Klarinet Archive - Posting 000043.txt from 2001/08

From: Mark Thiel <mark.thiel@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] I'm baaack!
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 10:40:15 -0400

Lacy Schroeder wrote:
>Well, the important thing is that you got to play! Last summer all I
did was
>practice and I felt like I rotted. I didn't want to do that again! I've

>never heard of the U. City Summer Band, but I have heard of the Gateway

>Festival Orchestra. A friend of mine said it was rather interesting to
say
>the least. I'm just glad they have fun playing. I think I played that
Rerun
>piece in high school on band trip...does it have the theme from "Green
>Acres" in it?

Rhea Jacobs wrote:
> What's the U. City Summer Band like? My teacher got a call earlier
in the
>summer asking for referrals for clarinet players and suggested that I
might
>want to play in it "so I could start off in a band where I wouldn't be
>intimidated." (Not that that's a problem, yet; I haven't got enough ego

>attached to my playing.) I decided not to, since I'm in and out of town
all
>summer, but I'm curious...

The U. City band (University City, for the uninitiated, is a first-ring
suburb of
St. Louis which happens to not have a university in it) is a
pretty-decent
amateur band that plays a six week season ending this week (music
sorting
party last night). Rhea, this band, and I think most summer bands
recognize that
people take vacations in the summer and accomodates to shifting
personnel
somehow. the U. city band practices thursdays for our tuesday concerts.
The
repertoire ranges from better to worse than "Rhapsody of Reruns". We
did
Holst Eb suite, Weber clar Concertino -- which seemed to work pretty
well
in band arrangement --- and then we had two John Williams pieces
on one concert which I considered cruel and unusual punishment. The
bass clarinet part to his "Raiders March" could be played entirely with
the
left hand! grumble grumble - take an instrument with a 4+ octave
range and restrict it to a sixth! I guess I should thank the arranger
too --
but then what else would the bc play in this thing other than
BOM-BOMPA BOM BOMPA BOM BOMPA BOM ?
Ooops, sorry, I digress, and I guess even the finest orchestras play
some music they despise -- especially fine orchestras like the St.
Louis Symphony that are hurting for cash.
I think "Rhapsody of reruns" has everything
BUT Green Acres, but I don't think I'd recognize the
Green Acres theme if I heard it.

As far as "start off in a band where I wouldn't be intimidated."
goes -- I'm sure that there are amateur bands and orchestras
that intimidate but I think that they are the exception. There
are all sorts of bands in this area -- U. City is nominally
membership by audition, some like Affton Community Band
are open to anyone that shows up, but most bands are short
on clarinets (and long on flutes), so there is no excuse for
not playing somewhere.

And finally (thank goodness), I heard the Gateway Festival Orchestra
once this summer. They didn't sound bad and the winds seemed
quite competent, but I had to have my wife hold me down to keep
me from running up, wrenching away the baton and PICKING
THOSE TEMPOS UP A LITTLE BIT.

Mark Thiel

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