YouTube Vacation Rehearsal Video Playlist!

Welcome Horizons

m. 34 – third measure of this section: flutes and trumpets have a melody line played at forte, everyone else has a subito piano, make sure you start very soft and build to the sforzando at 41

m. 41 there is a fermata!

m. 43 – 46 create a very subtle decrescendo so that you can crescendo at 47

m. 14 – saxophones make sure you are cognizant of the dynamic motion here

m. 22 – 23 – upper bassoon part should be brought out there

m. 33 – is marked piano, be as quiet as possible there into the crescendo

Saturday Night At The Saloon

- make sure you are monitoring crescendos and decrescendos to emphasize the motion of the piece

- the very LAST measure: be aware there are TWO fermatas, one on beat 3 in each measure

m. 78, 79, 81, 82 have the repetitive decrescendos make sure those happen, low brass and winds make sure those are bell tones

m. 70 & 74 if you have accented quarter notes bring those out

m. 77 piccolo and flute 1 play this as strongly and confidently as possible

The Twilight Hours

start: only vibraphone and guitar for four measures and then oboe solo

m. 50 – large choir moment

m. 54 - strings need to be prominent here

m. 86 is just organ

m. 100 – large forte moment in the brass

m. 180 – beat four starts a Flute 1 solo, Jax will be “dragging the heck out of” beat 4

m. 184 – the last two beats will be specifically conducted as 3 and 4 and 1

“Organ-like” for saxophones: should blend to sound like one church organ instrument sound, if you can do it without taking a breath it would be ideal.  Anytime where notes change, bring that change out slightly.

m. 189 – make sure there is NO EDGE in the brass tone, very warm air.

Windfish Explorations

m. 19 the same kind of texture of bell tones in the held notes exists here as it does in other places in this piece, make sure you hit the note and back out of the way

m. 26 flutes, oboes, clarinets make sure you hit a crescendo here as everyone else decrescendos

m. 38 the people playing half notes are leading into the 6/8 and Tad will use that to go into “2” for the beats for 6/8

m. 39 the 6/8 has a lot of bell tone like notes, make sure you get the shape of the note with the dynamic

m. 58 (and elsewhere) Bass patterns DO change up from time to time! Watch your rhythms. Dial in exactly how long the notes are

First half of rehearsal is a mystery, however:

Minecraft

m. 21 if you have a whole note that STARTS in 21 – trombone 1, trumpet 3, flute, alto flute make sure it is “snuck” in not a very impactful entrances

m. 22 quarter notes – also sneak that in not necessarily impactful

5/4 bars:  The last beat which is a rest for most of the orchestra - is going to feel like a fermata so WATCH Jax for the continuation into the next bar

m. 52 – two before bari saxes make that as delicate as possible

Pigstep: Eighth notes should all be staccato, after measure 77 bring those notes down in dynamic to be underneath the melody

m. 85 Flute and Piano – less “pretty” make sure there is a heavier accent on all the long notes

Slime Rancher

m. 181 – 182 – note that the crescendo starts at piano and only goes up to a MF

Letter D: People with half notes and whole notes have a repetitive dynamic trend of crescendos and decrescendos so make sure that the valley of each of these is on beat 3 of each section make sure it moves together as many people have it.  People without half and whole notes keep things very articulate

Outrun:

m. 108: Flute, oboe, clarinet, alto and tenor sax, horn, trumpet 1, glockenspiel, piano, guitar make sure there is separation within there to really accent that rhythm. As much lift on the eighth notes as possible

m. 100: bass voices make sure there is also some lift and separation in the bass line to drive the energy

last measure: IS A FERMATA

m. 80: watch for large dynamic swells and overemphasize a bit to make sure we hear what it should sound like.

Melody is often in the woodwinds and violins – make sure they are being heard as much as possible!

Mario Super Sluggers:

m. 9 as much out of the woodwind “blips” as you can get

m. 43 after fermata is a count in and then go

m. 65 measure of drum kit to set the new tempo and then it goes forward, no pause

m. 94 bring out the steel drum part  

m. 119 fermata is on “crowd noise” which is general crowd noise that we will probably recruit choir for

m. 140 tempo is counted in, and measure of drum kit to set it

fermata at the end is in the second to last measure – cut off IS the LAST NOTE

dial in the rhythms so that you can make sure they are being played together with other sections

Harvestella

Measure before D:  four fermatas, each one gets progressively longer so WATCH JAX

m. 48 has a rallantando

m. 79 anyone with six eighth notes in a row are the “tempo change” that will help lead into the next tempo.

m. 91 – end :  More dynamics, bring the volume down a bit so that there can be a large crescendo to the end

Windfish Explorations

m. 58: very tonally different, and needs to be treated that way, more aggression overall

m. 60: yes the offset 16th notes DO exist and should be played that way if possible as it is an echo

m. 27: Try to be more legato overall

m. 39: melody try to be more tenuto there, held notes make sure to play as bell tones as much as possible, shorter notes try to be more like raindrops

Twilight Hours

m. 124: anyone with eighth note running figures it is important to keep them deliberately placed, short and together

m. 126 low brass: make these notes here just a hair longer

m. 128 more intensity when the melody lines come in

Welcome Horizons

M. 43 and 45 the downbeats of each should be marked staccato

M. 47 – 48 make sure we get a big solid build up, there – back off a bit before that if you have to.

Avoid breathing between the two fermatas at the end

m. 37: strings specifically violins and violas have a wild dynamic profile here and there needs to be as much of this as possible.

At the fermata in the middle of the piece, the cutoff will be beat one of the next measure in tempo

If you start or end a phrase at a piano dynamic, assume that is a fade out or in depending on where it is.

Slime Rancher

A lot of this season is focused on dynamic motion, and this piece is the largest one for this

Letter C: while everyone starts at the same level, some people crescendo at different times so watch that

m. 77: Cello, double bass, piano, bass clarinet, bassoon lean into the change of the note there

m. 80: be very dramatic with the forte-piano (fp)

m. 85 spikier articulation with the moving notes

m. 95: more confident entrance if you have that entrance there

Letter F:  give strong articulations here unless marked legato

entire 6/8 section: throughout all of this make sure that you can hear the entire woodwind line, if you are not playing one of those instruments stay very down underneath that

m. 179: make sure you build all the way up to the high volume and VERY cleanly stopping there

Letter I: bassoons and marimba are the only ones with that rhythm so really bring the duple section out.  

Saturday Night at the Saloon

m. 101: starting here there are a lot of people have two beat decrescendos, those are intended more as bell tones, a little more of a slight accent at the beginning and fade way all the way out. Articulate parts make sure you are very confident on the rhythms and lock those in. Countermelody do not get too loud: clarinet, tenor sax, trombone and lower trumpet line need to be stronger there.

Remember that 16thnotes are not triplets

Civilization 6

m. 95:  Russian section with accelerating tempos, the spots that are accelerating are also getting louder, so that needs to be very much dialed in – low instruments that start there need to really ensure that the stronger part of the note needs to be the front part of the note

m. 130 – end:  be confident with the rhythms here, as there are parts of all four different parts of the themes mashed together here

m. 130: cleaner articulations, the front of the note should be the strongest part of the note, more djembe all throughout the end section

Mario Super Sluggers

m 94:  Any 16thnote and 8th note pickup notes make sure those punch through

m. 98: low instruments – dial in the chord that is being created here it is “crunchy”

m. 118:  Coming right out of the fall, crowd noise should start softly and then build throughout the fermata and then continue throughout the next few measures after that until you start to play

m. 140: brass – more dynamic motion with the slow notes that build towards the quarter notes

Minecraft

m. 52: stacatto make sure it’s a nice dense sound at the beginning of the note and then it floats away right away, separate like it’s bouncing with a lot of lift. Accented notes make sure they are full value. Strings make sure you are playing very smooth and legato. Everyone watch the dynamics here so it does not get too loud, most everyone should be at mp

m. 70: those with the moving 16th notes that lead into the next measure, make sure these are on time, metric and menacing

Lonely Rolling Star

m. 36: High brass, trombones, horns and saxes fit into the spaces of the bass trombone, euphonium and tuba part, make sure all of your articulations and rhythms are precise and metric with more weight on the front of the note

Letter D: make sure we follow the dynamic of a mp for most of the ensemble

m. 62: the eighth note here is on the AND of four, also there should be a crescendo here in all parts

Civilization 6

Anytime you are coming off of a rest, come in strong so we know where you are in case something is incorrect, we can fix it!

m. 73: if you have quarter notes and eighth notes that is the main melody, make sure that we hear the silences on beat four, but don’t cut it off sharply just take a breath there. Whole notes stay underneath of the moving notes but still maintain a nice tone.

m. 95: for the accelerando, WATCH the conductor, try to memorize notes if you can or position yourself so you can see well.  Make sure you’re keeping up with the tempo.

m. 131: clarinets and choir try to have crisper notes here when you come in with this melody. Anyone coming in with this melody afterwards also make sure the notes are crisp

Twilight Hours

m. 22: There is  a good contrast between a legato melody and a very articulated melody here,  look for rhythm and note accuracy over everything, if you are not playing the melodic line here make sure you’re staying underneath the melody

mordent: the squiggle over certain notes = start on the note, go up one step, then back down to the note. It is NOT a trill

m. 22 – 42:  off-beats will have the tendency to slow down, make sure you’re staying right with the conductor

m. 42 and 46 if you have the two dotted eighths tied to the held note, make sure there is some separation between each of those notes

m. 48: make sure there’s a little accent on the four quarter notes that go upwards, less volume on saxophones, more volume with choir

m. 54: do not come in early on the last eighth note of the measure

m. 59: oboe, clarinet and bassoon should come out of the texture a little bit as this is introducing something that will happen in the next section

m. 74: Low instruments can bring out their eighth notes a bit more

m. 77: crescendo through the four quarter notes

Minecraft

The hard part about the beginning section is that it sounds like it should be in 3 but it is in 4! Make sure you count and watch the conductor!

m. 21: trumpets, trombones when you come in, make sure you sneak in quietly a little softer

m. 22: piccolo, soprano and alto sax make sure to pop out of the rest of the texture a bit, saxophones not as much as piccolo

m. 31:  The 5/4 bars are going to function as if there’s a little fermata on the very last beat (5), so the last beat will stretch a bit

m. 73: choir gets the staccato eighth notes with the orchestra – make sure that orchestra and choir both have very sharp staccato notes here. Make sure this goes down in volume at m. 77 during the solo

Passing Breeze

Make sure you watch the conductor to dial in – there is a lot of drumset but we shouldn’t rely on it for tempo.

Very beginning: the 16th rest is on beat 2 - fp needs to be hit stronger when it is present

M. 48:  bass clarinet, bari sax, bassoon, euphonium, tuba, electric bass be very articulate here, simulate an electric bass “feel” to the notes

If you have a whole note that ends in a rest, give it a little bit of a decay unless otherwise indicated. Ex measure 58-59

M. 55: high note in trumpet and saxophone give that a little bit of a decay as well so it’s not as harsh

M. 55-56  and 106-107: held notes across two measures decay in the first measure and then come back up to the dynamic during the second

Welcome Horizons

M. 42: dial in the articulations here, make sure the strong part of the note is right at the beginning so that the tempo does not lag due to how the strong part of the note is heard

Last flugelhorn note should land with everyone else so will need to watch for the ending for everyone there

More bassoon solo part at the end

M. 43: woodwind section with the fast and high parts, make sure to lock in together with all of the rhythms

M. 50: make sure that you decresendo the note all the way down to piano as fast as possible so it seems like it fades out as the flugelhorn comes in

M. 14: homogenous rhythms across the board, and a little more saxophone in this section

M. 33 make sure you fade in right there instead of abruptly coming in loud at the end of the flute solo

M. 36: really pay attention and follow the subito piano

Saturday Night at the Saloon

The overall vibe of this piece is that the quarter notes need to be very bouncy. Whenever you have running quarter notes keep them very separated. This piece is sort of “swing” but not in the traditional sense, make sure it is metric do not drag it out.

M. 14: Think forward and stay a little bit ahead of the beat, don’t relax too much and slow down

M. 57: trombone, tuba, tenor sax, bari sax, bassoon, bass clarinet, contrabasses – really punch the faster notes in your line here, but then fade out quickly on the held note as well.

M. 61: half notes should be more majestic – bell tones - ish

M. 101: a little more from the half notes here just a small amount more than mf, not to overwhelm but be present

M. 108: WATCH for the tempo, don’t get to 109 before the conductor

Harvestella

Letter C: be confident on your entrances, and make sure you accent slightly when you come in

Low Brass: separate the eighth notes a little bit at C

2 before C: crescendo throughout the dotted quarter notes here

M. 13: if you have 16th notes here, crescendo through those with a sharper articulation if you have staccato markings here

M. 52 going into E: the quarter notes are the same tempo as the dotted quarter notes in the 6/8 going forward 

Slime Rancher

M. 181 the softest entrance ever from everyone

The very last measure is a cut off on beat 1  

m. 115: this section builds throughout and strings outline everything that’s happening with the melodies in the winds that come in and out

m. 121: saxophone entrance volume should be mp

Letter D: DO NOT RUSH it is slower than you think, whenever there is a percussive sounding part make sure it’s aggressively crisp

Letter B: very articulate part that moves around throughout – make sure it’s very crisp and precise

M 47:  a tasteful increase in baritone saxophone here specifically

M. 59: Bassoons and cellos are together, it is a crucial part for motion and adding weight, make sure it’s brought out more

Letter C: big slow build to 75, do not rush to the final dynamic and make sure moving notes come out just a bit

Minecraft

M. 98: anyone playing straight eighth notes make sure you are in time with the conductor and percussion as this is our tempo through here. 16thnotes need to happen on the “and” make sure they are precise

M 105: make sure you follow the actual dynamic that exists here

M. 107: trombones don’t enter too loud here

Windfish Explorations

It is just ocarinas until measure 10. There is a cutoff at measure 10 after a fermata, and then percussion gets counted in while the ocarinists get back into the orchestra.  

m. 38 is going to be conducted in 2 as everyone has two half notes there to lead into the 6/8 measure

Last note: is on the and of 1 there is supposed to be a slight pause there so there should be a cut off exactly on 1 from the previous measure. The last note should be short!

M. 39:  Want as much bell tone sound out of the dotted quarter eighth – not aggressive but weighty with a nice decay on the end. Up and down triplet line separated and articulate with the melody line should be legato.

Lonely Rolling Star

M. 97: bass clarinet, bassoon, brass the fall should be immediate

M. 116: Make sure there is silence on beat 1 and the first part of beat 2

M. 201-204:  all of the woodwinds that have eighth note runs down in 203 bring the volume up, trumpets and horns increase through 204

M. 43: If you have 16th notes bring those out.
 

Saturday Night at the Saloon

M. 93-100: accelerando is entire four measures of that section and will be gradual so WATCH

Trumpets should try and blend with what the alto flute has been playing prior and fade into the sound instead of jarring transition  

M. 57: More body to the triumphant horn calls in this section, large and bell tone like

M. 61: Back off a bit if do not have the melody is in the high winds and strings and needs to be heard

M. 37: Woodwinds that have the rhythm here, can listen to other sections previously that start out with the same type of rhythm such as strings

M.. 25: more percussion throughout this section!

Passing Breeze

Big thing for this piece is dynamic motion – exaggerate forte-pianos especially

M. 88: string melody here, don’t back off here if you are a string player. Everyone else needs to limit the ceilings of your upper dynamics here.

M. 48: anyone that has the quarter note line in here, give the quarter notes more bounce and make sure they are energetic and articulate

M. 80: a little more from oboe, alto saxophone and trumpet as they have the melody

M. 9: eighth notes offset by one sixteenth note, make sure everyone locks this in together here but that you hit the whole note right at Measure 10 even if you get off in Measure 9

Mario Super Sluggers

M. 119: the fermata there is where everyone starts making crowd noise. Be a rowdy crowd and be hype at a baseball game. Tad conducts at Measure 120 and everyone can keep the crowd noise going until they start playing.

M. 130: after the fermata, there is a cut off and then everyone yells “charge!” with the piano chord there.

M. 131: Tad will “pitch” a baseball at Colin so that he can “hit” it and at the same time there will be a whip crack sound and then a “slide whistle sound” immediately after that while the “crowd reacts” with some bewilderment.  Once the entire sound is done, Tad will turn to the orchestra, everyone cheers, then he counts in Measure 140 which is JUST Chris  that comes in there on that measure. The rest of the orchestra comes in on Measure 141.  

Twilight Hours

M. 22: trombones bring the volume down as much as possible with very snappy staccatos here and stay locked in with the tempo, violin 1 and vibraphone can play out more

M. 22 – 42: more horns and euphoniums in general – mf dynamic where it says piano. Saxophones make sure you blend when you come in, so it’s not as apparent that saxophones have just entered

M. 13: if you have entrances after this, bring your dynamic down one dynamic except for strings

M. 58: woodwinds make sure that there’s a crescendo through the four quarters after the 16th note rhythm here, if you start this on beat three make sure it sounds more like an echo

M. 59: if clarinets can be any louder here without sacrificing tone, please do

M. 74: if you have eighth notes on 1 and 3 play that slightly louder

Civilization 6

Overall everything needs to be cleaner and more lined up across the board for everyone

m 52: melody bounces between clarinets/trumpets and saxophones/trombones, need to make sure those parts come out and match each other

m. 63: low brass should slightly reemphasize re articulation of each tone.

In the accelerating sections in m. 99-102/124-128: notes overall a touch separated but articulate, not accented, speed is the point  

m. 145-149: if you have a half note and then a rest after that, cut off right on beat 3

m. 142-159: very bouncy feeling to the notes here is ideal for the vibe

Mario Super Sluggers

There are a lot of various figures that take up a lot of prominence for varying amounts of time as things keep changing. This piece requires a lot of focus

First 8 measures: If you have descending triplet quarter notes make sure those are accented if you have them as they do trade off between sections and we want that to sound intentional

m 5: make sure if you have the whole note, land immediately on 1 not slightly aftewards

m. 1: violas forte-piano there for that first note

m. 10: make sure low instruments put just a little bit of punch and make sure you are very articulate on the bass line to keep it moving throughout to make sure the tempo does not lag, strings make sure you put a lot of accent on the descending lines there so that it is heard

m. 26: tenor sax, bari sax, bassoon make sure there is a little bit more punch on the downbeats (1, 3) to make sure it comes throughout, if you think about playing a little ahead of where you’re supposed to be, it will help keep that 16th note to be where it is supposed to be

m. 34: make sure if you have off beats that they are on the beats they are intended to be, don’t slip out of time

m. 52: flute, oboe, clarinet – bring this pattern out as much as possible here (and where it repeats) everyone else besides the trumpet solo be quieter

Twilight Hours

m. 184: will be given a conducted slow down of 3 & 4 & going into measure 185 – SO WATCH

m. 185-190: string feature, make sure there’s a nice legato forte sound

m. 190: all brass as warm as you can make that  

m. 181: make sure all saxes hit beat one together – the first note of the flute solo is being held out the measure before on beat 4, so will need to watch for the the downbeat of 181

m. 148: make sure we do NOT lose tempo here when we lose percussion, keep it going without hearing drumset – low brass need to stay right on the front of the beat with Jax as much as possible

m. 17: a little crescendo lead up to the first note of 18 and then back off after you get to 18

Harvestella

m. 71: more volume from the horns here

m. 89 – 90: more volume from flutes and piccolos there, 8va if needed

m. 79: Everyone is going to get all 6 beats conducted with the slow down so WATCH Jax

Letter D-E:  violins: play higher notes wherever they are comfortable for your instrument even if they have to be taken down to another octave

Letter D: Jax will give 3, 4 at the end of the cadenza into measure 45, sopranos hold a note at 44 as well during the cadenza

Lonely Rolling Star

Letter J: watch dynamics, three up and one down for dynamics here, make sure it’s very dramatic: start softer so you can build and come back down

The very first measure starts with drumset and high winds/strings as a pick up to A – make sure you count!

Passing Breeze

First 10 measures:  remember that the 16th note is not on the actual downbeat for any of those measures and everyone has to land on the whole note together no matter where you end up being prior

Windfish

Ocarinas: breath pressure affects intonation work on keeping the pitch centered and in tune

M. 38: people that play there are playing half notes and will be given both half notes cued which will also be the tempo going into measure 39

M. 58: going into here, keep in mind that the 8th note stays consistent. Low brass: the pickup note into the eighth note measures is a 16th note.

M. 87: piccolo, flute 1, 2, alto flute, oboe, soprano sax, Eb clarinet, violin, viola has the melody here, everyone else play quieter

Minecraft

M. 105 to the end: make sure that the flute / piccolo line does not rush – everything fits into this line, try to make sure that the 12th / 32ndnotes are lining up across sections when necessary – make sure you listen!  Make sure that dynamics are followed

M. 76: place a decrescendo here to make room for a solo, then back to forte at measure 80

Slime Rancher

Letter D:  flutes and violins have a part that trades off between 1 and 2, make sure you make those transitions as smooth as possible. Percussive parts underneath everything – clarinets, alto saxophones for example, make sure that is short and separated as much as possible.

Measure 85:  saxophone line should be brought out here as those eighth notes are the melody, make sure it is together

Measure 93:  keep as separated as possible between the slurs

Measure 101: make sure the eighth notes are brought out here similar to measure 85 both saxophones and flutes have this  

Measure 115 to the end: Any time there is a duplet in this section bring that out more to emphasize how it is different

Letter I: make sure that the bassoon duple notes are brought out

Welcome Horizons

Watch all articulations, make sure that they are correct! It is very important for the feel of this piece

M. 26: upper strings + ukelele make sure that the notes here have really sharp articulations and start together. More separation between the short note and the longer note

M. 30-34 / 34-37: be mindful of your personal dynamics as the dynamics build as more instruments are being added, so be modest with your own dynamic increases

Twilight Hours

M. 17-18: Make sure you lean into the decrescendo back down in 18

Mario Super Sluggers

m. 65: VERY important to dial-in those offbeats, those need to lock in with the conductor, also anyone doing the little 16th note blurbs make sure they are as crisp as possible so they don’t get muddy

m. 70: STRINGS - this part here needs to be pretty dramatic, brought out as much as possible

Beginning: Make sure any time that you are playing the descending triplet quarter notes – make sure they are fully accented and brought out when they happen as they move through the orchestra.  

M. 10: make sure your parts here are very articulated with the 16th note part that happens here / make sure the rhythm of the bass line is very much separated / whole notes please try and stay locked in with intonation.

Harvestella

M. 52: one before E – the 4/4 beat stays the same, when it goes into 6/8 the 2 division stays the same as the 4 division but the number of beats changes in between the beats

M. 79: one before G – LOOK UP AT THE CONDUCTOR – Jax will be giving the beats of that measure so that we can slow down into the new tempo at G

Civilization 6

M. 48: lean into the decrescendo here if you have it, to get all the way down to nothing as you’re making way for the crescendo that starts from nothing, we are looking for the contrary motion of one dynamic from one section of the orchestra fading into another changing dynamic

M. 12: there is a conducting pattern change from 4/4 into 2/2 – the tempo does not change but the pattern does

M.95 and 121: this tempo starts SLOW so make sure you don’t rush here and keep eyes up for the acceleration. Everyone should make sure they keep looking up for the tempos as much as possible.