2022 NMA Reunion: Day 2 in Review

 

We rehearse behind closed doors, not because
we're keeping secrets, but because not all hotel
guests want to be listening to Liberty Bell March
while sipping cocktails at the bar.

Thom Weller and Randy Martell.

Carl Gerhard solos in Peter Graves's
Porgy and Bess medley.

Wednesday, our second day in Virginia Beach:

We're beginning to hit our stride, as our rehearsals exude a new sense of confidence. This was particularly true in the concert band. 

For one thing, a fuller band showed up for 1330 rehearsal. On Tuesday, our numbers had been low, but yesterday, more members had arrived. Also, a sufficient number of percussionists were in evidence. It is believed that after our first rehearsal, Jim Richards scoured the hotel, enlisting drummers with sketchy promises and vague threats.

In addition, someone had evidently sprayed the rehearsal room with WD40. The rustiness of our first rehearsal had been almost eliminated. 

We rehearsed and read through a wide selection of pieces. While we sometimes play old favorites, some of our pieces are new. Peter Graves brought a new arrangement of music from Porgy and Bess. Peter's work is professional and, as you might expect, challenging.  

Ben McHorney's The Fallen pays tribute to those fighting men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Timing is often critical in music that includes a narrator. It is also critical that the narrator, himself, not become overwhelmed by emotion.

New Suite for Old Salts provides its own challenges. I based this piece on Holst's Second Military Suite, turning it into something a bit more "nautical" than "military." It contains a few musical "punch lines" from the trombone section.  Entrusting trombone players with punch lines is always risky, but things improved, once they got the joke.