Symphonic Band

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 15
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
1 More Rehearsals Before the Concert
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Winter Games: read through
Cave You Fear: read through
Michael Jackson: read through, continue to work on this with minimal conducting, focusing on listening to each other
Nevermore: run through
Hello Dolly: read through

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward), minus I Want You Back and The Girl Is Mine
4. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
5. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

SYMPHONIC BAND: SUMMER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. TBA

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 14
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
2 More Rehearsals Until the Concert
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

REMINDER: this week’s rehearsal will begin at 6pm and run until 8pm. The small ensemble program will be hosting its masterclass performances at 8pm. We hope that you will be able to stay and cheer on the performers.

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Cave You Fear: read through, address any remaining issues we discover
Winter Games: read through, address any remaining issues
Michael Jackson: read through, work both new transitions a few times to make sure everyone is comfortable
Nevermore: run through without recording, address sound levels for special effects
Hello Dolly: read through

SYMPHONIC BAND: SUMMER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. TBA

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 13
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
3 More Rehearsals Until the Concert
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Nevermore: run through, clean up transition @40, run through @96 to make sure all parts line up, work on any remaining issues… then we will try to play it with a recording of the poem. Let’s see if this might work for us…
Hello Dolly: read through only
Michael Jackson: read through without ‘I Want You Back‘ or ‘The Girl is Mine’. Then we will work on any spots that the players would like to touch on… bring your own notes.
Winter Games: read through only
IF TIME – Cave You Fear: let’s run the ending of this piece again, last week I found out my score had a mistake in it… I’d like to take another moment to make sure the sound system is working and we are all on the same page here.

SYMPHONIC BAND: SUMMER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. TBA

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 12
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Hello Dolly: we will work to clean up transitions so that everyone is comfortable with tempos and changes in style
Winter Games: I didn’t get much chance to dig into rhythms for various parts in the middle sections of this piece last week. This will be our main focus tonight
Cave You Fear: we will spend some additional time working out the various special effects this week, including trying to set up a microphone for the ‘lions roar’ effect
IF TIME: Michael Jackson: read through only

SYMPHONIC BAND: SUMMER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. TBA

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 11
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

NOTE: Sadly, I think that I am going to have to push Bach’s Toccata and Fugue until the fall season. Please don’t get rid of it, we will be resurrecting the piece along with another program slated for later this year.

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Rehearsal Recordings
Cave You Fear
Winter Games
Hello Dolly
Nevermore
Michael Jackson
Winter Games:
– we will be focusing our attention on the middle sections of this piece tonight
Michael Jackson:
– we are going to try cutting some of the sections… One, to make it shorter, and two, to give us the chance to really dig into the remaining songs
IF TIME: Hello Dolly:
– continue to clean up transitions… especially the one into the march

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward)
4. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
5. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
6. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 10
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

GUEST CONDUCTOR: I will be away this coming Wednesday and have invited the talented Bruce Campbell to join us for rehearsal as guest conductor. The rehearsal plan for this week is listed below. I will see you all next week

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Cave You Fear:
– it isn’t often we get a percussionist on the podium, lets pick his brain about some of the specialized percussion techniques… can we improve them, make them more effective somehow?
– run through of piece… remember dynamic contrast
Nevermore:
– last week we had no piano, so we worked the opening section to @40 without her. Now, lets add that voice back in. Focus on counting and dynamics here
– @96 with piano and 4-mallet part. Work on counting with all wind parts, secure entries… then continue @104
– @116 sudden tempo change, work this section to the end… focus on piano, alto sax and bass clarinet lines.
– we will end this off with a full run through
Michael Jackson:
– focus this evening will be on the final two sections… The Girl is Mine and Beat It
– the solo line @218 is being passed to trumpets, lets try this and see how it goes
– work transition from cut time into 4/4 between the two sections
IF TIME: Winter Games: we will continue to work on the rhythms and background parts

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward)
4. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
5. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
6. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 9
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

PLEASE NOTE: I am removing Rescue from the list of titles for this season. We may revisit this work in the future, but I would like to dedicate our remaining rehearsal time to really dig into and clean up the other titles we have. Thanks

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Nevermore:
– read through first
– work on the opening section to @40… first without piano, then adding it back in. Focus on counting and dynamics here
– work transition to faster tempo @40
– work on faster section of the piece, stopping to correct any remaining issues as they arise
Toccata and Fugue:
– rehearse @33 thru @41, focusing on the triplet figures passed back and forth
– main focus this evening will be on the fugue section starting @49. We need a steady tempo and it needs to feel light and easy
– @58 we will break out the two contrasting parts… slurs vs staccato
– slurs go away @68, but we introduce the big low br/ww half note line
– slurs again @82, we will break this part out… it is passed back and forth between a number of different instrument groups
Michael Jackson: read through the section of the piece we worked on last week, then we will continue on through the piece from there.
Winter Games: we will continue to work on the rhythms and background parts

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward)
4. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
5. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
6. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 8
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Toccata and Fugue: read through Toccata AND Fugue sections, but we will not be spending time rehearsing this tonight
Michael Jackson: we will start with a read though, then make a decision to keep or cut the “The Girl Is Mine‘ section. We will be focusing our work this evening on the first half of the piece, including transitions
Winter Games: read through, then working on sections and rhythms that still need attention
Nevermore: read through, then work on the opening section

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward)
4. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
5. Rescue (EKR Hammell)
6. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
7. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 6
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Rescue: read through only
Toccata and Fugue: we will focus on the opening Toccata section this evening. Please have a pencil ready to take notes
Winter Games: low brass/woodwinds @2 and @4, Hrn/Trbn @8… then add upper winds to this, play through bass line @A… then add btn part (only inst playing this), hrn/trbn two bars before @C, hrn/trbn/mallets third bar of C, etc… more focus on rhythmic accuracy than usual… digging into this tonight
The Cave You Fear: run all percussion lines from the beginning. Hi-hat part @21 with accents and open/close. Have the percussionists watch the special effect videos yet?
1. Amplified Lion’s Roar in “The Cave You Fear”
2. Superball Mallets on Timpani Head in “The Cave You Fear”
3. Superball Mallets on Tam-Tam in “The Cave You Fear”
IF TIME: Hello Dolly: read through only

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward)
4. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
5. Rescue (EKR Hammell)
6. Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
7. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 5
Tuesday, February 7, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Rescue: will continue to work from the beginning, cleaning up any rhythmic issues or stylistic concerns
Toccata and Fugue: tonight we will be focusing on the fugue section that starts at @49. Focus will be on rhythms and articulations for the most part. Will speak about the parts being traded off from one player to another, and picking apart each section and putting it back together before moving on to the next one.
Nevermore: we will start at @40 and work through the faster, rhythmic section… switching between 4 and 3. Mallet part needs to be heard at @40 and throughout. Triangle at @44? Cymbals at @52? Spash cymbal at @61? Piano and flute at @68… then add clarinet at @72. Trombone gliss starting at @80? Run trpt, hrn and asx at @80. Run flt, obo, clar, bells at @88. Run mallets and piano at @96. We will not be going beyond rehearsal @116 tonight
Michael Jackson: we will be digging into The Girl Is Mine tonight
IF TIME: The Cave You Fear: run all percussion lines from the beginning. Hi-hat part @21 with accents and open/close. Have the percussionists watch the special effect videos yet?
Amplified Lion’s Roar in “The Cave You Fear”
Superball Mallets on Timpani Head in “The Cave You Fear”
Superball Mallets on Tam-Tam in “The Cave You Fear”

SYMPHONIC BAND: WINTER 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. The Cave You Fear (Michael Markowski)
2. Hello Dolly! Highlights from (arr. John Cacavas)
3. Holiday for Trumpets (Trpt Quartet & Band) (arr. Jack Bullock)
4. Michael Jackson Remembered (arr. Chris Ward)
5. Nevermore (Brian Balmages)
6. Rescue (EKR Hammell)
7. Winter Games (David Foster arr. Juri Briat)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 4
Tuesday, January 31, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Oscar Nominated Film Recommendation: The Last Repair Shop

I have received many emails this week from band members who have taken the opportunity to check out The Last Repair Shop, an inspiring film about a small instrument repair shop located in Los Angeles which specializes in repairing school instruments free of charge.
The film is co-directed by Halifax native, Ben Proudfoot and includes some heart felt interviews with both students and the techs themselves.
It is less than 40min long and has been nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Documentary Short Film.
If you are interested, the film has been posted on YouTube (legally) and is available to watch. For your convenience, the movie poster is a hyperlink that will take you directly to YouTube.
Also, here is a CBC article about the film posted on their website on Tuesday of this week: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/the-last-repair-shop-ben-proudfoot-1.7092743
Enjoy! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Toccata and Fugue: the parts for Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor have now been posted on the repertoire page and are available for printing

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Toccata and Fugue: now that it is in the folder for the season, let’s take another look at this piece and read through it. We might start and stop a bit, but we won’t dig too deep until next week’s rehearsal
Hello Dolly: we will play through the section of the piece we were working on last (@152 to the end), then will go back to the beginning and start putting it all together
Michael Jackson: we need to dig into the two sections in cut time… tonight’s focus will be Human Nature and The Girl Is Mine
IF TIME: Rescue: will continue to work from the beginning, cleaning up any rhythmic issues or stylistic concerns

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 3
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Toccata and Fugue: the parts for Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in d minor have now been posted on the repertoire page and are available for printing

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing a random concert scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Cave You Fear: we will focus on the opening (@1-17) and the ending (@96-107). We will discuss and sample some of the special effects. Then we will go back to the beginning and work our way through, section by section… stopping as needed.
Nevermore: we will start at the beginning and read through the piece, stopping where ever we need to in order to correct issues. Focus for now will still be getting comfortable with the time signature changes and ensuring rhythmic accuracy
Michael Jackson: we will read through what we worked on last week, then focus our attention on the final tunes in this work: Thriller, Billie Jean, The Girl is Mine and Beat It
IF TIME: Toccata and Fugue: now that it is in the folder for the season, let’s take another look at this piece and read through it. We might start and stop a bit, but we won’t dig too deep until next week’s rehearsal

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 2
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the symphonic band program, contact the executive director of the Second Chances Band Program, Chris Ward at eloboesolo@gmail.com

Change of Plans (again): the reason I was asking you to hang onto Fantasy on American Sailing Songs and Starship was because there was a chance we would be doing a joint concert with J.L. Ilsley later this month. However, I have now heard back from the teacher and there just isn’t enough time to prepare for a joint concert at this time. So… you can remove these pieces from the folder now. Sorry for the confusion.

NOTE: new parts for Michael Jackson have been prepared for the Alto Sax players. The Alto 1 and Alto 2 parts are now separate.

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Winter Games: we started digging into this last fall, tonight will be a chance for us to take stock and see what needs to be done to get it up and running
Rescue: we will start at the beginning and read through the piece, stopping where ever we need to in order to correct issues. Focus for now will still be rhythmic accuracy
Michael Jackson: will be digging into the first three titles in this work: Bad, I Want You Back and Human Nature.
Hello Dolly: focus will be on @152 to the end, with special attention on transitions, tempos and style. Percussionists, please plan to include the auxilliary instruments @245

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Winter Season
Week 1 – Reading Session
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the symphonic band program, contact the executive director of the Second Chances Band Program, Chris Ward at eloboesolo@gmail.com

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
CHORALE: 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band
Discussion – season plan… keep copies of Fantasy on American Sailing Songs and Starship in your folder please
Winter Games: read through
Hello Dolly: read through
Nevermore: read through
Michael Jackson: read through
Rescue: read through
The Cave You Fear: read through
Surprise Unannounced Title: read through

Please keep copies of Fantasy On American Sailing Songs and Starship in your folder

FEES for Winter 2024:
In January, each member of the Second Chances Symphonic Band will be asked to pay the winter season’s registration fee. If they do not already own them, they will also be asked to acquire a copy of 66 Festive and Famous Chorales for Band (Frank Erickson). These books will be used regularly during rehearsals this season.

$175 registration fee (1st group)
$90 registration fee (for any additional group)
$50 registration fee for a student currently in high school or attending a recognized post secondary institution
$15 estimated cost of both books listed above

Halifax Community Band Festival
Also, don’t forget about our very own Halifax Community Band Festival being held at Mount Saint Vincent University on May 24th through 26th 2024! This is the weekend we host players from various different community bands from all over the Maritime provinces for a fellowship of music making and networking. Make sure you mark it on your calendar! Its a great chance to learn from great guest conductors and meet new friends who love to play as well!
website: https://www.secondchancesband-ns.com/hfx-band-fest/

Second Chances Community Band Society of Nova Scotia

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