My dear friends,
This message is from Robert Laguna {ACWE conductor) and is intended for
trumpets, trombones, horns and tubas who are musically idled by the current
COVID-19 situation (woodwinds scroll down a bit). It Is a selfish attempt on
my part to try to keep my chops up and my head straight at this time.
I don't want to give up ensemble playing at this time but I want everyone to
stay safe and follow government guidelines so I have a suggestion:
I'm looking for 1 trumpet, 1 trombone/euph, 1 horn and 1 tuba who could meet
with me at appointed times in an outside or other well-ventilated and open
venue (like a park, amphitheater, gazebo, etc. i.e. safe distance) to
sight-read and work on brass quintet music. This is purely for
experience/exercise and not intended for performance prep. The following are
the requirements:
* Folks in a high-risk category for COVID-19 should not participate
(be safe, for goodness sake!)
* You need an IPad (music is in PDF format and would be best accessed
through ForScore) - this can be done on other tablets and different
software, but is much more difficult.
* Safety at this time is your priority but at the same time you want
to keep your chops up
* You can read music and play a brass instrument
* Take all safety precautions as outlined by authorities
If there are enough folks interested so that we can form 2 or 3 groups, I
can facilitate the process. In that case, the instrumentation is 2 trumpets,
1 horn, 1 trombone/euph and 1 tuba or bass trombone.
Woodwinds: I have not forgotten about you, but cannot seem to come up with
anything yet (ww quintet would be great, but we don't currently have the
double reeds). I'm looking for alternatives. Please help by replying to me.
I know this is a bit of a crazy idea but I have to confess that I use music
as therapy and giving that up is very difficult for me especially now and I
know many of you are on the same boat. If you have better ideas (or, if you
think this is not doable or unwise), please reply to me only - not to all.
BTW - I HAVE thought about a virtual band (JJ sent us suggestions), but
nothing I have seen so far seems like a good answer for us right now.
I love you guys and I know that we will be back to normal before long.
Please be safe, be good (if you can't be good, be careful!) and stay in
touch.
Please forward this message to anyone who might be interested in
participating.
Robert Laguna
hhw
