All our contest pieces are starting to shine well, but there is a need for some close detail practice from individuals at home as well. As a rough guide, circle any part that you have difficulty with and ask for either the MD in practice to rehearse it or attend one of the sectional rehearsals and sort it out.
Tales of the Sea, the biggest worry with this is over loading the texture at times, there are lots of parts that are duplicated and providing a thick harmony which tends to overshadow the melody, especially toward the end when we get all of the themes playing at one time.
Pacem, again the risk is in the ending, when it is all in quavers, remember it is SLOW!!!! and getting slower. throughout this piece we are getting much better at creating the flow of the melody but i would like to see a greater control of the dynamic changes.
Oregon: Harold started to work a method to help the woodwinds with the ending phrase in the allargando by breaking the parts into 2 groups, please check with someone who was at rehearsal to find out how this works! The pick up notes that have been concerning Harold as we start new phrases are starting to improve, but be well aware of not cutting these short at times.
Impressario Overture: So nice to be able to play this at long last, its hard work for upper winds and tends to get stuck at times but it shows how much we have improved to get through it as well as we did. It’s in the back of my mind to play either this or Stone Guest in Gulgong seeing as we are playing at the Opera House!
Chess, Always a favourite of mine not only as I’ve played the show but because it reminds me of two great friends now gone, Jerry Nowak and Barry Davidson both of whom i played this piece many times with. Musically we must be careful not to drag sections, in particular, I know him so well, where in our effort to make a dramatic solo, we tend to get slow!
All in all a really good rehearsal despite having a number of players away for a variety of reasons!
Murray