Schedule ready!

Margie has sorted out all the ticks, X's and emails to come up with dates most of which most people should be able to attend. (Now there's a straightforward statement if there ever was one.) They are listed in the Calendar box at lower right, and here in plain text:

• Oct. 16/Tuesday
• Oct. 23/Tuesday - EXTRA REHEARSAL
• Oct. 30/Tuesday
  
• Nov. 12/Monday
• Nov. 21/Wednesday
• Nov. 27/Tuesday
  
• Dec. 4/Tuesday
• Dec. 18/Tuesday
  
• Jan. 2/Wednesday
• Jan. 29/ Tuesday
  
• Feb. 20/Wednesday
• Feb. 26/Tuesday
  
• Mar. 4/Tuesday
  
• Mar. 19/Wednesday
  
• Apr. 22/Tuesday
• Apr. 29/Tuesday

All rehearsals will be at St. David's at 6:45-for-7:00 until 8:30 7:15-for-7:30 until 9:00. The next upcoming rehearsal will always show at the top of the Calendar box. As extra rehearsals are scheduled, they'll go there too. See you on the 16th!

How's Monday?

One more thing: please email Margie (unless you've spoken to her) to tell her if you can make rehearsals on Mondays, the only day not on the yellow-ticky-sheet. We'll get this scheduling thing worked out eventually!

A note about comments

Several people expressed confusion about leaving comments on this blog... sorry for not being more clear! The ability to comment is open to everyone. Here's how it's done.

At the bottom of each post are the words "0 comments" (or, hopefully, "1 comment" or more!). Click there to open the comment window.

If there are comments already, you can read them there, and then there is a box for your own comment. Fire away!

Under that is a funnily-printed word, which you must type correctly where it says "Word Verification" to prove to the computer that you are human. (Trust me, you don't want to know what non-humans might post to a blog.)

After that is the "Choose an identity" section, and this is important: unless you have a Google or Gmail account, click on the "Other" button to be able to just put in your name and web page, if you have one. I don't need your email address or full name, just something identifying would be nice. "Anonymous" is not polite! If you do have a Google account, and want to use it, select the "Google/Blogger" button and put in your Gmail username and password: Blogspot belongs to Google, so it's safe and no one will steal your password.

Finally, go ahead and push the "Publish Your Comment" button. Your comment will appear immediately, so be sure you mean what you say. Otherwise, I hope these instructions are clear; let me know by following them!

Cheers, Heather

Second rehearsal

Another good rehearsal this evening. There were five first violinists, five seconds, two thirds, two violists, and three cellists in attendance for a total of 17 players plus conductor. We spent a good bit of time in the beginning tuning up and getting organized; I think as we go along we'll get better at getting ready to play, although it's nice that we're such a friendly bunch that do love a chat! Alison handed out selections from Corelli's Christmas Concerto: 'Vivace', 'Allegro', and 'Pastorale', and there are plans for two violin solos. We didn't play any of that tonight, but do look at it for next time. MIDI files for this piece can be found at the website printed at the bottom, www.virtualsheetmusic.com .

We spent most of the evening on Corelli's 'Vivace' in C major, starting with rhythm exercises that matched most of the trickier rhythms in the piece, trading around rhythm patterns among sections. The second half has lots of counterpoint in it and needs more work than the first half; we'll concentrate on that half next time.

In the last ten minutes or so, we read through Schubert's Menuetto and Trio in C major, which we didn't attempt last time. It's sounding pretty good without any large stumbling blocks.

Musical term of the day: Hemiola, where three bars of music in 3/4 time contain 3 half notes (the middle one written as two tied quarters). Corelli's Vivace contains several. Brahms was also famous for them. More info can be found at Wikipedia.

Next rehearsal date and time, to be announced! If you haven't indicated your preference of day of the week to Anne via email or Margie via yellow-ticky-sheet, please email either and let them know when you can meet. And, if you haven't paid Margie, please do so at the next rehearsal.

Need stringed-instrument repair, music, accessories, or advice? Go see Rodney DeVries, Luthier; 77 King's Road, 753-2680 (E-mail). An unpaid and unendorsed recommendation!

All for now!
Heather

First meeting

The Adult String Orchestra met for the first time this year this evening at St. David's. In attendance were 12 violinists, 2 violists, and 2 cellists, with a few more members promised to attend who couldn't make it tonight. We welcomed a bunch of new members, discussed scheduling for a while, and got down to business with Alison, our new conductor. We all introduced ourselves and talked about our plans for the year, and then tuned up to play. Alison divided us into sections and chose section leaders. We did a rhythm exercise to get going, and Alison handed out "Vivace" by Corelli and "Menuetto and Trio" by Schubert, both in C major. We started with the Corelli and attempted to read it through, and Alison worked with each section to improve our rhythm. By the end of the session we read through the whole thing and sounded not too bad at all for a first go!

Notes: our rough schedule so far will focus on the first and fourth Tuesdays of the month; there may be supplementary meetings on Thursdays or Fridays of off-weeks for anyone feeling the need for more technical practice, to be scheduled later. We will meet at St. David's Church, 98 Elizabeth Avenue, any time but Thursdays. Anne is our scheduling and email person; Margie holds the purse. Don't forget to pay Margie the year's fees at the next meeting, and, new people, give her your registration information (the green sheet). The next rehearsal is September 25th; come at 6:45 to be tuned up and ready to play by 7:00.

First post!

Welcome, players with the Adult String Orchestra! This blog, run by Heather (one of the second violins and resident techie) will be our spot on the web for rehearsal reports, announcements, points to discuss, or anything else on-topic worth sharing. I'm going to attempt to write rehearsal reports in the evening after rehearsal, but would welcome some help with that - no techieness required, just like sending an email. I'll also be the Keeper of the Calendar, over there on the right, and put events there as they are determined. There's an RSS feed to subscribe to, at the bottom of this page, labeled "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" - click there to keep track of updates to the blog. Don't hesitate to leave a comment on any entry! Any questions or requests to put stuff on the web, just let me (Heather) know.