This is a bit of a read but it is time for a short history lesson. When I took over the band seventeen years ago, I just continued with the rehearsal schedule that had been established. As the band grew and the quality of musicians increased, we continued with the same amount of rehearsals, year after year. That was a minimum of seven (December) and a maximum of twelve for the preparation of every concert. That was until our concert a couple of years ago with the Carrollton Winds, where the calendar only gave use five rehearsals to prepare the music and perform in a joint concert with another community band in the Dallas area.
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I approached this with a small bit of trepidation. And what happened? The day of the second rehearsal, the north Houston area received over ten inches of rain. Everything was flooded and rehearsal cancelled. I am now thinking we only have four rehearsals to prepare the concert and my apprehension level increases significantly. So what happened? Two weeks later, Houston experienced a derecho, a wind storm that toppled high tension steel power lines, debris everywhere, some roads impassable. Everyone needed to be safe and I told people to take care of what they needed to, but come to rehearsal if they felt they could safely do it. Some could not get out of their subdivisions. About 50% of the band was able to show up.
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My trepidation is approaching “Danger, Will Robinson” levels. We went to Carrollton and performed with three and a half rehearsals and the concert was another amazing musical experience. A paradigm shift crashed into me. Oblivious to the exceptional quality that the band now contained, we did not need twelve rehearsals to prepare a concert anymore. For the next season, the year of the homeless band, I scheduled six rehearsal for each concert. At the end of the season, I asked for your input and there were two points that most everyone agreed on. You wanted less really hard music for a concert and thought that there should be more rehearsal preparation.
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This is your band and I want what you want so we have less really hard music this season and increased from six total rehearsals to six rehearsals plus the dress rehearsal for each concert. Which brings me to the point I want to address.
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Attendance for this concert has been really good in many sections. I realize that everyone has life outside of the band and there will be times where family and work events will require that you miss a rehearsal. As always, I only ask that you make every effort to attend as much as you can so that all can feel prepared and give the best concerts possible. There is a HUGE difference between missing 1/12 and 1/6 rehearsals. If you need to miss, please inform your section leader ahead of time. That may affect what I prepare and plan to rehearse. As always, I am the luckiest person to be able to stand before you every week and make music. I had no idea that I would be doing this at this point in my career. Thank you for what you give to the band. Each of you is very special. I will leave you with the SAT Word of the Day: Gestalt
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It is a German word that means the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and I don’t know of a better description of why “band” is so special/unique.
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Here is the order of music for the rehearsal on Thursday:
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ANGELS IN THE ARCHITECTURE
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