flutepicc06 wrote:deina-kun wrote:fluteguy18 wrote:
50 flutes? You all were very lucky. We played it in our Wind Ensemble here at EKU, and we only had one person to a part [ one 1st flute, one 2nd flute, one 1st clarinet, one 2nd clarinet etc. etc.]. So, that made it very difficult. But, it turned out really well, and we made a recording of it, and it will be available on CD next year [with several other pieces, among which, one piece I am playing harp
]
Ohh, one to a part would've been really hard.
When I played it, it was at an open Honor Band, so anyone could join. We just got lucky that year and managed to have 50 flutists interested in joining. The year before that (2005), we had around 80 flutes playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor; that was really fun, hehe. Tuning each of us for half an hour is something I'll never forget. :]
Tuning aside, it would seem to me that 50 flutes would create a major problem with balance within the ensemble. How does an open honor band work? Generally honor groups are fully auditioned (which is where the honor comes from).
True, there's Honor coming from the audition process. I guess it's not really considered an "Honor Band", but the philosophy the head conductor had in putting it together was to give musicians an opportunity to play with other musicians who share the same love of music they do. (Long story short, he made this band because he got tired of his students who he thought were worthy of getting into X Honor Band only to get rejected.) Most of the attendees are first chairs in their bands and have attended "audition only" or "recommendation only" honor bands, as well. There are also some college students who come, so this gives youngers players a chance to talk to them about continuing music in college and other stuff. There was even a 40 year old trombonist who joined one year to play the low brass part in Rolling Thunder. A 6th grade boy playing French Horn has been joining us the past two years.. he's doing pretty well playing the pieces, too. So there's no age restriction, either. It's an endurance test, though..
We get the music before hand (4-8 pieces), but the weekend of the concert is a Fri-10hr rehearsal, Sat-14hr rehearsal, and Sun-5hr rehearsal. It's really fun, and a lot of people get a lot out of it, especially growing more as a musician. The "honor" in this band would probably be from the musicians' dedication and interest in music. There have been different views about it, being non-audition and not really an "Honor Band", but it's really a worthwhile experience, especially since some of the kids don't get the challenge of playing music their band might not have the chance to. (Esprit de Corps, Canzona, Country Gardens, Pas Redouble, Praise Jerusalem!, numerous Alfred Reed, Bach, and Wagner pieces among a few.)
Elegy was played in 2006 and it were 230 performers. Toccata (2004, sorry for the typo) was 298-300? I forget the numbers. We settled down to 130 this year, though. I'm uploading recordings as I find my CDs.
It is a nice piece, but I dont enjoy playing it at all.
we're playing that right now...ugh. Just getting to the runs area...could give the world a headache. (although I play picc too, I keep a flute part so I play during those few measures since there is plenty of time to switch. I need to keep doing that because I haven't gotten the constant switching quite down yet) But I can actually get that out right now...
