Letter from Jack (4/20)

Dear Concert Orchestra,

It felt great to focus on one piece last night. I’m looking forward to “sculpting” Danzon no. 2 with you over the next few weeks. Some things to note as you prepare for next week’s rehearsal:

PULSE

• In this piece, we need to live on the back side of the beat. Strings, it is crucial that you develop a relaxed approach to these syncopated rhythms. RESIST THE URGE TO RUSH.
• Find a pizzicato syncopated section, put the metronome on 100 bpm, and practice walking around your room, stepping with the metronome, as you play. We need to support our soloists throughout the opening and middle of this piece.

TONE 

• Let’s all be careful about “over-blowing” in this piece (INCLUDING strings and percussion!). We can get a full, rich feeling without compromising balance, tone, or pitch!
• Strings, please note that measure 185 is only forte. Passionate, yes, but only forte. Upper strings, practice slowing the bow down this week and going for maximum darkness and richness (even up on the E string). This might help with our rushing issue too.

INTONATION

• WINDS AND BRASS: Please spend some time working on long tones and maintaining a consistent sense of pitch. Trombones, Horns, Clarinet, and bassoon- you all have large, exposed sections of this piece where you sustain the background harmony under a woodwind soloist. Take some time to solidify your individual part and practice slowly playing each chord change while tuning and hearing each interval before you play.
• ALL- there are some quick passages in Danzon that need intonation work. We had some “surprise” discoveries last night in a few places regarding the key signature and accidentals. Work this stuff out by next time please!

TEAM WORK

• Know who to listen to and when it is vital to watch the conductor.
• If you sense yourself or your section rushing, dragging, or disrupting the ensemble in any way- try to fix it! Listen in harder, watch the conductor, or follow your section leaders.

Looking forward to seeing you (dutifully prepared) next week!

Best,

Jack.