Dear Senior Symphony,
Nice going!
What a beautiful concert! Thanks very much again to you and your parents for all the attention and work getting the orchestra moving with such excellence. After Monday’s concert for the String Orchestra students we get to rehearse the big stuff!
Do follow this link because I really need your 2026-27 Senior Symphony Attendance Plan – Fall Cycle….scroll down the member page and send me what you’ve got, please.
Again, our Welcome Concert performances have no special concert dress, just no shorts/jeans, and please dress a little “up.” Also, parents and family members shouldn’t plan to attend these due to the lack of audience room in Youth Arts Hall—though I won’t keep you from loitering nearby or sneaking in since there will probably be some very limited seating. : )
Monday, September 14
5:15: Report
5:30: Debussy, Fêtes & Concert Warm up
6:25: Break
6:35: Walk the String Orchestra musicians into Youth Arts Hall
6:45: Welcome Concert for String Orchestra
7:10: Williams, Close Encounters
7:50: Break
8:05: Holst, Mars and Jupiter
8:45: Rehearsal End
Monday, September 21
5:15: Report
5:30: Full Orchestra Instruction
5:45: Sectionals (90 minutes) (Debussy, Boulanger, Williams(?), Holst)
Brass with Mr. Sipe | Woodwinds and Percussion with Mr. Simmons | Strings, sectionals
Concertmasters, Principals, Section Leaders to coordinate as needed and lead/refine sections through necessary/difficult passages. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or concerns.
7:15: Break
7:30: Full Orchestra read Boulanger
7:50: Debussy
8:00: Holst (Mercury, Uranus)
8:45: Rehearsal End
Festival of the Spheres
Sunday, November 15 at Carroll University
Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Fêtes, Festivals) from Nocturnes 6’
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), D’un Matin de printemps 5’
John Williams (b. 1932), Close Encounters of the Third Kind 8’
Gustav Holst (1874-1934), The Planets, Op. 32 45’
- Mars, the Bringer of War
- Mercury, the Winged Messenger
- Uranus, the Magician
- Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
- Venus. Bringer of Peace
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
Remaining Rehearsals
- Monday, September 21
- Monday, September 28
- Monday, October 5: Guided Sectionals with Professional Musicians
- Monday, October 12
PERFORMANCE: Wednesday, October 14 Late Afternoon & Evening. WPR Classical Music Day for Radio at Bradley Symphony Center
- Monday, October 19
- Monday, October 26
- Monday, November 2
- Friday, November 6: 5:30-7:30 pm. Dress Rehearsal at MYAC
PERFORMANCE: Saturday, November 7, ~1pm: Play Your Part Performance, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center
- Monday, November 9
PERFORMANCE: Tuesday, November 10, 8:30 am-3:00 pm: Community Concert Day Performances
- Saturday, November 14, 3:00-5:30 pm, Dress Rehearsal at Carroll University (A change from MYAC)
PERFORMANCE: Sunday, November 15, 2:30 Sound Check at Carroll University: 5:00 Concert, Festival of the Spheres
