Symphonic Band

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 10
3 Rehearsals until first Dec Concert
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church, 5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

December Concert Schedule:
Monday, December 9th, 2024 @7pm
Season of Light
Christ Church Dartmouth, 50 Wentworth Street
Second Chances Singers & String Ensemble

Tuesday, December 10th, 2024 @6:30pm
Orchestral Classics for the Holidays
Northwood Halifax Retirement Center, 2615 Northwood Terrace
Second Chances Intermediate and Symphonic Bands

Sunday, December 15th, 2024 @2pm
December Showcase Performance
Mount Saint Vincent University, Rosaria Hall’s Multipurpose Room
Second Chances Jazz Band, Beginner Band, Intermediate Band and Symphonic Band

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing Db Concert Scale
Sight reading: In lieu of sightreading during the next three weeks, we will instead be running Christmas Concerto (each movement twice) with the different soloists. The soloists will be located at the front of the band as they will be in the concert.
This week will be
Mvt1: Anna Cordeiro Santanach (F.Horn)
Mvt2: Marion Bernard-Nauss (Alto Flt)
Mvt3: Zachary Fraser (Mallet Percussion)
Rehearsal Recording Week: we will be making rehearsal recordings of all of our potential works for the concert (except Christmas Concerto). Here is the proposed concert order:
Toccata and Fugue
Libertango
Dance of the Knights
Christmas Concerto
Palladio
Toy Symphony
Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Remembrance Day – Amazing Grace (arr. Jacob de Haan)
2. Christmas Concerto (for solo instruments) (arr. Robert W. Smith)
3. Dance of the Knights (Prokofiev arr. Nathan Jones)
4. Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (Wagner arr. Jay Bocook)
5. Libertango (Astor Piazzolla arr. Paul Murtha)
6. Palladio (Karl Jenkins arr Robert Longfield)
7. Remembrance Day – O’ Canada / God Save the Queen (arr. Stern)
8. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (J.S. Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
9. The Toy Symphony (Joseph Haydn trans. Maurice Gardner)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 9
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church, 5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

AGM Update:
Thank you to all who took the time to attend our AGM on Tuesday last week. The resolution to change the name of our organization passed unanimously. Now we will submit the proper paperwork to the province for approval.

In addition, I wanted to thank those who agreed to serve on the board of directors for the 2024-2025 season. Your new board members are:
Anne Marie Archibald
Marion Bernard-Nauss
Johnna Campbell
Ken Courrier
Kevin DesRoches
Lori Esling
Natalie Foster
Patti Green
Denise Henwood
Cheryl Marshall
Phil Payzant
Tony Sweet

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing Db Concert Scale
Sight reading: sight read a random selection
Christmas Concerto: we will start to dig into this piece again, our focus will be on the band this week though. The soloists will still be at the front playing their parts.
Toy Symphony mvt.3: read through again
Toccata and Fugue: read through Toccata, but our work will focus on @33-41. Then we will once again dig into the Fugue, working to clean up rhythmic issues, tempo challenges and whose part needs to be heard at various points… please take some time to look at this material before rehearsal.
Toy Symphony mvt.2: read through without repeats. Then we will begin to break down the various sections individually, cleaning up rhythms and the ‘toy’ parts to ensure accuracy.
IF TIME: Toy Symphony mvt1: read through only

SPECIAL EVENT HOSTED BY Nova Scotia Band Association
Why Not Try Something New?

Come meet with Dalhousie University’s Fountain School of Performing Arts faculty and community clinicians as they demonstrate and explain how these instruments work. Pending availability we hope to provide you with instruments to try.

Sessions are open to community members ages 14+. Space is limited. Fill out this form to reserve your seat. If you can bring your own instrument/reeds, please do so.

In collaboration with Nova Scotia Band Association and Long and McQuade Musical Instruments.

***REMINDER: This Tuesday, November 5th is the Annual General Meeting for the Second Chances Community Band Program of Nova Scotia. Remember that we are a registered non-profit society with the province of Nova Scotia, and everyone who pays a fee to be a part of the organization (aka. all of you) are officially members of the society and have an invested interest in our continued success.

The meeting will begin at 8pm as the intermediate band breaks. If you are available, why not stick around for an hour and hear how the society is doing as a whole, the direction we hope to go during the 2024-2025 season and be a part of the decision making side of the Second Chances organization!

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: We will read through the material for Remembrance Day as our sight reading warm-up
Dance of the Knights
IF TIME: Toy Symphony mvt.3: read through
Break – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Toccata and Fugue: we will review what we discussed about the Toccata section so that everyone is on the same page, then read through it once… then tonight we will focus on the Fugue section… please take some time to look at this material before rehearsal.
IF TIME: Toy Symphony mvt.2: read through. We will start to work through each section individually.

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 8
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church, 5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: sight read a random selection
Dance of the Knights
IF TIME: Libertango: read through before break
IF TIME: Elsa’s Procession: read through
Break – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Toccata and Fugue: we are going to revert back to my original way of conducting this piece, it makes sense to me (and I hope will make sense for you). We will go over this look at the opening, then run it a few times before moving onto the Fugue section
Toy Symphony mvt.2: read through, then we will start to work through each section individually. Remember that the section marked ‘trio’ IS part of the 2nd movement.
Toy Symphony mvt.3: read through

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 7
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 7pm
Location: J.L. Ilsley High School, 138 Sylvia Ave, Halifax, NS B3R 1J9

REMEMBRANCE DAY: Special Rehearsal at J.L. Ilsley Wed. Oct.23rd – For this week only, we will be holding our regular rehearsal at J.L. Ilsley High School (138 Sylvia Ave, Halifax, NS B3R 1J9).

For the first hour, we will be working with the high school band in a combined group, going through the material for Remembrance Day ceremony. I will be on the podium for the warm up and Amazing Grace, whereas Vanessa Mignault will be on the podium for O’Canada and God Save the Queen/King.

After the break, we will be digging into our normal repertoire again. See you all there.

NOTE: I am disappointed, but feel that we should pull the Star Trek piece from the program selections for this fall. I feel our rehearsal time would be better spent on Toccata and Fugue and The Toy Symphony. We WILL be bringing this piece back, it is high energy and a lot of fun to play, so don’t throw it away!

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: sight read a random selection
Amazing Grace: read through, addressing any issues that may arise
O’Canada: read through, addressing any issues that may arise
God Save the Queen/King: read through, addressing any issues that may arise
Break – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Toccata and Fugue: we are going to try again to dig into the Toccata section of this piece. Prepare yourself for a wild ride of tempo changes and conducting gestures! Haha… (oh, and please have a pencil to make notes in your music)
Palladio: read through, addressing any remaining issues with rhythm or notes
IF TIME: Toy Symphony mvt.2: read through, then we will start to work through each section individually. Remember that the section marked ‘trio’ IS part of the 2nd movement.
Road Map = Menuetto: @68-81, repeat @68-81, @82-97, repeat @82-97, Trio @98-107, repeat @98-107, @108-123, repeat @108-123, @68-81, @82-97 Fine

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 6
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church, 5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: sight read a random selection
Dance of the Knights: Mitchell will given the first half of rehearsal this week.
Break
Star Trek: we will start by reviewing the work we did two weeks ago (beginning thru@78), then we will focus this evening from there to the end
Toccata and Fugue: we are going to dig into the Toccata section of this piece. Prepare yourself for a wild ride of tempo changes and conducting gestures! Haha… (oh, and please have a pencil to make notes in your music)

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Remembrance Day – Amazing Grace (arr. Jacob de Haan)
2. Christmas Concerto (for solo instruments) (arr. Robert W. Smith)
3. Dance of the Knights (Prokofiev arr. Nathan Jones)
4. Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (Wagner arr. Jay Bocook)
5. Libertango (Astor Piazzolla arr. Paul Murtha)
6. Palladio (Karl Jenkins arr Robert Longfield)
7. Remembrance Day – O’ Canada / God Save the Queen (arr. Stern)
8. Star Trek Into Darkness, Highlights from (Michael Giacchino arr. Michael Brown)
9. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (J.S. Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
10. The Toy Symphony (Joseph Haydn trans. Maurice Gardner)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 5
Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church, 5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

RE: DECEMBER CONCERT(s): Our showcase December Concert will take place on Sunday, December 15th this year. Neither the Singers nor the String Orchestra is able to join us for the showcase this fall. We have decided to divide the performing groups into two concerts offered back to back. The concert bands (beg, int and symph) will perform earlier in the afternoon, while the jazz band will perform separately later in the afternoon. I am hoping to include the small ensembles and the jazz combos as casual entertainment in between. Stay tuned for additional performance dates.

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: sight read a random selection
Toy Symphony mvt1: slowing this down for rhythmic AND note accuracy. I also want to include/line up the ‘toys’, working out proper dynamics so that they can be heard (this will be different for each)
Palladio: we will start rehearsing at the end and working backwards this evening, slowing down the last three bars to improve note accuracy
Elsa’s (Bocook): read through, correcting anything that needs to be addressed
Toy Symphony mvt2: read through first, then working through each section individually
IF TIME: Libertano: read through

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Remembrance Day – Amazing Grace (arr. Jacob de Haan)
2. Christmas Concerto (for solo instruments) (arr. Robert W. Smith)
3. Dance of the Knights (Prokofiev arr. Nathan Jones)
4. Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (Wagner arr. Jay Bocook)
5. Libertango (Astor Piazzolla arr. Paul Murtha)
6. Palladio (Karl Jenkins arr Robert Longfield)
7. Remembrance Day – O’ Canada / God Save the Queen (arr. Stern)
8. Star Trek Into Darkness, Highlights from (Michael Giacchino arr. Michael Brown)
9. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (J.S. Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
10. The Toy Symphony (Joseph Haydn trans. Maurice Gardner)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 4
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church, 5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

NOTE: in the interest of time this season, I am going to focus on the Bocook version of Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral. You can set aside the Cailliet version for now.

NOTE (please print): I am switching out the version of O’Canada I had originally planned on using with a different one. Please print off the Jeff Stern version of O’Canada / God Save the Queen / Star Spangled Banner. This is because I want to line up the music with the J.L. Ilsley High School band who will be performing with us during the Remembrance Day ceremony on November 11th

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: reading the Jeff Stern version of O’Canada and God Save the Queen
Christmas Concerto: read through all three movements… hopefully with soloists doing a basic ‘crawl through’ with us.
Toccata: we will start to dig into the fugue section beginning @49
BREAK
The Dance of the Knights: Mitchell will take the second half of the rehearsal this evening.

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Amazing Grace (arr. Jacob de Haan) for Remembrance Day
2. Christmas Concerto (for solo instruments) (arr. Robert W. Smith)
3. Dance of the Knights (Prokofiev arr. Nathan Jones)
4. Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (Wagner arr. Jay Bocook)
5. Libertango (Astor Piazzolla arr. Paul Murtha)
6. Palladio (Karl Jenkins arr Robert Longfield)
7. O’ Canada / God Save the Queen (arr. Jeffrey Stern) *** switched Oct 1st for Remembrance Day
8. Star Trek Into Darkness, Highlights from (Michael Giacchino arr. Michael Brown)
9. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (J.S. Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
10. The Toy Symphony (Joseph Haydn trans. Maurice Gardner)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 3
Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Salvation Army Church, 328 Herring Cove Rd, Halifax

DIFFERENT REHEARSAL LOCATION THIS WEEK!
Just a reminder that this week (September 23-27th) the Aurora North End Parish Church will have contractors working in the sanctuary space. Over the course of the week, they will be removing all of the old carpet and replacing it with new.

As a result, we have made arrangements to hold our rehearsals for both the small ensembles and the symphonic band at the Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters building, 330 Herring Cove Road, Spryfield/Halifax.

The Salvation Army has been kind enough to offer us rehearsal space free of charge next week, but I felt it might be nice to offer a donation to the organization as a kind of thank you. If you are willing and able, I will place a jar near my conductor’s stand during rehearsal next week. Feel free to donate any amount you feel is appropriate and we will make sure it is gifted to the Salvation Army on the band’s behalf.

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sight reading: a random sight reading selection will be handed out at rehearsal. Please remember to return all original parts.
Star Trek: focus this evening will be on the first half of this piece, up to bar @78
Elsa’s (Bocook): we are going to start getting into this piece, starting with a read through then addressing any rhythmic or overarching musical concerns
Toccata: if time before break, we will try reading through this work
BREAK
Toy Symphony, mvt 1: we will focus on rhythmic accuracy. Try and remember to make the music feel light
IF TIME: Toy Symphony, mvt 3: we will work through this movement slowly, running it a few times for rhythmic and note accuracy… then if time, we will start to speed it up

SYMPHONIC BAND: FALL 2024 REPERTOIRE
1. Christmas Concerto (for solo instruments) (arr. Robert W. Smith)
2. Dance of the Knights (Prokofiev arr. Nathan Jones)
3. Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (Wagner arr. Jay Bocook)
4. Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral (Wagner trans. Lucien Cailliet)
5. Libertango (Astor Piazzolla arr. Paul Murtha)
6. Palladio (Karl Jenkins arr Robert Longfield)
7. O’ Canada (Calixa Lavelle arr. Kenneth Bray)
8. Star Trek Into Darkness, Highlights from (Michael Giacchino arr. Michael Brown)
9. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (J.S. Bach arr. Victor Lopez)
10. The Toy Symphony (Joseph Haydn trans. Maurice Gardner)

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 2
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the symphonic band program, contact the executive director of the Second Chances Band Program, Chris Ward at eloboesolo@gmail.com

A NOTE FROM THE NB BAND ASSOCIATION:
re: The Bathurst Community Band Festival 2024

We have a fantastic large group already registered for our festivals but, still room for more! Time is running out quickly – registration ends tomorrow (Friday Sep. 13) at midnight. Don’t delay any longer. WE WANT TO SEE YOU IN BATHURST from Sep. 27th-29th for Bathurst Festination 2024! Tomorrow is also the final day to book at the preferred hotel for discount pricing.
www.nbbamusic.ca/fest2024

https://www.nbbamusic.ca/where-to-stay.html

Jeff MacQuarrie

RECORDINGS HAVE NOW BEEN POSTED
If you enjoy listening to recordings of the music we are rehearsing, either for your own enjoyment or for home practice, then please be advised that I have now posted recordings of a number of the selections on the Recordings page under the LOGIN menu.

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Sightreading: Jacob deHaan’s Amazing Grace (will likely be used for our upcoming Remembrance Day performance)
Palladio: will be working on rhythm and tempo… keeping a steady beat and also getting the repeated sixteenth sections to come out… it is the driving force that makes this piece work
Star Trek: focus this evening will be on the first half of this piece, up to bar @78
IF TIME: Toccata: if time before break, we will try reading through this work
Dance of the Knights: Mitchell will take the second 1/2 of rehearsal this evening

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Second Chances Symphonic Band
Objectives Page
2024 Fall Season
Week 1 – Reading Session
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 7pm
Location: Aurora North End Parish Church
5666 Sebastian Street, Halifax

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the symphonic band program, contact the executive director of the Second Chances Band Program, Chris Ward at eloboesolo@gmail.com

Objectives for the Reading Session include:

Warm Up: we will begin by playing C Concert Scale
Dance of the Knights: read through
Elsa (Bocook): read through
Palladio: read through
Star Trek: read through
Toy Symphony: read through
Elsa (Cailliet): read through
Libertango: read through
Toccata: read through

FEES for Fall 2024:
In September each member of the Second Chances Symphonic Band will be asked to pay the fall season’s registration fee.

$175 registration fee (1st group)
$90 registration fee (for any additional group)
$50 registration fee for a student currently in high school or attending a recognized post secondary institution
$15 estimated cost of both books listed above

Halifax Community Band Festival
Also, don’t forget about our very own Halifax Community Band Festival being held at Mount Saint Vincent University on May 23rd through 25th 2025! This is the weekend we host players from various different community bands from all over the Maritime provinces for a fellowship of music making and networking. Make sure you mark it on your calendar! Its a great chance to learn from great guest conductors and meet new friends who love to play as well!
website: https://www.secondchancesband-ns.com/hfx-band-fest/

Second Chances Community Band Society of Nova Scotia

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