Letter from Emma (10/27)

Hi Sinfonia East,

Thank you for your work last week! We worked the Tchaikovsky in chunks and practiced playing up to tempo. We got in one run-through of the Strommen and sight-read the Nocturne and The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Next week, we will…

• Chunk the Strommen and work it up to tempo (we will drill technical spots as needed)
• Read two new pieces of holiday music
• Run our Fall Festival music

As we prepare for Fall Festival, our success is going to depend on personal practice.

To prepare for next week, you need to…

• Practice each chunk of our Fall Festival pieces with a metronome. I advise that you use the rehearsal letters as “posts” to mark the start and end of chunks. Start slower than you need to and gradually increase the tempo until you reach 120BPM. You can repeat the process we took with the Tchaikovsky this week in your personal practice.
• When practicing with a metronome, ensure that you also practice without a metronome afterwards. Can you internalize the pulse?
• Isolate any remaining technically challenging spots and practice them SLOWLY.
• Cellos: please work out your shifting and fingerings for The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

In community,

Emma Fischer