Klarinet Archive - Posting 000236.txt from 1993/12

From: Andrea Hakari <hakari@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Becky Weissman and her bass clarinet
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 22:36:13 -0500

Hooray for 2 thumb keys! Right now I'm playing a school-owned Selmer
low C bass. To the best of my knowledge, there was no major work
needed to be done on it when St. Olaf first got it a few years back.
I just started on the low C this year. Love it to death! We did
Irish Tune from County Derry a bit in band, and on some spots I popped
down the octave, mostly for low written D's. Mr. Johnson didn't
notice, and I thought it sounded great!

Oh, and remember a while back when I whined about not getting to play
w/ the orchestra for Sorceror's Apprentice? Well, Christmas Festival,
the holiest of holy events here (we perform for 15,412 people over 4
performances and still turn away thousands of people a year) rolled
nigh. Occasionally I'll look at the Orchestra board to check the wind
part assignment sheets. I noticed one sheet, for Daniel Kallman's
"Messiah, Prince of Peace". There was a first clarinet part...and a
second clarinet part...AND A BASS CLARINET PART!!!!! Knowing that the
orch only carries 2 clarinets, and neither of them plays bass, I
dashed a note to Mr. Amundson, the orch director, telling him I'd be
interested in playing it. He called me at work that night and told me
to come pick up the part that Monday. I got the part, and a couple
hours after, I was playing with a real-live orchestra! *bonus* This
year's Christmas Festival is being broadcast on television!
Unfortunately, "my" piece didn't make the 60-minute TV version, but WCAL, the
St. Olaf-supported public radio station, made up a 90-minute radio
version, which I'm almost definite should have my piece on it! Call
your local station. First TV broadcast of the TV version are
happening tomorrow night (Dec. 15). Look for me in one of the choirs
- I'm in Cantorei, with white-and-blue robes, on the right of the
stage. I'm in 4th row from the front of my choir, second in from the
right. On massed-choir pieces, there'll be a big hole in front of me
(string-playing orchies missing!) WATCH ME ON TV!

Oh, and I'm not too sure how many of y'all are interested, but the St.
Olaf Band has finished interviewing the 4 candidates for the position
of director of the St. Olaf Band. Candidates were Timothy Mahr, Laura
Rexroth, Wayne Romer, and Royce Tevis. Informal polling of various
bandies shows a ranking (from best to not-so-best) of
Romer-Mahr-Tevis-Rexroth. I'll keep y'all posted...

--Andrea, Bb bass clarinetist extraordinaire!!!
St. Olaf Band, bass and Bb contrabass clarinets
St. Olaf Clarinet Choir, Bb contrabass clarinet
St. Olaf Cantorei, alto 1
St. Olaf Orchestra, part-time bass clarinet