Blog

Curtain Call

Well, this is the last I expect you’ll hear from me until we’re ready to announce details of our 2025 season (usually mid-March).

It’s always bittersweet.

Part of me is ready for a bit of a break. (Millennium does take over a lot of my life, and about this time, my stamina does flag). But I also feel like things have come together so well, the teamwork has been amazing, and I’m loath to go off to my “other” life.

Some career advice I’ve discovered that applies here (and I share freely): is that the time to part ways is always just BEFORE you’re ready to go. That way, you carry the good aspects of your time with you, (mostly) untinged by bitterness. So, in that sense, the short season allows us to go out on a high note, and, I hope, to eagerly anticipate reuniting in the new season.

Before we put this season fully to bed, there are a few housekeeping matters to clear up:

Barbecue Thanks

Thanks again to Nicole for opening her backyard to us so that we could share some social time together. Those of us who are petless also really appreciated spending some time with the doggos!

I had a really lovely time. It was so nice to have a good crowd out and to see folks mingling so well. It was great to have spouses and family come out, too! I thought it was a just a nice way to cap the season. Don’t be surprised if this type of event is part of our next season plan from the outset!

Music Return

If you were not able to return your binder to us, please make arrangements to do this in the next few weeks. Contact info@mbmillenniumband.com to make arrangements.

Jeff works very hard to organise all the binders before the start of the new season. Every year, we have changes in our repertoire, so your binder will – I guarantee – be out of date next year.

Found

We don’t really have a lost section, but we did find some stuff that we still have!

  • Saxophone Stand – we’ve had this most of the summer
  • Mystery Stand – it’s a black flared part of a stand for a mystery instrument recovered after our Aug 22 rehearsal

Please contact info@mbmillenniumband.com to claim!

I think I’ll leave you with some Brass humour to tide you over:

And so, parting is such sweet sorrow…

I wish all of you a wonderful, productive, healthy year. I sincerely hope that you continue to grow on your musical journey.

Happy playing!

See you in 2025!

Elizabeth.

Final Rehearsal and Wrap-Up Details

Well, Folks, it’s that time again. Our final rehearsal of the season is on Thursday, August 29. This will be another sight-reading evening, so no preparation is expected.

Please turn in your binders at the end of rehearsal on Thursday.

There is also a bunch of clean-up news for me to share:

Thank You

I have a short list of these but a lot of feeling goes into them:

To Nicole – for hosting us at her backyard on August 31 (details below).

To my fellow Committee Members – Bruce Wiebe, Dave Patrick, Christina Paul, and Jeff Yakel – for all their hard work and contributions in running the season. From Bruce chasing down playing opportunities for us, Dave ensuring we don’t bankrupt ourselves (and extra honourable mention for his tetris packing skills and ensuring we have percussion instruments every week), Christina’s invaluable knowledge of the music scene and ability to continually measure the pulse of the band, and, finally, Jeff’s dedication to ensuring that we have music that’s protected, organised, prepared, and most importantly, present at every outing. You all go above and beyond and the hard work you do is what keeps the band ticking along so smoothly. We owe you so much.

To each one of you – the Manitoba Millennium Band – it is such an honour to be able to stand before you and to share music with you. You have all grown so much into your musical abilities over the short time we rehearse. Your performances this year were just out of this world (blame it on Space and Beyond and Final Countdown!) Your dedication, commitment, willingness to take risks, openness to challenges, and (from my perspective), your two most important traits: your kindness and love of music, inspire me, humble me, and nourish my soul. There aren’t enough words to convey how much you all mean to me, and how important this ensemble is in my life. You set the gold standard of what a community band experience should be. This band is what it is because of each of you – your humour, your kindness, your best effort. I appreciate that we take the music seriously, but not ourselves. Thank you for laughing at my (bad) jokes, for your friendship, and for giving your all every moment of our time together. Each of you pushes the rest of us to be better, do better, and to care for one another. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

On a personal note, thank you so much for the lovely card, the candy, and the hanging plant arrangement. It was such a kind gesture. The card and the plant will be treasured for a long time to come! (The candy won’t last that long!)

Lost and Found (Really just Found):

  • Saxophone stand – left behind awhile ago. We’ve been trying to offload this puppy all summer. We still have it and have had no takers yet.
  • Wire Arm of a music stand – It looks like it may have broken off, so this may be actual garbage, but we have it if someone can weld… (We’re throwing it away after the season, though, so check your stand and speak up fast!)
  • Yellow chamois-style cloth – Left behind after Aug 22 rehearsal.
  • Flared Black part of an instrument stand – Not sure what this is for. Clarinet? Trumpet? Maybe something else? It might be part of a dual instrument stand or part of a single instrument stand. We found it after the Aug 22 rehearsal.

August 31 Barbecue

As I mentioned, Nicole has generously offered to host us in her backyard for a barbecue on Saturday, August 31. This will be a very informal event purely to enjoy each other’s company.

This will be a weather permitting event! If we need to cancel, we will post a blog entry announcing the cancellation no later than 11:00 am. Check the website before you head out! (Sometimes the email notices can take a couple of hours to be delivered, so this is one time when you should actually visit the site and not rely on email).

When: Saturday, August 31, 2:00 pm – whenever we get the boot (the food will be served at suppertime)

Where: Nicole’s house in Unicity. Since we don’t dox anyone, there are two ways to get the address:

1 – A printed directions sheet will be at rehearsal on Thursday.

2 – Email info@mbillenniumband.com with your request and we’ll email the information. Please make sure to include your name so we know that you should be getting the address!

Cost: $5/person. (This will cover the cost of hot dogs/hamburgers). Spouses/friends welcome. We are collecting there.

*** If you have special dietary request (e.g. gluten-free, vegetarian), please email us at info@mbmillenniumband.com so we can accommodate. ***

What to bring:

  • Chair (or something comfy to sit on)
  • Protective gear (hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, etc)
  • Something edible to share with a few people
  • BYOB

Some things to know:

  • There is a fire pit that will likely be used.
  • This is a pet-friendly house (dogs/cats) so those who have allergies are forewarned. (The pets will be segregated, but dander does what dander does).

Barbecue RSVP – Due August 29 at Midnight

I will be doing a count on Thursday at rehearsal. This is the preferred method to RSVP!

However, if you can’t make rehearsal, but you’re available to attend the barbecue, we still want to see you! Please email us at info@mbmillenniumband.com and use “Barbecue RSVP” in the subject line. We need to know: how many people are in your party and if there are dietary requirements.

Whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT RSVP MORE THAN ONCE!!

See you Thursday!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth.

Rehearsal Plan – August 22

Hi Folks!

Once again, our efforts at the performance last night were outstanding. I am SO proud of you all! The audience was VERY engaged with us! What a way to close out our performances for the season!

Concordia Village advised that someone left behind a music stand last evening. If this is you, please contact info@mbmillenniumband.com and we’ll work out arrangements. (We also still have an alto sax stand that someone left at a rehearsal. Please contact us at the above address and we’ll get that sorted, too).

We have a confirmed gig booked for 2025!! Mark your calendars: August 9, 2025 at 1:30 pm, we are slated to perform at Holy Family Home. Suffice it to say, our gig last Saturday went over rather well! (I have not yet added this to the website but I will create next season’s pages before too long).

Given that our performances for the summer are finished, our focus will now shift to planning for next season. (That means sight-reading).

This week (Aug 22) is going to be my choice, but I thought I’d leave Aug 29’s selections open to you. Feel free to take a look at our library listing (http://www.mbmillenniumband.com/index.php/members/library/) and email the info@mbmillenniumband.com no later than August 22 with your requests. (They can be pieces already in our binders or from the listing). I can’t promise that we’ll look at everything, but we’ll do our best to get in as many as possible.

For those who want to focus their practise, I do plan to work on the following pieces this week, in addition to sight-reading:

  • 21 – A Disney Spectacular
  • 60 – Dragonheart

And, in closing, here’s a little dose of homour:

Have a safe and happy week! I hope to see most of you on Thursday!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth.

Concert Info – Aug 15

Firstly, our performance on Saturday was a smashing success! The venue was beautiful and the audience was very engaged! I’m so proud of all of you!

We’re on deck to perform on Thursday this week as follows:

Where: Concordia Village Center, 1125 Molson Street just North of Concordia. (Map included below). Enter through the Village Centre doors.

Call Time: Arrive at 6:30 pm. Organised warm up will begin at 6:55 pm, and the baton drops at 7:00 pm.

Dress: Forest green short-sleeved shirt (Millennium preferred) OR black shirt with Black bottoms.

Concert Programme:

(I have added The Stripper back in. We’ve been a bit short in our playing time, so I think we need it. If we run longer than anticipated, that will be the piece that gets cut).

  • Bb Scale (in canon)
  • 25 – The Blue Orchid Tango
  • 36 – Space and Beyond
  • 77 – Sesame Street
  • 71 – Garlandstone
  • 9 – Arabian Dances
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile
  • 3 – Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll
  • 74 – The Final Countdown
  • 22 – The Stripper
  • 76 – Sweet Caroline
  • 63 – Hallelujah

Lost & Found:

Found: 1 Sax Stand – Please contact us at info@mbmillenniumband.com to claim. (We are not able to transport this back and forth owing to limited car space).

I hope you’re all having a lovely start to the week and that we’ll see you out on Thursday at Concordia Village!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth.

Dress Rehearsal Tonight/Gig on Saturday

Hi Folks!

Apologies for the delay in getting this sent out. (Apparently, long weekends really mess with my rhythm).

Tonight is our dress rehearsal, so things will proceed a bit differently. We’ll run through the whole program (ideally before the break). If there are any areas to touch up – I’m confident, so this will be based on you requests – we’ll look at them after the break. I’m hoping we’ll have some time to take a look at a couple of other pieces (which I’ll list below) as well.

Concert Programme:

  • Bb Scale (in canon)
  • 25 – The Blue Orchid Tango
  • 36 – Space and Beyond
  • 77 – Sesame Street
  • 71 – Garlandstone
  • 9 – Arabian Dances
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile
  • 3 – Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll
  • 74 – The Final Countdown
  • 76 – Sweet Caroline
  • 63 – Hallelujah

On deck (if we have time) will be:

  • 21 – A Disney Spectacular
  • 60 – Dragonheart

Concert Information – Saturday, August 10

Our performance details are as follows:

When: Saturday, August 10 Call time: 1:00 pm (warm up to start at 1:25 pm, baton drops at 1:30 pm)

Where: Holy Family Home, 165 Aberdeen Ave. This is located at the corner of Main St and Redwood Ave. Parking is likely to be a concern. There is a small lot across from the venue, but if that’s full, we’ll have to park on the southbound side of Main St. We’ll take some time to talk carpooling this evening.

Dress: Forest green short-sleeved shirts (Millennium t-shirt preferred) or black short-sleeved shirt with black bottoms.

This will be our first performance at this residence and they have been champing at the bit to have us!

Lost & Found:

Found: 1 Sax Stand – Please contact us at info@mbmillenniumband.com to claim. (We are not able to transport this back and forth owing to limited car space).

We also have a concert next Thursday – I’ll pop those details up after our concert on Saturday.

I hope you’ve had a great week and look forward to seeing you tonight!

Sincerely,

Elizabeth.

No Rehearsal July 25!!

Hi Folks!

First and foremost, I want to congratulate each and every one of you on a really great performance last night! Thanks to those who jumped on different parts to ensure coverage. Thanks for your attention to detail, your responsiveness, and for listening to make sure we had a good balanced sound.

I am so proud of you!

The folks at Lindenwoods really appreciated having us come out. We don’t always realise the difference we make in the lives of folks who may not have the opportunity to get out to see live music very often. What we do matters a lot more than we know.

We are now at our midsummer break! That is to say, we DO NOT have rehearsal on July 25. Please do not show up. It will be sad for you.

I would also like to wish those of you going to Band Camp the bandiest, dandiest time ever! I was only able to go once, but it was a delight! I’m sorry I won’t be there, but I am eager to hear all about it!

The good news, is that we DO have rehearsal on August 1! So please DO show up for that!

Here’s the list we’ll draw from at that rehearsal:

  • Bb Scale (in canon)
    3 – Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll
    9 – Arabian Dances
    21 – A Disney Spectacular
    22 -The Stripper
    25 – The Blue Orchid
    36 – Space and Beyond
    57 – Wade in the Water
    63 – Hallelujah
    71 – Garlandstone
    73 – Adagio Cantabile
    74 – The Final Countdown
    75 – Fanfare for the Unsung Hero
    76 – Sweet Caroline
    77 – Sesame Street

Fair warning: I will be sending out a reminder about the above next week, likely on Wednesday. I don’t want to spam your email accounts, but the gap in rehearsals warrants the reminder.

Lost & Found

We still have a found Saxophone stand that hasn’t been claimed. This will NOT be trailed to and from rehearsals. Please contact us at info@mbmillenniumband.com to claim it.

Have a fantastic couple of weeks, folks! I hope to see you on August 1!

Elizabeth.

Gig – July 18

Our first performance of the season is taking place this week – Thursday, July 18 at Lindenwoods  Terrace, 490 Lindenwood Drive East. Parking can be tough to find, but there is a lot across Lindenwood Drive as well. Call time is 6:30 pm.

Dress: Black bottoms (modest) and a forest green short-sleeved shirt. (If not forest green, then a black shirt, if not that, then a white shirt).

Depending on the weather, we may be performing outside under the pergola. Please make bring supplies to hold your music down (clothes pins, bulldog clips, clear plexiglass, etc). Also, insect repellant/sunscreen, hats if needed.

Concert Programme:

  • Bb Scale (in canon)
  • 25 – The Blue Orchid Tango
  • 36 – Space and Beyond
  • 77 – Sesame Street
  • 71 – Garlandstone
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile
  • 22 -The Stripper
  • 3 – Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll
  • 74 – The Final Countdown
  • 76 – Sweet Caroline
  • 63 – Hallelujah

Lost & Found:

Found: 1 Sax Stand – Please contact us at info@mbmillenniumband.com to claim. (We are not able to transport this back and forth owing to limited car space).

Other News:

We did contact the hall regarding the temperature after last week. They confirmed that there was a problem with the air conditioning and it has been repaired. We should have more comfortable practises going forward.

I think that’s all for now!

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Elizabeth.

Dress Rehearsal – July 11

Hi Folks!

We have some new business to cover before delving into the meat of this post!

We have another gig booked: Thursday, August 15- 7 pm – Concordia Village, 1125 Molson Ave. The Season and Performance pages for this year have both been updated on the website. Please mark your calendars. (We will be using the same program as on our Aug 10 concert).

Lost & Found

  • Lost: 1 Bucket Hat – Tan/Earth tones. Please let us know if you picked this up accidentally.
  • Found: 1 Saxophone stand.

The Plan

This week’s rehearsal will work a little differently as it is our dress rehearsal. The first half of our rehearsal will be a run-through of the programme below (in order). I don’t intend to stop or rehearse during this portion. After the break, we’ll cover any areas that need shoring up. If we’re all happy, we’ll move on to rehearsing other pieces.

  • Bb Scale (in canon)
  • 25 – The Blue Orchid Tango
  • 36 – Space and Beyond
  • 77 – Sesame Street
  • 71 – Garlandstone
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile
  • 22 -The Stripper
  • 3 – Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll
  • 74 – The Final Countdown
  • 76 – Sweet Caroline
  • 63 – Hallelujah

If we have time, we’ll look at:

  • 9 – Arabian Dances
  • 57 – Wade in the Water
  • 60 – Dragonheart
  • 75 – Fanfare for the Unsung Hero

See you on Thursday!

Elizabeth.

Rehearsal Plan – June 27

Hi Folks!

What a fantastic outing we had this past week! I’m so excited about the progress we’re making, and I’m really looking forward to this week’s rehearsal!

We’ll be drawing from the following list:

  • 3 – Classic Rock’n’Roll
  • 9 – Arabian Dances
  • 21 – A Disney Spectacular
  • 22 – The Stripper
  • 36 – Space and Beyond
  • 71 – Garlandstone
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile
  • 74 – Final Countdown
  • 76 – Sweet Caroline
  • 77 – Sesame Street Celebration

A couple of notes:

  • Disney Spectacular: I’ll be conducting “Under the Sea” in two (cut time) from Bar 8 – 36.
  • Sweet Caroline: We have altered the road map on this one. The Segno (D.S.) is marked as Bar 24, but when we do the D.S., we’ll be going all the way back to Bar 8. (We’ll take the Coda as written).

I think that’s all I have for news and updates this week!

See you Thursday!

Elizabeth.