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Rehearsal Plan – June 29

Hi Folks!

This week’s rehearsal will be drawn from the folllowing pieces:

  • 44 – Glee Showstoppers
  • 49 – American Patrol
  • 60 – Dragonheart
  • 65 – Moana
  • 66 – Arctic Fire
  • 69 – City of Dreams
  • 70 – Maple Leaf Forever
  • 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile (Beethoven – Pathetique)
  • 74 – Final Countdown
  • 75 – Fanfare for the Unsung Hero

Expect to spend the bulk of our time on time on Dragonheart. Maple Leaf Forever, Glee, and City of Dreams.

Have a lovely week!

Elizabeth.

Rehearsal Plan – June 22

We had another very productive rehearsal this week! The pieces we’ve been working on are really coming together well! I’m so pleased!

Here’s the list from which I’ll be drawing for rehearsal this week:

  • 44 – Glee Showstoppers
  • 49 – American Patrol
  • 60 – Dragonheart
  • 63 – Hallelujah
  • 65 – Moana
  • 66 – Arctic Fire
  • 69 – City of Dreams
  • 70 – Maple Leaf Forever
  • 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile (Beethoven – Pathetique)
  • 74 – Final Countdown

Have a wonderful week!

Elizabeth.

Rehearsal – June 15

Thanks for a really great rehearsal this week! I’m so impressed with the progress we’re making!

Now that we’ve switched over to evening rehearsals, we’ll be doing more rehearsing, less ripping through.

This week, our rehearsal will be drawn from among the following pieces:

  • 44 – Glee Showstoppers
  • 49 – American Patrol
  • 57 – Wade in the Water
  • 60 – Dragonheart
  • 63 – Hallelujah
  • 65 – Moana
  • 66 – Arctic Fire
  • 69 – City of Dreams
  • 70 – The Maple Leaf Forever

I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend, and I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Elizabeth.

Thursday June 8 – New Venue!!!

Thanks for another fantastic rehearsal this week! It was our last Saturday morning rehearsal and our last time at the Legion.

PLEASE NOTE: There is NO REHEARSAL this week!

We resume on Thursday, June 8 at 7:00 pm at Bourkevale Community Center – 100 Ferry Rd.

Our friends in the Westwood Band will not there, so I’ll stick with this past rehearsal’s list and see where that gets us!

  • 44 – Glee Showstoppers
  • 60 – Dragonheart
  • 63 – Hallelujah
  • 65 – Moana
  • 66 – Arctic Fire
  • 69 – City of Dreams
  • 70 – Maple Leaf Forever
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile (Beethoven – Pathetique)
  • 74 – Final Countdown
  • 75 – Fanfare for Unsung Heroes

Looking forward to seeing you in our new (old) digs on June 8!

Elizabeth.

Rehearsal Plan – May 27, 2023

I don’t know about anyone else. but, folks, I’ve really missed you and it feels SO good to be back! There’s something really special about this ensemble, and getting back to rehearsing has felt like a homecoming for me. (Please let’s not miss 3 years again).

I’m really excited about what this summer will bring! We’ve long been accustomed to being flexible and adaptable, and I suspect this season may require more of that than even we’ve seen.

Now that we’ve had a fair chunk of folks turn out (and pick up music!), I’ll be resuming my (usually) weekly missives to you. We’ve had some good reading so far! For those new to the ensemble – WELCOME! We are so happy to have you! – my practise has been to send out a blog post within a couple of days of our rehearsal with a list of piece I plan to go over the next week. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1 – to help focus practise for the week, 2- so those who are away can keep their finger on the pulse of band happenings. (It also gives me an opportunity to ramble on a bit, as the mood takes me).

Since we will be rehearsing on Thursdays, I’ll do my best to get these sent out on Friday evenings or early Saturday mornings once we’ve made the change to Thursday rehearsals.

On to what (some of) you have been waiting for! Our focus next week will be on:

  • 44 – Glee Showstoppers
  • 60 – Dragonheart
  • 63 – Hallelujah
  • 65 – Moana
  • 66 – Arctic Fire
  • 69 – City of Dreams
  • 70 – Maple Leaf Forever
  • 73 – Adagio Cantabile (Beethoven – Pathetique)
  • 74 – Final Countdown
  • 75 – Fanfare for Unsung Heroes

I hope to see you on Saturday morning!

Elizabeth.

…and we’re BACK!

The 2023 Millennium Band Season is a GO!!!

It’s been a long stretch since we were last able to meet, so it’s doubly exciting that we have the opportunity to make music together again!

As with all else, please be prepared for hiccups and pivots as we navigate the brave new world in which we find ourselves. But, for now, here is the plan for the 2023 Season:

Please remember to bring a stand to all MB Millennium Band rehearsals and events!


Dues: $25.00


Rehearsals:

May 13 –  Saturday – 10 am – 12 pm – Legion Branch #4 – 1755 Portage Ave – if possible, please try to arrive a wee bit early so that we can get music assigned and begin the fun as close to 10:00 as possible! 

May 20 – Saturday – 10 am – 12 pm – Legion Branch #4 – 1755 Portage Ave

May 27 – Saturday – 10 am – 12 pm – Legion Branch #4 – 1755 Portage Ave

The following rehearsals will be held at Bourkevale Community Centre – 100 Ferry Rd. Rehearsal from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm on Thursdays. Free parking available.  Rehearsal space doors will be open 30 mins before start and 30 mins after the end. Help with arranging chairs is always appreciated!

June 8

June 15

June 22

June 29

 July 6 

July 13

July 20

August 10

August 17

August 24

August 31

Gigs

Call time is 30 minutes prior to performance time indicated below.

GIG INFORMATION TO FOLLOW…

All the above information is published under Members/2023 Season.

Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!

Concert Information – September 8, 2019 – Bourkevale

Wow. I blinked and the summer was gone. Here we are, gearing up for our final concert of the season! I know I say this every year, but it’s also true every year: this has been our best summer yet!

Before we get to SUNDAY’s performance, I did want to thank you all for an excellent job at Shaftesbury last week! One of the residents asked us to come back next year. Another expressed his approval of our repertoire choices. I felt that we acquitted ourselves really well, and it was a performance we should be proud of!

If you are aware that you play a key part (solo, section soli, etc) and you are not able to make this concert, please let me know asap as I may need to write out cues for another section to play! 

So details for our final gig are as follows: 

Where: Bourkevale Community Centre – 100 Ferry Rd

When: SUNDAY, September 8. Call time is 11:30 am.

Dress: Millennium t-shirt/green short sleeved shirt/black short-sleeved shirt & black bottoms

This will be an outdoor performance, so please DO bring clips for your music/plexiglass, and maybe something to weigh down light music stands!

This is also a 90-minute performance, and they don’t usually have a mic available, so I can’t help out by padding our time with patter.

Concert Programme

22 – The Stripper

70 – The Maple Leaf Forever

69 – City of Dreams

65 – Moana

30 – Funiculi, Funicula

44 – Glee Showstoppers

42 – Northwind

7 – Swing the Mood

71 – Garlandstone

72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

25 – The Blue Orchid

17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik

Please turn in your binders at this performance. If you have shifted the order around, please make sure you put it back in numerical order. This makes a really big difference to the librarian!

See you on Sunday!

Concert Information – August 28, 2019 – Shaftesbury Park

Our penultimate concert takes place next Wednesday, August 28 and the details are as follows:

Where: Shaftesbury Park Seniors Residence

905 Shaftesbury Blvd

When: Wednesday, August 28 – Warm up starts: 6:55 pm sharp

Please do your best to arrive at 6:30 pm so that we have time to perform the Band Shuffle before our warm-up. This is the place where we play in a bit of an alcove, so it’s a tight squeeze for us. We will definitely have to adjust ourselves to fit (and will probably end up with more narrow rows – my best guess is that we’ll need 5-6 rows).

Please be aware that there are an extremely limited number of visitor parking spots on the property, but there is a sidewalk that runs from Litchfield Blvd (turn south onto Litchfield from Taylor) to the residence as a bit of a shortcut. Parking on Litchfield has traditionally been reasonably easy. It is a bit of a hike, so please allocate some extra transit time to account for the constitutional.

CONCERT DRESS:

  1. Millennium Band (forest green) t-shirt and black lower body covering – this is preferred.
  2. Forest Green top, black lower body covering.
  3. All black

CONCERT PROGRAMME:

22 – The Stripper

70 – The Maple Leaf Forever

66 – Arctic Fire

65- Moana

69 – City of Dreams

44 – Glee Showstoppers

7 – Swing the Mood

This is also the time when I have to remind everyone that if you cannot make the Sept 8 concert (it’s a SUNDAY – at NOON), then it is time to return your music lest I sic the Manitoba Millennium Band Enforcer upon you. Please, before you hand in your folder, ensure that all pieces are back in numerical order. This will make the Librarian’s job MUCH easier!

I hope to see most of you out!

Rehearsal Plan – August 21, 2019

Good evening, folks!

I apologise for the delay in posting this. (I’ll have the concert information up tomorrow).

Victoria Beach was a SMASHING success! I am so proud of all of you! I think, with only one exception, every piece was the best we’ve ever played it! Your work was spectacular, and it was easy to see that the audience was really into it! It was lovely to have so many of you out, and to have so many stay for the barbecue!

Tomorrow IS our final rehearsal of the summer. We’ll be doing more spot-checking than anything else, although there are a couple of pieces we’ll run through in their entirety.

Here is concert order (* will be reviewed in some capacity):

22 – The Stripper

70 – The Maple Leaf Forever

66 – Arctic Fire

65- Moana

*69 – City of Dreams

*44 – Glee Showstoppers

7 – Swing the Mood

We will also be looking at (with an eye to our Sept 8 gig):

*17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik

*72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

*30 – Funniculi, Funnicula

*71 – Garlandstone

See you tomorrow!

Concert Information – August 17, 2019 – Victoria Beach

…And we’re diving back into the deep end this week!

We are rehearsing this week – Wednesday, August 14 at Bourkevale. Here is the link to our rehearsal plan.

Our gig at Victoria Beach is on Saturday! There are a lot of details to convey, so please bear with me!

Most importantly, please take good care of yourselves. It’s usually a scorcher, so sunscreen, bug repellent, HATS!!!, lots of water are all necessities. I really don’t want anyone to incur heat-related illnesses, so we all have to be vigilant of both ourselves and one another.

It’s especially critical to drink a LOT more water than you think you need – even if you don’t feel thirsty. We all exhale water vapour with every breath – and this is especially true while playing. Most people talk about “spit” in brass instruments, but it’s almost entirely water vapour. I read about a study where they measured how much water came out of a trombone after a 2-hour rehearsal and it was something ridiculous, like over 1 LITRE. We will all need to make sure we’re drinking enough. Please, please, please keep a bottle or three beside your chair, and make sure you’re drinking while I’m addressing the audience! Even if you don’t think you need it, you probably do.

Speaking of – I will be doing more talking than I usually do in order to help you rest your chops. Some other suggestions that may help you with stamina:

  • Keep the dynamic level down – do not give in to the urge to overblow (which you will experience – playing outside rips the sound from the instruments so we can’t hear ourselves and think we need to play louder. We don’t).
  • Work out some breaks with your sectionmates – play 1 to a part in quiet sections and trade off as needed (no judgement here!)
  • Bring things down an octave where you can.

Concert dress is: Millennium Band t-shirts (or any forest green short-sleeve shirt. In a pinch, a black short-sleeved shirt) and black bottoms. This is not a formal concert – please feel free to wear shorts (or a skirt) and sandals. Really, it’s about keeping you as comfortable as possible in the heat while still identifying us as a group.

The shuttle runs (from the parking lot to the bandstand) will begin at 1:00 pm. Please aim to arrive as close to 1 pm as possible.

Please be at the bandstand, ready to settle (and perform the obligatory band shuffle) no later than 1:30 pm!!! It is possible that we will not be able to fit in the bandstand this year – we’ll try, but we may have to move to the grass, which take us some time to get organised. Make close friends with your neighbour, because we’ll have to cuddle up, regardless.

Concert Programme

22 – The Stripper

70 – The Maple Leaf Forever

69 – City of Dreams

65 – Moana

30 – Funiculi, Funicula

7 – Swing the Mood

INTERMISSION

44 – Glee Showstoppers

66 – Arctic Fire

52 – 76 Trombones

71 – Garlandstone

42 – Northwind

72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik

*25 – The Blue Orchid

Since we are playing outside, it’s going to be more critical than usual to watch me. We can’t trust our ears outside because of the way the sound travels. I will do my best to bring any balance concerns to your attention after the warm up, and as I’m able to throughout the concert. I’m certain that our pieces are not going to sound to you the way they normally do, but that doesn’t mean that the audience isn’t hearing things.

After the performance, we’ll load up the shuttles and return our gear to our vehicles. We’ll then head over to The Woolisons’ cottage (I’m not posting their address online but I will announce it). If you have a folding chair, I would encourage you to bring it with you, or you may want to bring a blanket to sit on. (The Woolisons are amazing hosts, but I know they don’t have enough seating to accommodate all of us! We are a sort of invading horde).

Cost for the meal is $5/person, payable to Dave Patrick (our treasurer-timpanist-mallet-whistle-insert more percussion titles here – extraordinaire). He usually does a walkaround to collect when we’ve mostly congregated at the cottage.

I know I don’t have to mention it, but please, if you are able, help us out with loading/unloading the shuttles – especially the percussion equipment. (When it comes to percussion, please follow the directions of Dave, William, and Christian. They will let you know if any special care/handling is required. They are also Tetris champions of the world – it’s part of their job description). This may include waiting with gear at the parking lot for people to collect it – we don’t want lost instruments/belongings. If, at the end of the day, we have lost/found belongings, please let me know and I will send out a call in our next blog entry.

One final thought: have an absolute riot of a time on Saturday. This is a really fun gig (though a long blow). Let’s make the most of the fun part! You’re all completely prepared for this – I think it’s going to be one of our best performances ever, and I’m really excited what we’re bringing this year!