From Jim:

Thanks for a very productive rehearsal this past Tuesday.  As I said at rehearsal, this ensemble plays very well when it rehearses consistently, not so much when attendance is scattered.  So please make every effort to be at every rehearsal.  

That said, we have some challenges in that regard going forward that we need to prepare for. 

There will be no rehearsal on February 28.  I’ve known of a conflict for Brian for some time and the person I had in mind to sub, (who knows much of this literature) recently let me know that they were not available.  There is too much literature on this concert to bring any other colleague in.    

The March 7 rehearsal is at Wakefield HS in the band room.  This is due to a choral concert at W-L. 

Finally, there is no rehearsal April 4 due to APS Spring Break. 

Mark your calendars and keep practicing!

A note from Jim:

“After further thought, it seems that without a rehearsal in the theater, we need a brief sound check on stage at 7:00 PM, before the concert, to perform our best. Please arrive in enough time to be seated on stage and ready to play by 7:00 PM. We will exit the stage at 7:15. Dress is black formal. See you at rehearsal on Tuesday.”

Hi all, I made a Facebook event yesterday for next week’s concert, just in case you want to share with or invite family, friends, coworkers, enemies*, or the world at large:

Concert: American Band Music

*they might like our music too! You never know.

Don’t forget rehearsal tonight is at Kenmore Middle School at 7. Park in front, come in through the front doors. See you there!

If you’re a woodwind player, please be at rehearsal at the usual time. We will be working on Southern Harmony.

Brass and percussion should come at 7:50, not 7.

From Jim: “I am having trouble getting the door adjacent to the parking deck unlocked. I will attempt to have a member waiting at the door to let you all in. If that fails, you will have to go to the front door.”

The front door Jim is referencing is Door 1 on the Stafford Street side of the building, closest to the football field and the gym.

1) Tomorrow (9/20) and next Tuesday (9/27), we will rehearse at Kenmore Middle School instead of W-L. Kenmore is located at 200 S. Carlin Springs Road, which is essentially the corner of Route 50 and Carlin Springs. If you’re driving down either road, you can’t miss it.

Jim says “Park in front of the school. Enter through the main door, walk forward to the main hall and turn left. Go past the theater and take the hall to the right. The band room is towards the end to the left.”

2) Don’t forget to register for the band through Arlington Community Learning if you’re a returning member or are a new member Jim has explicitly invited to join us this season.

If you have not discussed playing with us this season with our conductor, do not sign up through APS — please email the website administrator to be put in touch. Due to space constraints and to ensure balanced instrumentation, we may have an existing waitlist for your instrument.

Great to see everyone at rehearsal last night! As Jim noted, there are some scheduling conflicts in the next couple of weeks that mean we can’t use our usual space at W-L for rehearsal.

Next week (9/20) and the following week (9/27), we will be rehearsing in the band room at Kenmore Middle School.

See you there!

Reminder: the first rehearsal of the new ACB season is this coming Tuesday, September 13! We’ll be at W-L, but Jim notes there are some scheduling conflicts with our usual space in coming weeks so he’s working on alternate locations.

From Jim:

“If you missed rehearsal last night, you do not have a ticket to get into the concert hall. Mason staff require a ticket to enter the back stage area. You will have to pick it up from me. Remember we meet for rehearsal/warm-up at 7:00 p.m.”

If you’re ticketless, please check your email for Jim’s phone number and get in touch with him ASAP.

Additionally, for party planning purposes, please email Jim as soon as possible with your name and number attending so he can get an accurate head count.