Welcome to Westport Community Band

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH IS OUR FIRST REHEARSAL

Monday, September 25th there will be no rehearsal

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Rehearsals are MONDAYS 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Bedford Middle School 88 North Avenue, Westport.

Directions 

September 4, 2023

Hail Fellow Band Members,

It’s that time of year again and fall is in the air. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer and are looking forward to another concert season. Sal has a couple of things in the works, and I am sure he is anxious to tell you about them during our first rehearsal on the 11th at 7:30. I hope you have all been mindful about monitoring your health, with COVID on the rise again with a new variant, the CDC is encouraging everyone to get a flu shot along with a COVID booster and a shot for that new pesky rascal RSVP. I’m sorry, I guess it's just RSV. My bad!!!  Anyway, get your shots, and let’s all stay safe.

Also coming up on Monday will be our annual board meeting. We will have a brief treasurer's report and an election of board members. There are six openings on the board and we have seven people running. Those running are, in alphabetical order;

 Peter Coleman - trumpet

 Nanette Jordan - Fr. Horn

 Elizabeth Lockhart - Bass Clarinet

 Carrie Parker - oboe

 Ken Pond - trumpet

 Ken Robins - Fr. Horn

 Jim Salvatore - Tuba

Each candidate will give a brief statement as to why they want to be on the board and what, perhaps, they may contribute. Ballots will be passed out and you will be able to choose six of the seven candidates. So, get those horns out and start practicing. I look forward to seeing you all next Monday the 11th at 7:30 at our first rehearsal.

Finè,

Bill

August 29th

Hello Members of the WCB!!!

I can't wait to begin another season, and from what I've heard that sentiment is pretty widespread!! The purpose of this note is to give you a head's up as to what you will be receiving from me in the coming days, along with a set of instructions that will apply to all of the music that will be coming your way. Most of the music that I will send to you will need to be printed out and placed in a binder, preferably before our first rehearsal on the 11th. 

1.  I will be sending out all of the parts of your section together. Please print out what your particular part is, 1st, 2nd, (3rd) and place them in a 2023-2024 binder. I will have all originals with me at Bedford each week but my preference is to leave those originals in storage and only use them when absolutely necessary. And as far as part assignments are concerned... If anyone would like to review their designated part please don't hesitate to contact me so that I can make potential adjustments. I will try to make these adjustments as they come to my attention and promise to find something that balances out the needs of the ensemble and your wishes.

2.  There will be pieces that we will be preparing this fall that may have been a part of a previous season's repertoire. These pieces will not be sent out again, but if you are new to the ensemble or have lost access to the titles included just let me know and I will send out the part immediately. I will identify the repeat selections when the new parts are sent out this week. 

3.  I am amazed at the suggestions of titles that were submitted to Bill this summer! To that end I have taken the liberty to include in this fall's repertoire a few of the most often requested. These include: "First Suite in Eb" by Holst, "An American Elegy" by Ticheli, and "Highlights from West Side Story" arr. Dutoit. There are so many more that I could have included and I promise to keep the list that you have suggested active!!

4.  Finally, As some of you know I am a visiting professor at Wesleyan University and the musical director of WesWinds, the Student/Community member wind ensemble at Wesleyan. Each year I reach out to any players who may be looking for additional playing opportunities to offer just that chance. Traditionally, community members make up about half of the ensemble and members from the WCB have been a part of WesWinds during the entirety of my appointment there in 2016. If anyone is looking for another chance to be in a wonderful ensemble, WesWinds may just be the ticket! We meet on Tuesday evenings in Middletown (about a 45 minute drive from my home in Fairfield) from 7:10 till 9:10. The music is always fun and rehearsals are never dull! Please feel free to write to me directly if you would like more information..

I am so looking forward to getting back together and making music with each and every one of you in a few short weeks! BUT.. a word of warning...  I am fully aware that my Buffalo Bills are playing the Jets that evening in the season opening Monday Night Football game... I will be recording the game and promise that anyone that spills the beans during our rehearsal will be guaranteed some punitive part reassignments... 

See you on the 11th!!!!

Sal

August 14, 2023

Greetings Fellow Band Members,

I hope that you are all having an enjoyable summer and are looking forward to our upcoming concert season. After an exciting season last year, it will be hard to top that outstanding experience, but I am sure Sal will surely try. Our first rehearsal is Monday, September 11th at 7:30 pm at Bedford Middle School. At the beginning of that rehearsal, we will hold our annual meeting.

This will be the first annual meeting that we have had in a number of years because of COVID. We will be trying to return to our normal procedure for annual meetings as they have occurred in the past. After the treasurer’s report, we will be holding elections for new board members. The board is made up of eleven members elected by the band. Each board member serves for two years and after that tenure, that member either steps down or runs for re-election. So that the board can continue running in a smooth fashion, 5 members will remain on the board at this time and will either step down next June or run for re-election at that time. 

Those members are;

William Elias

David Muller

Mark Goldenberg

Pam McLaughlin

Patty Gelineau

Six people will be elected for a new two-year term. Three people are stepping down at this time and are not seeking re-election.

Those members are;

Will Munro

Peter Flournoy

Anastasia Gussen

Three members are running for re-election.

Those members are;

Carrie Parker

Ken Robins 

Jim Salvatore

If you are interested in participating on the board, please submit your name to Mark Goldenberg no later than August 31st at pathwaysptl@yahoo.com. Those people interested in running will be asked to introduce themselves and speak for a moment as to why they are interested in joining the board.  After those introductions, a closed election will be held on a written ballot. There will also be an opportunity at that time for nominations from the floor.

Finè,

Bill

July 14, 2023

Fellow Band Members,

Coming up in September, we will be holding elections for board members. There are a number of openings that need to be filled so if you are interested in running for the board, please let us know so that you may be included on the ballot. So far, we have two members interested in becoming members and that is Peter Coleman and Ken Pond. Peter is a new member of the band this year and Ken is a returning member after a brief absence. The board meets on the first Sunday of each month during the concert season. We meet on Zoom so you don’t even have to leave your house and the meetings last approximately 30 to 45 minutes. We discuss concerns that any member of the band may have and decide as a group a direction for a resolution in the matter. Sal also joins us from time to time to apprise us of any concerns that he may have in regard to matters concerning the band. I must say that it is a rewarding feeling knowing that you are helping the band function to the best of its ability. So please, think it over and let us know if this sounds like something you might be interested in doing. More information on how to do that will be sent out soon.

One last note, if you have any thoughts or concerns in regard to next year’s concert season, please let us know so that those issues can be resolved or considered over the summer.  Once again, have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you next season.

Fine,

Bill

From Bill

A number of people have submitted a number of selections to be considered for performance this year. They are as follows;

Overture to "Candide" Leonard Bernstein

Polka and Fugue from 'Schwanda the Bagpiper' Jaromír Weinberger

Suite of Old American Dances Robert Russell Bennett

Themes from the Nutcracker Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Vientos y Tangos Michael Gandolfi

El Camino Real Alfred Reed

Pineapple Poll Arthur Sullivan

Slava! Leonard Bernstein

An American in Paris George Gershwin

Victory at Sea Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett

Crescent Moon Dance Akito Matsuda

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar (Arr. Slocum)

Aurora Borealis Rossano Galante

Procession of the Nobles Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Festive Overture Dmitri Shostakovich

American Civil War Fantasy Jerry Bilik

Blue Lake Overture John Barnes Chance

American Overture  Joseph Willcox Jenkins

An American Elegy Frank Ticheli

[any piece] Rossano Galante

West Side Story Selections Leonard Bernstein

South Pacific Richard Rodgers (Arr. Leidzen)

Stars and Stripes Forever John Philip Sousa

[any piece] Charles Ives

Night in Tunisia Dizzy Gillespie

Caravan Ellington/Tizol

Danzon No.2 Arturo Marquez

[any piece] Philip Sparke

Invictus Philip Sparke

Home Alone John Williams (Arr. Sadler)

Nightmare Before Christmas Danny Elfman (arr. Brown)

If you would like to see one of these selections in our repertoire this season, just let me know at Welias9743@aol.com and if we have a number of people selecting the same piece, then perhaps we can persuade Sal to include it in one of our performances. Have a great rest of the summer and I look forward to seeing all of you at our first rehearsal on September 11th.

Finè,

Bill

Just a Thank You...
I just wanted to reach out to all of you to say thank you for an absolutely wonderful and productive year.There is no question in my mind that we grew musically this year, and I could not have been prouder of you last night...and literally throughout the year as well! 

I believe that our Levitt performance last evening was outstanding, and from the reaction of the audience (and the number of people who came up to me as I was working my way to the parking lot to offer a smile or a thumbs up!) I believe that the feeling was mutual! Without question, our performance of Rifacimento was the best rendition of the piece ever, and I could add that the same could be said of Young Person's, Starlight Express, and Pastime as well! It was a challenging program and you all made it sound simple!!  Thank you for that!!

We have much to look forward to as we enter our 45th year (help me here Susan if my math is somehow corrupted!!) and I am so looking forward to beginning where we left off... as an ensemble that is always looking to improve and push its limits!! I will share some of my anticipated highlights as they become finalized, but I hope that the excitement that we found working with Jack this past March may find another of our genre's greats in Westport next spring! There is also a community band festival that is being planned in Central CT in the spring that I have expressed an interest in finding out more about. And of course, we are all set for the second Tuesday in July again at the Levitt so mark your calendars! Not a bad place to perform a season's finale!!

Special thanks could extend to many, and I am certain to miss someone, so in place of a singular shout out I offer my thanks to the board and section leaders all. A special shout out to Bill Elias is in order however, as he truly went above and beyond in all ways this year! Thank you, Bill, for your patient guidance, your continued dedication to making our ensemble special, and the effort to make our rehearsal room ready to go every week! 

I hope to see you all back again in September, but if your travels or work responsibilities make the commute to Bedford Middle School impossible, please know that you were indeed a part of something very special!!

Be well..... AND Practice!!

Sal

Thanks to all that supported Westport Community Band in Fairfield County Giving Day.  We received $1,525.00. 

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