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…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!

Wow! Wow! Wow! I’m so excited about how our first performance went! There were a couple of hiccups, but (!) they were not things that had ever happened before! That means that we had no way of knowing they were going to happen. Most importantly, we recovered well and without missing a beat. It was an outing of which we should all be proud. You’re all rock stars!

We still have one more week off, but I wanted to send out the rehearsal plan for August 14 – our dress rehearsal for Victoria Beach! (I’ll be sending out the concert information by the end of next week – I’m hoping by the end of Friday as per usual).

Speaking of Victoria Beach – we have 1 request for car-pool. Our ride-seeker is in St James, but I was told that getting to River Heights would not be a problem. If you are: planning to go to the barbecue, able to take 1 person, and in either St James or River Heights, please let me know (either via the email account or in the comments of this post) and I’ll see that you’re connected at our rehearsal on Aug 14.

Speaking of rehearsal! Below is the playlist for Victoria Beach. (Intermission will not necessarily coincide with our rehearsal break!) Pieces in bold will definitely be reviewed at rehearsal. The Blue Orchid (marked with an asterisk) is not on the programme, but if time is not my friend and we need it, I may call for it. So, without further ado, here’s our 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

I hope everyone is having a restful break! I’ll be in touch next week with the concert details for Victoria Beach.

Happy playing!

It’s that time again – where Victoria Beach is rushing towards us headlong. We have our performance on Wednesday, two weeks off, a rehearsal on August 14, then the gig on August 17th. It’s coming faster than you think!!

For those of you who are new to us (or who need convincing that this is a superfun gig and you should totally come!), last year I posted a sort of intro to this gig. Here’s the link to that post – this year’s dates are different, but the general idea is the same. I expect to post concert order late this week (I expect by midnight on Friday night).

There are some administrative matters to bring to your attention.

First and foremost: The deadline to provide numbers for parking passes AND attendance at the Barbecue is FRIDAY, JULY 26. (I will be asking for a show of hands at the concert – so please don’t run away superfast at the end! – on Wednesday).

• The band is paying for parking for us – we will have vouchers available at the Aug 14 rehearsal. There will also be someone at the gate on the concert day for those who can’t attend the Aug 14 rehearsal. We would very much appreciate for band members to carpool as much as possible. If you are someone who needs a ride to Victoria Beach on August 17, please, please, please let us know ASAP so we can try to accommodate you – I will be trying to connect drivers with riders on Aug 14 at rehearsal. I recommend that you email the band (info@mbmillenniumband.com) and be sure to include what area of the city you’re in so that we can pair you up with someone nearby. We also need a rough idea of how many parking passes we require. I will survey the band at the concert, but if you are not at the concert, please let me know if your vehicle requires a parking pass by July 26.
• The committee needs final numbers in order to ensure we have enough food at Victoria Beach. If you cannot attend/cannot not vote at the July 24 concert, and are planning to eat with us after the concert on August 17, please comment the total number of people in your group (yourself + spouse + guests). Please let us know no later than July 26 so we have a rough estimate.

The key to a fun day at the beach is practising good self-care. Expect to require sunscreen, bug repellent, lots of water, a hat, and I would recommend that you pack something warm/rain resistant, just in case! Check the weather, and plan accordingly. It would also be a good idea to take some sort of folding/lawn chair for use at the Woolisons’ cottage, as I know, while they are amazing hosts, they don’t have enough seats available for everyone. (I wouldn’t either if 30+ people were to descend on my house!)

This year, we are rather more numerous than we have been in past years. We will try to fit ourselves into the bandstand, but there is a chance we may need to migrate to the lawn due to our numbers as it’s always been a tight squeeze for us. (I hope we can all be good cuddle-buddies and remain under the shade! Well, I won’t be, but that’s okay).

I think that’s everything on my list for today.

I hope to see most of you on Wednesday!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! This part of the season always makes me a tiny bit sad: most of our rehearsing is behind us. We still have a few, interspersed with concerts, but it will be largely running things, with some spot-rehearsing as needed. See, my favourite part of making music is the rehearsing. I love discovering the inner workings of the piece and finding ways to make the music interesting and fun. That’s where my passion really lies. Of course, there’s tremendous value in getting out into the world and sharing what we’ve worked on – I just don’t find it’s the part that gets me out of bed in the morning. Having said that, we’re so ready! You’ve put in so much work this summer – our repertoire is REALLY hard! I think we have a concert that’s really going to wow them! It’s wowed me. I am so proud of how far we’ve come – you are all rock stars! So, without further ado, on to the business at hand.

Our first concert takes place at: Lindenwoods Terrace – 490 Lindenwood Drive East.

There is parking available across the street. The lot on the same side as the building is pretty small.

Dress is BLACK BOTTOMS and Millennium t-shirt (forest green short-sleeve shirt or black short-sleeve shirt).

Please make every effort to be there for 6:30 pm. There are a lot of us, so the band shuffle will take longer than usual! Warm-up begins at 6:55 pm, and our first piece will begin promptly at 7:00 pm.

This is the Place with Posts, so if we’re playing inside, they will need to be taken into consideration when it comes to seating – we will likely be spread quite widely. If the weather is fine and not too hot, (i.e. safe for the residents), we may play outside under the pergola, in which case, we’ll be narrow and deep in terms of our seating. Either is possible, so please bring your clothespins, plexiglass, or whatever music securing devices you have at your disposal, but don’t be disappointed if they set us up indoors.

Concert order is:

F Concert Scale

Bb Concert Scale

22 – The Stripper

70 – The Maple Leaf Forever

66 – Arctic Fire

65- Moana

69 – City of Dreams

44 – Glee Showstoppers

7 – Swing the Mood

I will be posting later in the week about the Victoria Beach details, so expect more information to come your way over the weekend.

I had also promised to include some listening links – here’s City of Dreams, and here’s Funiculi, Funicula.

Let’s have a fantastic time!

See you on Wednesday!

Apologies for the lateness of the post. (I was at last night’s Bombers game – go Blue!)

Our latest rehearsal was a smashing success! I am so proud of what we’re accomplishing this summer! The level of music we’re managing is much more challenging than I thought we’d be able to master – that’s on all of you because you’re putting in the time, the effort, the home practise. (I really didn’t expect we’d be ready for Glee, City of Dreams, AND the Maple Leaf Forever! Not to mention that we haven’t had to spend a lot of time on Moana or Arctic Fire). There is something really magical about this group – the way we pull together, the ultra-supportive environment (nothing makes my heart swell more than when you start applauding each other’s successes). You all approach this group in a really professional way, and it shows in your playing.

This week’s rehearsal is a dress rehearsal, so expect the usual routine to be disrupted a bit. Firstly, we will not have a sight-reading piece this week. The first half of our rehearsal will involve running our program in order (as outlined below). The second half of rehearsal will involve spot-rehearsing (if anything serious goes wrong in the run-through) and work on some pieces we need to prep for Victoria Beach. There are also some administrative details and reminders on my agenda.

Bruce will be bringing the Band T-Shirts to rehearsal this week. They cost $12 each. The Band T-Shirt is the preferred uniform of the Manitoba Millennium Band. (Followed closely by any forest green t-shirt or polo shirt, then black short-sleeved shirt. Please wear black bottoms – shorts are fine).

Concert/Rehearsal Order is:

• 22 – The Stripper
• 70 – The Maple Leaf Forever
• 66 – Arctic Fire
• 65- Moana
• 69 – City of Dreams
• 44 – Glee Showstoppers
• 7 – Swing the Mood

Additional pieces for review/rehearsal are:

• 71 – Garlandstone
• 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before (this is our concert spare, but I don’t think we’ll need it)
• 30 – Funiculi, funicula

(I’ll be posting the Concert Information for July 24 in the next day or two)

If anyone can take a video of this concert – especially City of Dreams – or knows someone who may be willing to do this for us, please speak with me at rehearsal this week (or reach out via email). It would be amazing to share this with the composer!

See you Wednesday!

You are all rock stars this week – as usual! It is such a treat to work with a group of folks who are so responsive and dedicated! We’re on track to have a great opening performance – there are 2 more rehearsals before our season debut!

Speaking of performances – if you’re aware that you can’t make a gig, please let me know as soon as you’re able to. Some parts are critical and I may have to write out cues, so the sooner I know, the sooner I can get that looked after.

In other news, I have somehow become the Lost & Found Coordinator. I currently have two items that do not belong to me in my possession: a grey umbrella from July 3, and a wood-tone water bottle from the last week in June. I will have them at next week’s rehearsal.

Here’s what our rehearsal this week will be drawn from (I’m not sure we’ll get to all of these, but as we get closer to performances, there will be more running of pieces and I’m feeling that we’re getting there):

• 7 – Swing The Mood
• 30 – Funniculi, Funnicula
• 44 – Glee
• 65 – Moana
• 66 – Arctic Fire
• 69 – City of Dreams
• 70 – The Maple Leaf Forever
• 71 – Garlandstone
• 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

I should have something close to a final list for our July 24 concert ready next week. (I haven’t forgotten about it!)

See you on Wednesday!

This week’s rehearsal was another success! We’re making excellent progress on our repertoire for the year! We have 3 rehearsals remaining before our first concert.

This coming week’s rehearsal will be drawn from among the following pieces:

• 22 – The Stripper
• 30 – Funniculi, Finnicula
• 44 -Glee
• 65 – Moana
• 66 – Arctic Fire
• 69 – City of Dreams
• 70 – Maple Leaf Forever

Hope to see you on Wednesday!

This week marked another extremely successful rehearsal (from my perspective!) There were moments of glory from every section!

This coming week’s line up will be drawn from among the following:

• 30 – Funniculi, Funicula
• 44 – Glee
• 65 – Moana
• 69 – City of Dreams
• 70 – Maple Leaf Forever
• 71 – Garlandstone
• 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

Please take a look/listen to the following video – it’s the Glee version of Jump. We’re still not quite getting that rhythm in the opening down (it’s the tied 8th notes into the final bar of the pattern – we’re tending to hold onto it too long – we will be looking at this in more detail next week).

We also decided that we like the arrangement where the band faces the entrance wall better, so that’s how we’ll set up at Bourkevale going forward.

I hope to see most of you on Wednesday!

WOWZA!!!!

I am so impressed with how well we’re progressing already! I’m pretty sure I say this every year, but we’re on track for our best season yet! (You just keep getting better and better!)

There was so much amazing, musical, focused playing happening this week! It is an honour and joy to get to hear you play every week! Every single one of you deserves a cheer and a pat on the back! (I’m pretty sure a beverage isn’t in the budget this year – I’m still pushing for a cannon).

This week, as a reminder for those who arrive early to help set up, we’ll orient ourselves in the opposite configuration – percussion will set up on the clock side (where I normally set up) and I will set up on the door side (where the percussion was). The goal is to not have the sun blinding you.

This week’s line up will be drawn from the following list (not in rehearsal order):

• 7 – Swing The Mood
• 22 – The Stripper
• 30 – Funniculi, Funicula
• 44 – Glee
• 69 – City of Dreams (special focus on Mvt 1 & 2)
• 70 – The Maple Leaf Forever
• 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

I also wanted to encourage you to contact us (info@mbmillenniumband.com) with any feedback you may have for us. This includes but is not limited to: repertoire suggestions (for next year and beyond – this year is pretty much set), support you may need (we can rearrange parts if they’re causing too much trouble – lead time is required), practise suggestions (if you’re not sure how to practise a part), concerns you have about the general process, etc. This is YOUR band, and your executive is here to serve you – we want you to have a good experience, and we need to know how we can improve your experience.

Finally, because I sometimes forget to stress this, this is a band for everyone. We have a wide level of experiences represented so we have a wide range of music levels on our docket. If you’re struggling with a part, play what you can (maybe the “on the beat” notes of a sixteenth note run, or just the whole notes – and maybe next week, challenge yourself play the half notes), speak to me (Elizabeth) or email the band, and we will do what we can to accommodate – whether that’s arranging a part for you, doubling your part with another instrument, or some other solutions. I know it sometimes feels like it doesn’t matter, but it really does make a difference to have your voice (read: instrument) in the mix!

And that’s all I have on my list for now.

See you on Wednesday!

I am mightily heartened by our rehearsal this week, folks! We are well on our way to being ready to perform some of the more challenging works we have lined up!  It’s very exciting to hear how well it’s already coming together!

Here’s what I anticipate we’ll look at next week (not in order):

• 17 – Eine Kleine Rockmusik
• 44 – Glee Showstoppers
• 65 – Moana
• 66 – Arctic Fire
• 69 – City of Dreams
• 70 – The Maple Leaf Forever
• 71 – Garlandstone
• 72 – Where No Man Has Gone Before

See you on Wednesday – 7 pm at Bourkevale!