August 24, 2026 Director’s Notes
Learning Session Next Week — MakeMusic Cloud!
Next Monday, Alan M. will be hosting a learning session beginning at 9:00 AM. He’ll give us a tour of MakeMusic Cloud on the big screen and show us how the platform can make practicing more fun, efficient, and effective.
Whether you’ve used MakeMusic Cloud before, have poked around a little, or have no idea what it does, come at 9:00 and learn along with us!
A Quick Note About Arrival Times
First, I really appreciate everyone being settled and ready to play by our 10:20 rehearsal start time. No one arriving shortly before rehearsal is causing a disturbance or doing anything wrong. We do, however, have enough folks arriving “just in time” that it is affecting the attendance numbers Parks & Rec records for us.
I’ve asked staff to scan the room at 10:15, but they sometimes come a little earlier—this week it was 10:13. I know it isn’t always possible, but when you can, please make an effort to be in the room by 10:10 so we get an accurate head count.
Those attendance numbers matter when I’m negotiating our next room contract or making other requests on behalf of the band, so I want Parks & Rec to see an accurate picture of how many people are actually participating. Thank you!
Rehearsal Notes
Warm-up Chorale II
Very successful! Everyone did a great job “listening” down to the lower voices. Great balance!
Raiders March
We focused on articulations and those fun sfp markings at measures 36 and 38. We experimented with striking those notes strongly, getting quiet immediately, and then building through the crescendo. You really can’t over-exaggerate this effect, so give it all you’ve got!
Fandango Festival
We worked more on the opening note in Parts 1, 2, and 4. It seemed to help to think less about accenting the note and more about simply coming in nice and strong. The same idea applies at measures 39 and 59, where all parts have that strong entrance.
We also explored the sf markings at measures 31 and 62 and how they differ from the sfp in Raiders. Here, attack strongly at your current volume and then increase to the marked ff.
Alamo, Celebration for Winds & Wipe Out
We ran through all three and kept them fresh.
Champion
This is sounding good, but we’ll need to spend more time on the transitions between tempos and on our block party. Those will be rehearsal focuses because they’re difficult to practice individually.
If you do want to work on the transitions at home, become very familiar with the measures immediately before and after each one. That will make it easier to get your eyes up and look for direction at those points.
For the block party, think about how you want to fill those eight measures—and how you can keep track of where you are while being thoroughly distracted by the party!
Beginners Rock! & The Blue Rock
We finished with our two rock pieces. I’ve decided to pull Beginners Rock! from the upcoming showcase. The two pieces are just a little too similar for my comfort, and The Blue Rock is the newer of the two for us.
I’m tentatively substituting New Orleans Strut in its place.
For Next Week
The Incredibles
Celebration for Winds
Fandango Festival
Alamo
Champion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Raiders March
The Blue Rock
September 14 Showcase
Here’s our current showcase program (still not in order):
The Star-Spangled Banner
Celebration for Winds
Dance of the Magyars
Raiders March
The Incredibles
The Blue Rock
America the Beautiful
Champion
Wipe Out
Alamo
Fandango Festival
Pirates of the Caribbean
New Orleans Strut
We’re getting close! Keep working on the spots that are challenging for you, and remember that you don’t need to master every note for us to make great music together.