Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Venice Community Orchestra “of”, “for” or “at” the Good Shepherd Church?

The difference between “of”, “for” or “at” came to light when we decided to secure ownership of the orchestra’s name by registering it with the Division of Corporations of Florida. Sounds like a trivial question, but it took some reflection before deciding to replace “of” by “at”. Our pause had nothing to do with music, it was all about conveying the correct message.

During a recent casual conversation with Fr. Jon, Rector of Good Shepherd, it became clear that the preposition “of”, may unintentionally convey the impression that the orchestra belongs to GS.  As discussed in earlier posts, the orchestra has indeed a special relationship with GS, but it really belongs to the musicians.

Next question was: If not “of” what is the most appropriate preposition? “For” was discussed but quickly dismissed as it conveys an exclusive relationship between VCO and GS. Part of our goal is to build relationships with the Venice community and various local entities while maintaining the special relationship we have with GS; but “for” did not reflect that broader intent.

What about “at” the Good Shepherd?

We are hosted by GS and we practice our music there, it is our homebase. It seemed perfectly logical to conclude that “at” is the better choice among the three prepositions. It rightly conveys that GS is in fact where you can find us practice weekly in Venice. Hence we became “The Venice Community Orchestra” at the Good Shepherd Church, a minute but important name change that will convey the correct message.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

I now have a better answer to a question that keeps popping up...

At almost every opportunity I have to describe the orchestra, I am asked the question: What's the typical experience of musicians joining the VCO? Or, what level of music difficulty do you play; which eventually leads to visiting the membership make-up. My typical answer was something like: Our musician's experience vary from beginner to professional level player.

Most recently a colleague musician lent me an article on amateurs' sight reading orchestras written by Dr. Robert Mueller, a music teacher from the University of Arkansas. Muller subdivides the membership of his orchestra in four categories. I took the liberty of tweaking his definition and break it into five categories to better describe our membership. Now I can give a more articulate answer to the question.

Essentially, our members have one of the following profiles:

  • The beginner who can learn by sitting next to better players who pulls them along to a higher level of playing;
  • The invertebrate amateur who simply likes to play;
  • The more mature player who once played well and desire to maintain their skills;
  • The younger musician who aspires to become a pro musician, and;
  • The pro who simply likes to play while helping others in reaching higher levels of playing.

I think that's a much better description of our membership than the one I used to give.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The growing pains of attracting wind instruments talent…

Selecting sheet music to play during our formative phase is not a simple mater. If our objective is to become a “Full” orchestra, the music should include most parts of a full orchestra. Yet I am discovering that wind instrumentalists are rare to find in Venice. I recently consulted with a Florida based well know conductor who confirmed that amateur wind instrumentalists who live in smaller communities tend to join bands rather than orchestras; a fact I can’t ignore.

The music written for a “Full” orchestra will sound thin without flutes, trumpets, trombones, or saxophones. One would think that the obvious solution is to start building the orchestra as a “String orchestra”. Yet, you never know when a brass or woodwind player will call to join you. Without wind parts to show, we will not be able to attract wind instrumentalists.

We are facing a chicken and egg challenge.

A simpler approach to gradually transition from a string to a full orchestra is to build a repertoire based on series of music compilations published in individual booklets for each instrument; typically 8 to 12 pieces of music per booklet.

These series are intended for like or mixed instruments and work for any size group or combination of instruments. They are generally available for strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion.

The orchestra can start as a smaller ensemble like a string quartet and add parts as new instruments join in. This approach is significantly less onerous than starting with string orchestral pieces to be replaced by full orchestral ones as the group matures and transitions into a full orchestra.

Examples of compilations include:
  • Classical Quartets for All from the Baroque to the 20th Century;
  • Movie Favorites;
  • Broadway Favorites;
  • Movie Quartets for All;
  • Quartets for All;
  • Pop Quartets for All.
The VCO will consider that approach as a way of attracting wind instrumentalists while containing the cost of new music.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Early positive signs are starting to appear...

We had an eventful and great practice time today. The two spectators who happened to pass by the main hall and a gentleman who came to inquire about us, grabbed a seat, formed our impromptu audience and enjoyed listening to our music. One might disagree with me, but I draw that conclusion based on the fact that they stayed around for the full 90 minutes! One of them mentioned that she could not understand how we sounded so good just after a few weeks of practice. 
To my friends who say "Who wants to hear an amateur orchestra" I say: Come and check us out on Thursdays, you might even decide to stick around!
The amateur violinist who came to check us out sounded a bit discouraged by what he described as the "great" level of our play. How does one balance attracting amateur musicians of all level without intimidating them by our rising level of play? And that is my question of the day. I don't have the answer except that I'll follow-up and encourage him to join.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The music we play...

We are frequently asked about the list of music we play by prospective musicians or by our musicians wanting to confirm that their music is current. Posting the information on line makes it easier to share.

1.       Air #11 - Handel
2.       Arioso - Bach
3.       Bourree from Water Music Handel
4.       Canon - Pachelbel
5.       Corrente - Corelli
6.       Dona Nobis Pacem - Mozart
7.       Greensleeves
8.       Largo from Four Seasons - Vivaldi
9.       Lean on Me - Bill Withers
10.   Ode to Joy - Beethoven
11.   Psalm XVIII - Marcello
12.   Rondeau - Mouret
13.   Salute to the Lady ( Patriotic medley)            
14.   Simple gifts - Shaker Hymn
15.   Symphonic Miniature - Heilmann
16.   Where’er You Walk - Handel
17.   William Tell Overture - Rossini
18.   You Raise Me Up - Graham & Loveland
19.   Classical Contours - Frost

We will update our list of music as we acquire and play new pieces.