The CCB Season Begins!

The Columbia Community Band had its first rehearsal last week and I am pretty excited about the new season.  For one, I truly enjoy being part of a large ensemble.  Playing with over forty people is different from playing by yourself in your house or even with a small chamber group.  It is a different mindset; I am a team player, not a soloist.  I have to blend in with not only the rest of the flute section but with the entire band.  Somehow, the tubas and I must be one - good thing one of my best friends is a tuba player and tuba/flute duets were a regular occurrence in high school and college.

Our first concert of the season, the Heritage Festival, is in a couple of weeks on Sunday, September 21st at 4 PM in Nifong Park. Then we will have a delightful holiday-themed Sounds of the Season Concert in the first week or so of December.  It is always nice to have deadlines, like concerts, and a folder-worth of music to be working on because it keeps you in shape.

However, first rehearsals can be rough.  The group hasn't played together in a while and who knows how many people actually acknowledged their instrument's existence during the break.  Everyone has to be attentive in order to have any success in the first rehearsal.  Add in the fact that there may be new members, which is fantastic, and that the group will inevitably be sight reading, and  you have a recipe for potential...issues.  It may seem like the rehearsal is a wash, but you have to start somewhere!

So how did our first rehearsal go?  Not too bad.  We read a good deal of music and the people in charge of picking the repertoire for concerts are getting a better idea of what to program for this ensemble.  Here were three highlights of the rehearsal for me:

Bond...James Bond.  This is an arrangement by Stephen Bulla and quite honestly, what gets me most about this arrangement is that Bulla gave the flutes a chance to shine in their lower register (and we are paired with the horns!!!! not the clarinets which would seem the more "normal" convention.  LOVE French Horns).  This is just fun for everyone because, think about it, James Bond has been a staple of the American movie culture for decades.  This piece is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Looney Tunes Overture. Also a great piece for a listener of any age.   Who doesn't like Looney Tunes?!  I mean, most people are familiar with classical music because of this show.  You may not think you know any opera tunes, but if you grew up watching Bugs Bunny, you know a lot more than you think.  Beethoven and Mozart also make repeat appearances during the cartoon antics.  And imagine my joy when I looked at the piece and noticed an asterisk (*)  next to "Piccolo" at the top of the page where it says "1st Flute & Piccolo*".  I love footnotes to begin with, but check this one out: "It is important for Piccolo to play throughout".  DONE!

Red, White & Brass.  This piece is interesting and towards the end a mild frustration, for me personally.  So, it is a medley of American music originally arranged for the Canadian Brass.  It has since been arranged for orchestra, obviously (see above), and wind band (what CCB will play...again, obviously).  I think it is cute, corny, and cheesy, as it should be.  But what I struggled with at rehearsal was the last featured piece: Stars and Stripes Forever.  I have been playing it since I was twelve, and apparently I am very stuck in my ways.  This arrangement plays around with intermingling the melody of the Trio and the Piccolo solo...at first not in the original key.  When it finally is played in the "correct" key, the octaves are all wrong and it just feels...awkward.  Sort of funny that I will have to look at this outside of rehearsal just so I can wrap my head around a creative arrangement of the classic march.  Just goes to show you...flexibility is essential.

And that is only three of the pieces in our folder!  With American Salute, The Barber of Seville, and the pieces yet to join the folder, this season looks like it is going to be a good one!  Stay tuned for concert details which you can also find, as I learn them, on my website!