Chritmas 2012 concert in pictures....

With a click right on this sentence you can review some 30 pictures I recently uploaded on our Facebook page. The pictures were taken by Garry Gutterman, a good friend of the orchestra. Thank you Gary for spending Sunday morning with us!

The VCO at the Jacaranda Venice Library ...

We recently decided to move to the Jacaranda Venice Library. That was a difficult decision, but after a lot of thinking and listening to our members we decided that it was the best course of action. Some of the elements that came into play are related to the challenge of night driving for some of our members, the loss of some of our high school musicians who prefer rehearsing during the weekend, the growth of our membership and the benefits of increased exposure to the Venice community by rehearsing during one of the busiest days at the library.

I look at this move as a very timely opportunity. Our weekly presence in the library will fit perfectly with the objective of building bridges with the Venice community. Of course, we will continue to maintain the relationship we have with the GS community who gave us a home to rehearse and play during 2011. 

Beginning Saturday January 7th we will rehearse weekly from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Jacaranda library. This will give us the opportunity to increase our presence in the community during 2012.

We come together to play music; we play music to come together...

I am in the process of compiling a short bio on each of our musicians. In her bio, McLaren Davies sums up her experience with the Venice Community Orchestra by the following sentence - We come together to play music; we play music to come together. To say the least, I am captivated by her thoughtful message.

I think that McLaren captured the essence of our purpose and summed it up very nicely. From now on, I will use this sentence as a tag line for the VCO to better convey who we are. I'd love to hear my fellow musicians reaction to this post.

The VCO Official 2011 Picture ...

Photo by Al Churilla 

Our first public performance ...

Yesterday was the first time we played in front of an audience. This was a big milestone for us. We took that opportunity to thank Good Shepherd's parishioners for hosting us during our weekly rehearsals and introduced the orchestra. We played AIR No 11 by Handle. If you want to hear us please click below.
Click here to hear us play

                             Click on the link above this picture to hear us play                           Photo by Al Churilla

The Coach and I after our first public performance...

   Can't thank enough our Coach for her talent and friendship               Photo by Al Churilla

A visit to Venice High string orchestra

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit Venice High school. I attended a string orchestra class led by Ms. Iras Roback their music teacher. Ms. Roback was gracious enough to invite me to hear her 30 students play and take advantage of my visit to promote the VCO. The students were just back from their summer vacation, yet their play was wonderful! I can't wait to revisit in a few months for one of their concerts.

I thought that the students are very fortunate to have the opportunity to play five days a week with such a great coach! I wished I had the same opportunity!

I brought along and distributed a VCO promo flyer to the entire class and let them know that we would be delighted to welcome VHS musicians on Thursday rehearsals. Hopefully a couple of Ms. Roback's students will decide to join us soon.

Surprise visit during rehearsal...

Last week, a photographer from the Herald Tribune surprised us with a visit while we were rehearsing. Click here to see some of the pictures he shot. As always, besides making good music, we're having a ball!

Photo by Herald Tribune

"Ambassador Program" for students... why?

To put things in perspective, the VCO is about attracting musicians of all levels.  Some local high schools have wonderful music programs and students who might be interested in joining an orchestra. Luckily, with the help of local music teachers, a couple of students have recently joined us.

Recently, we put in place an "Ambassador Program". It should help attract more students and build a bridge between the schools and the VCO. Most importantly it can put the student in a leadership position in his/her school and help build his/her Resume. To qualify, the student needs to attend three consecutive practice sessions and show an interest in helping the orchestra grow.

Many moons ago, a teenage student's Resume showed her work experience with an organization keen on attracting other students - the good old days. She also showed on her Resume that thanks to her good work, she was appointed an Ambassador to help her attract more students to that organization.

The following summer, when jobs were much tougher to get - sounds familiar? - her Ambassadorship appointment was discussed during an interview and helped in getting her the job she had hoped for. How do I know that? The name of the student who shared this story with me is Lori Mabardi, my daughter.

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.

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.

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 20^th 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.

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.

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.

Looking back while planning ahead….

The beginning of August will mark the third month of our coming together as a young and ambitious orchestra. A lot has happened in a very short time; here is a review of the recent milestones:

• We are now fifteen accomplished and intermediate level musicians. I am thankful to all for sharing your precious talent and contributing to our weekly practice and play;
• We are building a repertoire of some nineteen orchestral classical pieces;
• Seven orchestral pieces have been donated to the orchestra;
• Our coach/conductor has taken charge and organized our music library;
• We are learning to play together while having lots of fun doing it!
• We are planning to play a couple of pieces during a Sunday service in September and a few more during November;
• Subsets of our musicians wanting to play chamber music are beginning to form; please keep us informed of your progress;
• Upon deciding to join us, a pianist has donated an electric piano to GS for the enjoyment of all; we are thankful for her donation to GS but most importantly for her talent.

Looking ahead, our objective is to grow our complement to 25 musicians by Q1 2012. We will maintain our recruiting effort and keep updating a few snowbird musicians who have already expressed a strong interest in joining us.

We are starting to create an awareness about our existence and to establish key contacts in the Venice community. With time, thanks to a growing reputation we will be able to attract more talent and share it with our community.

I welcome our musicians and friends’ feedback, ideas and help in continuing to build the VCO.

Nice to be back home

It's always nice to return home following two weeks of travel. Yesterday when I returned from my few days out of town it was a bit different though. As I was heading home along Center Rd around 6 pm and passing by GS I noticed that there were quite a few cars in the parking lot and somehow wished I could join our orchestra immediately! But no, not too practical, I will have to wait until next week.
Today as I am catching up with my email I am gratified to know that we have been joined by two new members, I look forward to meeting them next Thursday!

A special thank you to our Coach

Setting up and maintaining our library of music is a major and very important task that needs to be addressed in the early stages of building an orchestra. We are very fortunate that our Coach/Conductor has volunteered to organise this very important function. As the VCO continues to grow and mature we will encourage other musicians to help Angela and the orchestra with this essential role.

Church of the Good Shepherd, a special relationship...

As our orchestra grows in number, level of performance and recognition, we anticipate to continue attracting selected sponsors to help with the various responsibilities and expenses associated with the development of an orchestra.

Early on, I had a chance to meet a few representatives of various local organizations to discuss a possible mutual interest in hosting us. One of the deciding factor in accepting Good Shepherd's offer to host us for weekly practice was its enthusiastic response. GS supported the idea of helping out in nurturing the development of a new orchestra to serve the Venice community. Essentially, it's for this reason that we will strive to maintain the special relationship which has already started to develop between  GS and the VCO.

Our Goal...

The VCO is a multigenerational orchestra. Its goal is to provide an entry point for musicians of all ages and skill levels, or a comfortable re-entry point for retired professional musicians and adults who played music in school and would like to resume playing after long years of building careers and raising children. Beginners and former players will enjoy playing with more experienced musicians who also will derive great satisfaction of helping out less experienced musician in a non-competitive environment while having fun doing it. The VCO will promote musical participation, appreciation and enjoyment in our community through our occasional performances.

Who owns the VCO?

The VCO is owned by its musicians. Ownership of an orchestra is a nebulous concept yet no one can disagree that without the musicians there will be no music! As a smaller group of musicians, do we need a formal structure to help with decisions, objectives, music to play etc? Hopefully not, I would like to believe that at this stage, none of these issues should be that difficult to address informally and without the burden of a formal structure.

It is now official!

It is now official! Our new and budding orchestra has adopted the name “The Venice Community Orchestra” of the Good Shepherd Church. We started our project in early May 2011 with a couple of announcements in the local newspapers a webpage on the Good Shepherd's website and emails to local music teachers and other parties with a possible interest in supporting our recruiting efforts. I am thrilled to report that as of today we are 15 musicians including former musicians longing to get back into playing their favorite instrument, current members of the Venice Symphony Orchestra and past members wanting to keep playing as well as music students wanting to hone their skills while having fun doing it.

Good Shepherd Church on Center Rd in Venice, Fl have graciously accepted to host us for weekly practice. Most recently, the choir Director volunteered to coach and conduct our young orchestra.

Creating a community orchestra in Venice was just a wish I had while traveling back and forth to Sarasota to play and perform with other amateur musicians; it is real now! We play short pieces of classical and contemporary music. Our current repertoire includes short pieces by Handel, Corelli, Beethoven and Vivaldi.

Our plan is to practice and play throughout the year while trying to keep our seasonal members in the loop as to the various pieces of music we will be introducing during summer time.

Word of mouth has also proven to be critical in attracting local talent and as we grow, I am asking my fellow musicians, friends and friendly contacts to spread the news to help attract talent to the Venice Community Orchestra. Our objective is a complement of 25 musicians. You can rest assured that you’ll be invited to our first official performance before the end of this year.

Thank you for visiting.

Why this blog?

I sincerely hope that this is the beginning of a long and positive journey for each member of the orchestra, for our first sponsor Church of the Good Shepherd on Center Rd and for the Venice community.

A lot has happened since I decided, right after my first music camp in Atlanta in April '11, to go ahead and work on building an orchestra in Venice Fl, yet it seems as if it was yesterday that I started thinking about it. In a year or two I would like to reflect on what the orchestra has accomplished and share it with our musicians and friends who might be interested to know more about us. I know it will be a great story to share!

In the shorter term, this blog will help answer a few simple but important questions that I'm being asked by fellow musicians. Based on my last few weeks' experience, most of these questions are raised either before a musician decides to join us or within the first couple of weeks of joining us.

As a way of starting the dialogue this blog reflects my personal perspective. I welcome any constructive feedback, reaction or opinion from members of the VCO and other members of the community willing to post them or contact me directly. This will help orient our work with a more balanced perspective.