Letter from Kaiser (11/20)

Hello Camerata Vivace!

Radiant Baby, Keith Haring, 1990

Congratulations again on your Fall Festival performance! I am always so inspired by this concert and the seeds of potential it plants for our ensemble. This week it was a joy to work with our strings students and I heard it was a great time in woodwind/brass/percussion sectionals, too!

We have no rehearsal on Thanksgiving, so I’ll see you in two weeks! As we look ahead, it is time to transition our practicing focus to our new piece: Ode to Childhood. The strings and I got through the first two movements, and we will continue on to the third next rehearsal. Here are some GTCYS 20 (two weeks) updates and more information for you to dive into!

GTCYS 20:

-Listen to Ode to Childhood: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/136G0ce_4_DaZz2UTAZI3rJ4rOVFSPXuV

-It will take up a lot of much-needed rehearsal time if you do not have a strong grasp of what this music should sound like before each Thursday evening. Listen, get familiar, practice.

-Strings: Familiarize yourself with the eighth-double sixteenth patterns with slow practice like we talked about in rehearsal. Examples include around Mvmt 2 Rehearsal 4, Rehearsal 6, and Rehearsal 7.

-Woodwinds: Practice the sixteenth-note runs in Mvmt 2 before Rehearsal 1 and similar passages after Rehearsal 2.

-Brass: Check out you part in Mvmt. 3 Ode to Parents at Rehearsal 1, this is a brass choir moment that I would like to have ready to rehearse when we return from Thanksgiving break.

-Percussion: Run through any mallets part (it’s good practice) in Mvmt 1 of Ode to Childhood and also practice your parts for the holiday songs so they are ready to go.

Fun Facts: Leroy Anderson! Composer of our “A Christmas Festival”, he is one of the most famous American composers and was known for light, fun, entertaining music. A classic of his is The Typewriter, here played by the Miami Symphony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1upTPepErTY. Easter Egg Question (first 3 students to email me get a prize): What month of the year did “A Christmas Festival” premiere with the Boston Pops Orchestra?

Have a safe and fun holiday week off, I will miss you!

Best wishes,
Kaiser