Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Mailers are out!

Our latest newsletter is in the mail! If you're on our mailing list, you should be receiving it soon. If not, it's also on our website.

Largo

Another piece on this season's program is the Largo from Antonin Dvorak's Symphony #9 (From the New World), arranged by Valerie Stephenson. Valerie calls it "among the most enduring and appealing" pieces in symphonic literature. You may recognize it as the tune of the spiritual "Goin' Home."

It's arranged for 3 or 4 octaves of handbells, with optional handchimes, oboe, flute or C instruments. Chicago Bronze will be presenting this piece as just that: the bells, the handchimes, oboe by our own Joanne Nick and flute by our own Laura Olsen.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Mancini Magic

Another popular arrangement returning to our program is "Mancini Magic" by Doug Wagner. This week we spent a lot of time polishing up difficult spots, and so we spent a lot of time on the "Pink Panther" theme included in this medley of Henry Mancini favorites. "Moon River" and "Charade" are also included in this arrangement, but my personal favorite is the "Baby Elephant Walk." One just cannot listen to this section without feeling the need to get up and dance like an elephant. I've heard elephants are very good dancers when the music is the right tempo.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Cumulonimbus

One piece we've brought back this season is Cumulonimbus, by Matthew Prins.
We first saw this piece when it was a new publication by GIA a few years ago. It's a whirlwind to follow the shifting meter. Driving 8th notes build the momentum as the storm approaches and hits the listener with its driving force.
Matthew has recently moved to the Chicago area last year, so we hope he'll come and listen. It will be much better than the version recorded for the GIA catalog recording, because we will have more than a couple weeks rehearsal.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Thunder and Lightning

It was an exciting first rehearsal of the season. While there are several pieces we've played before, one of the new exciting additions is the "Thunder and Lightning Polka," by Johann Strauss, arranged by Robin Benton from Flagstaff Publishing. Phil recently wrote: "I don’t know if we’ve rung anything at quarter=150 but if we’re ever going to do so, this is the piece." Lots of louds and softs that really make it sound like you're in a storm.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

New Photo Scrapbook

Photos from our concert last December have been posted to our scrapbook. It's our first scrapbook posted on Flickr.com, rather than directly on chicagobronze.com.

Welcome to Chicago Bronze!

Here's our first post on our new blog!

Last week we finished another recording session for GIA, and this Monday we're going to dig in to the music for our Spring season.
There's a lot of good music in there, so we hope you'll join us at one of our concerts in a few months.

We're also taking our official group photo on Monday, so you should see our newest member's face on the website soon.