I missed seeing you on Sunday. I’m grateful to Mr. Castro and our sectional coaches for their work with you (I was away for my sister’s wedding). Below is our rehearsal plan for 10/08/23.

---

Recap: 10/01/23

• Tutti work with Mr. Castro on Mussorgsky
• Percussion work with Mr. Schlossman
• String sectionals with string coaches (Dukas)
• Winds, brass and percussion sectional with Mr. Castro (Dukas)

Rehearsal plan for 10/08/23

4:00pm-5:30pm:

• Reading session of YCP piece “Music for an Imaginary Cartoon.”
• Mr. Schlossman with percussionists
• Hard copies of the first draft of this piece will be distributed right before rehearsal. Please make sure to get there at 3:45pm!!

5:45pm-7:00pm:

• Sectionals!!! Focused on The Little Mermaid and Poor Unfortunate Souls
  • French horns
  • Trumpets + trombone
  • Percussion
  • Strings + woodwinds with me

NOTE: Please take an especially detailed look at rhythm in the “Under the Sea” portion of Little Mermaid.

---

Part Assignments

Up-to-date part assignments can be found by clicking on the link on the sidebar on the right (or the “quick links” towards the bottom of the page if you’re on mobile).

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

Hi everybody! I cannot believe we’re almost at the end of September already!! Below is a recap of Sunday 9/24/23, as well as our rehearsal plan for 10/01/23.

A reminder of my recommended practice strategy:

• Between our Sunday rehearsal and whenever you get my weekly e-mail (usually Tuesdays), practice what we worked on in the last rehearsal.
• Between Tuesday and the following Sunday, practice what we will be doing in that next rehearsal.

---

Recap: 9/24/23

• Hisaishi: we listened to our reference recording, read the whole piece and did a little work.
• Beauty and the Beast: we listened to a reference performance and “Belle” from the original Disney animated movie. We read the whole piece and did a tiny bit of work.
• Dukas: #[38] to end of piece, with some light work.
• Mussorgsky, H to end of piece, with some light work as well.

Rehearsal plan for 10/01/23

4:00pm-5:30pm:

• Detailed work on Mussorgsky (with Giancarlo Castro D’Addona, guest conductor)
• Percussion with Mr. Schlossman

5:45pm-7:00pm:

• Sectionals!!! Focused on Dukas
  • Violin 1
  • Violin 2
  • Viola
  • Cello + bass
  • Winds/brass/percussion together

NOTE: Please also start practicing The Little Mermaid Suite and Poor Unfortunate Souls!

---

Concert Cue Volunteers

• Thank you to those of you who volunteered to annotate pieces on Concert Cue for our November concert. I’ll be in touch to schedule a “training” session (on Zoom). In the meantime, feel free to start researching the pieces, or listening to recordings and finding your favorite moments that you would like to highlight in real-time.
  • Mussorgsky – Dana
  • YCP – composers
  • Beauty and the Beast – Alice
  • Mermaid – Liam
  • Poor Unfortunate Souls – Violet
  • Dukas – Kate
  • Hisaishi – Aidric

---

Part Assignments

Up-to-date part assignments can be found by clicking on the link on the sidebar on the right (or the “quick links” towards the bottom of the page if you’re on mobile).

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

Hi everybody! Below is a recap of Sunday 9/17/23, as well as our rehearsal plan for 9/24/23.

Also, here’s my recommended practice strategy:

• Between our Sunday rehearsal and whenever you get my weekly e-mail (usually Tuesdays), practice what we worked on in that last rehearsal.
• Between whenever you get my e-mail and the following Sunday, practice what we will be doing in that next rehearsal.

---

Recap: 9/17/23

Music work

• Dukas: read until 38
• Dukas detailed work:
  • beginning to 6
  • 7 after 28 to 38 (working backwards)
• Mussorgsky: read until H
• Mussorgsky Detailed work:
  • Beginning to C

Individual and common goals

• You wrote down 3 individual goals for you and 3 group goals for the orchestra. We split into small groups to discuss and share.
• I’ll compile all the common goals into a single document.

Concert Cue Volunteers

• Thank you to those of you who volunteered to annotate pieces on Concert Cue for our November concert. I’ll be in touch to schedule a “training” session (on Zoom). In the meantime, feel free to start researching the pieces, or listening to recordings and finding your favorite moments that you would like to highlight in real-time.
  • Mussorgsky – Dana
  • YCP – composers
  • Beauty and the Beast – Alice
  • Mermaid – Liam
  • Poor Unfortunate Souls – Violet
  • Dukas – Kate
  • Hisaishi – Adric

---

Rehearsal plan for 9/24/23

4:00pm-5:30pm:

• Read Hisaishi
• Read Beauty and The Beast Suite

5:45pm-7:00pm:

• Dukas: #[38] to end of piece
• If time allows: Mussorgsky, H to end of piece

---

Below is the information that I shared two weeks ago, for your convenience.

MYS Symphony Orchestra Schedule of Services, 2023-2024

• Please take a few minutes to review the PDF linked below, and add all rehearsals and concerts to your personal and family calendars. Click the thumbnail to download the PDF.
• All rehearsals will be at All Saints Church and School at 601 NE Cesar Chavez Blvd.

---

Season + Tour Repertoire

You can check out this season’s repertoire by clicking the thumbnail below. I’m very excited about everything we’re playing. This document is subject to changes, but it will likely stay this way.

---

Part Assignments

Up-to-date part assignments can be found by clicking on the link on the sidebar on the right (or the “quick links” towards the bottom of the page if you’re on mobile).

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

Hi everybody! Great to see you for our first rehearsal last Sunday. It was a wonderful start to the year. Also, congratulations to MYSfits on a FANTASTIC performance at the Schnitz before the Yo-Yo Ma/Oregon Symphony concert. I keep hearing wonderful feedback about our performance. Thanks to those of you who showed up to support. It meant a lot seeing you there!!

I’m sharing my rehearsal plan for next Sunday (9/17/23) below. Please be sure to prepare (i.e. practice between now and Sunday and learn your individual part before rehearsal). Additionally, I’m asking you to volunteer to annotate one of the pieces this season for ConcertCue. Finally, I’m keeping content from my previous e-mail below for your convenience (schedule, repertoire, part assignments, etc).

---

Rehearsal plan for 9/17/23

• 3:45pm – arrival, warm-up
• 4:00pm-5:30pm – Dukas, beginning to rehearsal #38
• 5:30pm-5:45pm – break
• 5:45pm-7:00pm – Mussorgsky, beginning to letter H
• 7:00pm-7:05pm – put room back together

---

Updated audio/video reference for Dukas & Mussorgsky

I updated the reference videos for both pieces on the sidebar (or down below under “Quick Links” if you’re on mobile). These performances match the original score that we’re playing. I will also create a separate post with the Disney Fantasia videos, where the pieces are cut and edited for the animations.

---

Calling for Concert Cue Volunteers

If you’re interested in volunteering to annotate one of our pieces this season for Concert Cue, please send me an e-mail.

We’ll work together to create the annotations and craft an informative and engaging experience for our audiences. This counts for volunteer hours if you need them at school, etc.

---

Below is the information that I shared last week, for your convenience.

MYS Symphony Orchestra Schedule of Services, 2023-2024

• Please take a few minutes to review the PDF linked below, and add all rehearsals and concerts to your personal and family calendars. Click the thumbnail to download the PDF.
• All rehearsals will be at All Saints Church and School at 601 NE Cesar Chavez Blvd.

---

Season + Tour Repertoire

You can check out this season’s repertoire by clicking the thumbnail below. I’m very excited about everything we’re playing. This document is subject to changes, but it will likely stay this way.

---

Part Assignments

Up-to-date part assignments can be found by clicking on the link on the sidebar on the right (or the “quick links” towards the bottom of the page if you’re on mobile).

---

Happy practicing and see you Sunday!

Dr. G. 

[back to blog home]

Hi everybody! Welcome back if you were with us last year, and a giant WELCOME if you’re new to Symphony Orchestra this year. We have a very exciting season ahead of us, ending with an international tour to Spain and Portugal, which I hope all of you can join.

This is just an introductory message about rehearsals, concerts and repertoire.

---

MYS Symphony Orchestra Schedule of Services, 2023-2024

• Please take a few minutes to review the PDF linked below, and add all rehearsals and concerts to your personal and family calendars. Click the thumbnail to download the PDF.
• All rehearsals will be at All Saints Church and School at 601 NE Cesar Chavez Blvd.
• You’ll note that our first rehearsal (Sunday, 9/10) will be shorter: 4pm-6pm. The reason is that MYSfits will perform at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall at 7:00pm for an Oregon Symphony Prelude Performance before Yo-Yo Ma’s concert. I’d like to encourage everybody to go to the Schnitz to support MYSfits. No tickets are needed for this performance. It will take place at the lobby of the Schnitz between 7pm and 7:20pm.

---

Season + Tour Repertoire

You can check out this season’s repertoire by clicking the thumbnail below. I’m very excited about everything we’re playing. This document is subject to changes, but it will likely stay this way.

---

Part Assignments

Part assignments for all pieces will be communicated next week. Look for an e-mail from me on Tuesday.

---

MYS Orientation

Look for an e-mail from our office with information about our general orientation session via Zoom on Wednesday 9/6 at 7pm.

---

Concert Cue!

After our very successful introduction of Concert Cue for real-time program notes delivered to audience cell phones during our May concert (with Elaina Stuppler’s piece), we are excited to introduce Concert Cue for all Symphony Orchestra performances this year. We will be enlisting volunteers to create the interactive program notes for most pieces. More about this later, but I hope many of you will volunteer to create the content for a piece (or a movement) this season. It’s super cool.

---

That’s it for now. More soon!!

Dr. G.