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CONDUCTORS' NOTES

March 31, 2020

To Prelude Musicians

Dear Prelude musicians,

 

I really miss seeing each one of you for our rehearsals. I hope you're all doing well and keeping up with your practice.

 

Please watch this short video I prepared for you with a tip on how to practice M to the Third Power.

 

Also, stay tuned for updates regarding a possible sectional rehearsal/meeting via the internet on April 5th.

 

Best wishes to you all!

Dr. Rafael

March 23, 2020

To Prelude Musicians

Dear Prelude Members,

 

I hope you are doing well! I miss our rehearsals and hope we can all play music together soon!

 

Here are some recordings of of each instrument group playing our repertoire, so you can practice along. Long multi-measure rests are not included. In North Star, the tremolos were omitted, for counting. Please use the audio recordings below and practice along with your part -- use the pause, rewind and play buttons to work on specific passages! I plan on having more practice materials up soon!

 

Cello recordings and fingerings were done by our sectional coach, Mrs. Burkhalter.

 

2020 Spring Concert Google Drive

 

Best wishes,

Dr. Rafael

March 21, 2020

To Phil Strings Musicians

Hello everyone, 

 

I hope you are all doing well at home. I miss all of you very much and our weekly time to make music together! In order to help you effectively practice at home, I have made recordings of all of the parts to all of our three pieces. A huge thank you to Sara Bennett-Wolfe for recording the cello parts!  

 

This week, please use the audio recordings below and practice along with your part. There is a metronome playing in the background of all the parts so that you can make sure to have your rhythms accurate. Use the "stop", "rewind", and "play again" buttons lots to really work on the parts and get good at them. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at NYSseatingauditions@gmail.com.

 

NYS Philharmonia May 2020 - Google Drive

 

Stay well and happy practicing,

Mrs. Mac

March 19, 2020

To Concert Orchestra Musicians

Dear CO musicians, 

 

I hope you and your families are staying safe and well during this unusual time. 

 

Please continue to practice your parts as usual, which includes slow technical work focusing on good tone and intonation. 

 

Please also make sure - even more than usual - to make time as part of your usual practice schedule to listen to recordings with your part in front of you. 

(If you are especially interested, you can even look at the full score of the Sibelius here)

 

Look after yourselves and I hope to see you soon!

My best wishes, 

Russell 

March 16, 2020

To Phil Winds Musicians

Dear Phil Winds,

 

First of all, I hope everyone is staying safe and practicing healthy habits. It is obviously difficult to put together an excellent concert when we are having to cancel rehearsals, but if there is a group that can I do it, it is this year’s group for the Phil Winds. I have been so impressed by the work you have done so far, I know we can pull together for this concert cycle.

 

That being said, we need to make sure we use our time wisely now so we are not behind in the coming weeks. Below you will see some part assignments for each piece for the week of 3/15-3/21. Please record yourselves playing each excerpt with a metronome and submit it to NYSPhilWinds@gmail.com. It is best to play each excerpt cleanly, but please try your best to stay true to the tempo markings. If you have any questions, just send me an email and I would be happy to help.

 

If we stay diligent, we can make this one of the most rewarding concerts to date!

 

Happy practicing!

Mr. Zhou

 

 

  • Fantasia on the “Dargason” 

    • Flutes and Clarinets 

      • Beginning to m. 25 (quarter note = 128bpm)

    • Bassoon

      • m. 57 to m. 97 (quarter note = 128bpm)

    • Tuba

      • m. 105 to the end (quarter note = 128bpm)

  • Iberian Escapades 

    • Flutes and Clarinets

      • Beginning to M.  35 (counted in 1, dotted quarter note = 72bpm)

    • Bassoon and Tuba

      • m. 118 to m. 130 (quarter note = 160bpm)

  • Romeo and Juliet

    • All instruments

      • Beginning through the first AND second ending (quarter note = 98bpm)

March 14, 2020

To Prelude Musicians

Dear Prelude Musicians,

 

With the cancellation of tomorrow and next week's rehearsals (March 15th & 22nd), I'd like to ensure that we are getting ready for our Spring Concert! Please, submit a recording of you playing the excerpts in which we were going to work together on the 15th, so I can watch and give you feedback. Through the week, I'll post instructions for the March 22nd rehearsal.

 

Just like the seating auditions, videos are preferred. Please upload your videos to YouTube or any other service (Vimeo, Dropbox, Google Drive etc) and share the link with me via the email nyspreludeaudition@gmail.com. If you cannot make videos work, audio only will be fine. Use your metronome! Be sure to listen to the posted recordings, as they will help you get familiar with the sound of the whole orchestra in each piece!

  • The Toreador Song (quarter note = 76):

    • Violin I: m.1-16; 77-98

    • Violin II: m. 13-24; 53-98

    • Viola: m. 53-98

    • Cello: m. 31-32; 53-76

  • North Star to Freedom:

    • Everybody: m. 1-34 (quarter note = 62)

      • These excerpts with quarter note = 90

        • Violin I: m. 35-54; 64-74 & 78-91 (upper notes)

        • Violin II: m. 35-40; 78-86

        • Viola: m. 41-52; 82-85

        • Cello: m. 41-52; 82-85

  • M to the Third Power (eight note = 140):

    • Everybody: beginning to m. 43;

    • Violin I: m.98-129

    • Violin II: m. 98-129

    • Viola: m. 60-129

    • Cello: m. 60-129

Best wishes,

Dr. Rafael

March 12, 2020

To Principal Orchestra Musicians

Hi all,

 

So, I'll miss you all for our upcoming rehearsal-- I really hope you're all staying safe and well. But the good news is, you'll have that much more time to practice and impress me the next time we see each other! For now, really focus on just getting the Brahms flawless. But by flawless, I do not only mean that the notes should all be in place-- though they should!-- but focus on articulation, dynamics, and in the strings, making sure that your bow usage is uniform and well-executed. Watch this video of Bernstein with the Vienna Philharmonic-- strings, pay close attention to how crazy-disciplined the string sections are for bow usage-- and winds!-- look at how engaged the players are! You know when I talk about edge-of-the seat playing? The Vienna Phil is a great example.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1E6FBi-AJw

 

When I see you again, I look forward to seeing a technically impressive and musically engaged reading, so that we can get to work on making it really special.

 

Everyone, stay healthy and safe!

 

Best,

Jonathan

March 10, 2020

To Concert Musicians

Dear Concert Musicians,

 

Please listen to the following recordings of the pieces for our May concert.

 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ncMVgkXQZ1NzwxmXr4guM?si=hhoti3p1S8Gw1waDecyjeQ

See you at the next rehearsal,

Russell

March 09, 2020

To Prelude Musicians

Dear Prelude Musicians,

 

Please listen to the following recordings of the pieces for our May concert. The more you listen to them, the more familiar you will be with the works, which will make our rehearsals go much more smoothly! The recordings for "North Star to Freedom" and "M to the Third Power" were professionally done; The recording for "The Toreador Song" is from a student orchestra concert, so it won't sound as good as the others, but it still is a good guide.

 

For the next rehearsal (3/15), be prepared to work on the following passages:

  • The Toreador Song (quarter note = 76):

    • Violin I: m.1-16; 77-98

    • Violin II: m. 13-24; 53-98

    • Viola: m. 53-98

    • Cello: m. 31-32; 53-76

  • North Star to Freedom:

    • Everybody: m. 1-34 (quarter note = 62)

      • These excerpts with quarter note = 90

        • Violin I: m. 35-54; 64-74 & 78-91 (upper notes)

        • Violin II: m. 35-40; 78-86

        • Viola: m. 41-52; 82-85

        • Cello: m. 41-52; 82-85

  • M to the Third Power (eight note = 140):

    • Everybody: beginning to m. 43;

    • Violin I: m.98-129

    • Violin II: m. 98-129

    • Viola: m. 60-129

    • Cello: m. 60-129

Thank you and happy practicing!

Dr. Rafael

March 09, 2020

To Philharmonia Strings

Great first rehearsal yesterday on our new music!  Here are some notes to prepare for next week’s rehearsal.

 

1. Please listen to each of the following links a number of times throughout the week.

Bach Double -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQakVy2abxU

Perseus -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxy9uwKkXbQ

Romeo and Juliet (our version) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5d96AxP3Uk

Romeo and Juliet (original) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxj8vSS2ELU

 

2. Make sure you are comfortable playing the following sections:

Bach Double - Beginning through A

Perseus 1-60 and 160-end

Rome and Juliet - Beginning through 70

 

See you Sunday!

Mrs. Mac

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