Dear Senior Symphony,
Hello, Senior Symphony! Woohoo!
I hope that today finds each of you doing super well! You are each wonderful, and I hope you find a way to share your light with others today and through the weekend.
Yikes. A few of you still need to communicate your Senior Symphony Attendance Plan. This is a “late assignment” at this point, so please get this to me before Sunday.
We have a TON of music to prepare, so we all need to spend some quality time on this music before Monday. The schedule and repertoire are just below. Please do the work right now so that we have a lighter load and more musical experience as we inch toward our first concert next month! Use your metronomes, tuners, and the recordings below for help.
Your Welcome Concerts were just fantastic—you really made an impression. I heard this from one String Orchestra parent:
“I joined in to watch the Senior Symphony put on a welcome concert for String Orchestra kids, and oh boy, was that impressive. It was an honor to see these older students present their experience to younger musicians with poise, humility, and compassion. Everything the students AND Carter said related so well to these younger students. The personal stories about where Senior Symphony students go to school, when they started in MYSO, and what they are getting out of their time with us…it was all so meaningful. The repertoire was incredible too! I drove home three String Orchestra kids, who were just buzzing with excitement the whole ride. They couldn’t believe that Senior Symphony only had 4 rehearsals, and they all loved the music played. They even daydreamed out loud about one day being in Senior Symphony together, leading their respective sections.”
Also, here is a link to last season’s Violins of Hope in Concert video. I hope you will take some time to watch it and listen to the stories, too. There is also a great directory in the section just below the video.
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
