This week there are two candidates for the Director of Bands position coming to campus for interviews and auditions. Some woodwind and brass players from symphony will be playing for these conductors while the strings and I rehearse the Mahler. All woodwinds and horns please report to room 140 today prepared to play/read Gounod Petite Symphonie. Check the bulletin board and website for changing infomation. I encourage all of you to go to the student drop-in sessions. Candidate #1 will meet with students in the Foo Family lounge today at 2pm.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Concert Competition!
- Sean Frendenberg, alto saxophone – Ibert, Concertino da Camera
- Nattapol Tantikam, piano – Liszt, Piano Concerto #1 in E-flat Major
- Clarissa Osborn, clarinet – Copland, Clarinet Concerto
- Kelly Quesada, cello – Dvorak, Cello Concerto in B minor
Everyone who performed did a marvelous job, and I know the judges faced a difficult decision. A special congratulations is extended to our symphony members who also played in the finals (Sarah Pyle, Joe Ready and Margarite Waddell).
As members of an orchestra, we don’t happen to play “together” because we are in the same tempo, dictated by a conductor. Instead, we actually pay attention to each other, listen to whoever that has something to say, able to express ourselves because others would listen and allow you to speak. For example, the timpani does not start playing his part because he counted the correct number of blank measures, or because the conductor cued him. Instead, he continues the musical story that has been unfolding by others by knowing what has been told.
Violin I
- 1st mvt – letter P to end
- 2nd mvt – 1 after G to letter I, and 5 after letter O
- 3rd mvt – beginning to letter D
- 4th mvt – letter M to letter O
Violin II
- 1st mvt – letter P to end
- 2nd mvt – 1 after G to letter I, and 5 after letter O
- 3rd mvt – beginning to letter D
- 4th mvt – 8 after letter M to letter O
Viola
- 1st mvt
- 86-111
- 177-210
- 302-315
- 2nd mvt – 203-214
- 3rd mvt – 102-130
- 4th mvt – 21-37
Cello
- 1st mvt
- 175 to 193
- 293 to downbeat of 318
- 2nd mvt – 2 after G to H
- 3rd mvt – Beginning to letter C
- 4th mvt – 21 to 44
Bass
- 1st mvt
- I to 5 after K
- P to Q
- 4 before S
- 2nd mvt – opening and letter N
- 3rd mvt – G to 25 before H
- 4th mvt – 1 before D to a tempo ma tranquillo
Hello String Players!
There is a sign-up sheet posted on the Symphony bulletin board to sign up for a playing test time, for Sibelius #2. Times are on January 8 from 10am-4pm, and January 9 from noon-2:30pm.
Excerpts will be decided beforehand…these will be sent out asap, as soon as they are solidified!
Thanks! Have a great winter break!
Hello all, I came across this post and thought you might find it interesting. I remember that during my college years playing the trumpet, there seemed to be too much music too prepare. I often didn’t find much time to think about it. When I did, I probably over-analyzed. After all that is the academic thing to do, right? I think Rob Baldwin’s thoughts here are refreshing. Perhaps we can all find time over winter break to “curl up with a good symphony, or any other piece of music”
Curling Up With a Good Symphony
Posted on November 16, 2012
The concept of reading music is well-established. We learn to read music. We readthrough a piece. Sight-reading is a valuable skill for musicians. Reviewers praise a particular conductor or soloist’s reading of the score. All very well, but how often do we actually read the music; not merely learning notes with an instrument at hand, but actualREADING?
I encourage all musicians to spend some time with printed music away from an instrument, away from the nuts and bolts of sounding everything out (and analyzing the music to death as a starting point). There is certainly a time and place for this, but the life of the music must also be discovered, nurtured and remembered.
These days we usually first get excited about a piece of music by listening to it. Too often we jump immediately into learning it. We pick up our instrument and dive in. The problem is that, without mind time, we can quickly lose the enthusiasm that that initial hearing by trying to reproduce it. We need to look at the music through the eyes of both our intellect and imagination.
For me, the act of reading a score involves these two types of brain activity. I endeavor to read the same score both ways to achieve the desired result. Here’s the idea:
Reading music as non-fiction: This is looking at the craft of a composition: harmony, melody, phrase structure, form, rhythm. All can be seen on the surface and then more can be discovered as we dig deeper. This type of reading is like reading a technical how-to manual or a historical description of battles and political events. You see how something works, how it functions and how is fits in with the style.
Reading music as fiction: While we must do the above to understand a piece and present it to an audience, this “fiction” approach is by far my favorite. This is where the imagination soars, where I identify with the composer and define myself through the music. A musical score can be read as a novel, in time. The unfolding of events, all described by the non-fiction approach, become a vibrant, emotional story. The soul of the music is revealed.
Great music is like great literature or poetry. The deeper you dig, the more you discover about the BIG PICTURE. I consider this an important aspect of learning music. After these readings I will begin to mark my music and practice the tricky passages. When I get discouraged, or when the music loses immediacy, I simply curl up with the score and begin again. Like a great poem, I am always invited back inside.
Copyright, 2012. Robert Baldwin
I worked for hours on a slideshow of the Gershwin so that you could show your families during Thanksgiving. After five minutes into the piece, I got “iMovied out” and went with a static picture:)~ Maybe I’ll work on it later. Please check it out under “Listen and Watch”
Congratulations on a fine concert last night! People I spoke with loved the programming, and thought the concert was a great experience. As I said from the podium, I am very proud of your work during that short cycle. If we can keep and expand on that level of dedication, I have no doubt that we can add more concerts to our season in upcoming years. That means more repertoire and more opportunities for you. I hope you feel good about what you have accomplished and I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving break. You deserve it!
I want all of you to know how pleased I am with your work during this short cycle. The repertoire is quite challenging and since our first read two weeks ago, you have really stepped up. I also am impressed with your continued collaborations with each other before and after rehearsal. I am hearing of productive work done in sectionals, and delight in seeing you regularly work out issues during rehearsal. Bravo! Keep it up during this final stretch. Demand more, seek perfection in accuracy, pitch, rhythm, ensemble, style and enjoy the music making. I look forward to a great concert on Monday.
Please don’t forget to wear concert black to rehearsal tomorrow. FYI, we will likely spend more time on Gershwin then scheduled and less time on Brahms.
uosymphony 