Letter from Ms. Mary (10/13)

Hey Philharmonia West!

Fun rehearsal on Monday evening! Thanks for bringing courage to our rehearsal, courage to try and learn new things. As we are discovering, new skills on our instruments can be hard and frustrating.  Our goal is to take small steps in the right direction so that we are continually improving these skills, as well as gaining more confidence.

We spent a little bit of time sightreading.  We also had Storytime about the composer of the Brandenburg Concerto, J.S. Bach.  What are some fun facts that you remember about Bach? Send three fun facts to me, that you remember.  (mary@gtcys.org) Hints: coffee, children, wives, jail, organ.

We are moving closer to our first performance of the year, which is Fall Festival on November 15.  We will be performing Ukrainian Folk Songs, and Tyro Tango. The other pieces that we have been working on will be performed at our holiday concert in December.

Do you remember the Philharmonia West mantra?  Steady is _________.  Rushing is _________.  We will keep working on maintaining a steady tempo in all of our pieces.

Before our rehearsal next week, continue to woodshed the tricky passages in Tyro Tango.  These are from D-E and E-F.  How solid and secure are you in the E minor scale?  We will keep focusing on the minor mode this semester.

Have a great week. Work hard, play hard.