American Wind Symphony Orchestra

Zade · Post by **Zade** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 8:23 pm

The ensemble performs repertoire written for its instrumentation(there is no saxophone or euphonium) This ensemble commissioned over 300 works available through C.F. Peters Publishing.

Zade

hnoyes · Post by **hnoyes** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 9:04 pm

And to add to the previous post, if you plan on auditioning, you will sight read from one of those compositions - good luck! Its not what you're used to, and you get the bonus of having the director stand over your shoulder and comment on almost every note/measure. He wants to see what he can get out of you, thats his style. It is not a normal audition by any stretch of the imagination. I have heard horror stories and wonderful stories from those who have gone and played - take the audition, win, and then make a decision. You'll know after your audition if you want to spend the summer with him on a small confined barge - trust me - you'll know - each person is different, some will love it, others chose other opportunities, or choose to "jump ship!"

FarahShazam · Post by **FarahShazam** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:05 pm

run. run as fast as you can away from this group. don't look back.

it was the worst musical experience of my life. BTW, I would likely need a beer to recant any stories I may have. The memories are being housed in the PTSD portion of my brain.

I did meet my husband there but that was the only reason I stayed the entire season. It took me about 2-3 years to recover physically and then a bit longer to love music again.

windshieldbug · Post by **windshieldbug** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:17 pm

MoonUnit wrote:I did meet my husband there... it took me about 2-3 years to recover physically and then a bit longer to love music again.

Wow! Just from meeting Sean!?

WoodSheddin · Post by **WoodSheddin** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:32 pm

windshieldbug wrote:
MoonUnit wrote:I did meet my husband there... it took me about 2-3 years to recover physically and then a bit longer to love music again.
Wow! Just from meeting Sean!?

My secret is out.

FarahShazam · Post by **FarahShazam** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:35 pm

windshieldbug wrote:
MoonUnit wrote:I did meet my husband there... it took me about 2-3 years to recover physically and then a bit longer to love music again.
Wow! Just from meeting Sean!?

gosh, no, My writing skills need work.

The barge band messed up me physically (my face was shot from all of the misuse) and I was mentally sick of music for a bit.

Sean is the keeper.

Tom Holtz · Post by **Tom Holtz** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:11 pm

MoonUnit wrote:
windshieldbug wrote:
MoonUnit wrote:I did meet my husband there... it took me about 2-3 years to recover physically and then a bit longer to love music again.
Wow! Just from meeting Sean!?
gosh, no, My writing skills need work.

The barge band messed up me physically (my face was shot from all of the misuse) and I was mentally sick of music for a bit.

Sean is the keeper.

You betcha. Look at that face!

You may now kiss the bride.

bud · Post by **bud** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:47 am

I got the contract, Zade. I think I'll do it. I'm sure it'll be a challenge to not have a home for a couple months, but I'm itching for some performance experience and I could stand to learn a little patience and acceptance.

FarahShazam · Post by **FarahShazam** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:44 am

You are looking for acceptance from AWSO?

good luck with that.

Zade · Post by **Zade** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 9:35 am

Congrats Bud. Let me know what you think of it

Zade

CJBlaha · Post by **CJBlaha** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:25 am

It's a shame that so many people have negative impressions of this group. I will say again, I did it twice and loved it both times.

BVD Press · Post by **BVD Press** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:45 pm

After reading all of the posts, I am stilled confused.

Some people liked and some did not. How about "why" on each side? It appears that some didn't like because of the management, but that is about I got from the posts. Maybe some harder opinions will someone make a decision in the future.

I have heard some good things, but I only know a few people who did the tours.

Chris: How is Charleston?

mbeastep · Post by **mbeastep** » Mon Aug 27, 2007 5:45 pm

My opportunity to play with the group came in 1974. I had played a very good audition a year before--a day after my senior recital at North Texas State--but hadn't gotten hired that year. In the meantime I had moved to Chicago to study with Mr. Jacobs and had spent September to April or May living in inexpensive housing and commuting to downtown to work in my bookstore job, take lessons and hear concerts.

After the dirt of Chicago (my first experience of big-city life) I found the beauty of those western Pennsylvania river towns to be a delight. The barge is equipped with a really good sound reinforcement system that makes it audible without turning it into a rock concert. It was possible to play a long concert without forcing--sort of like in a brass band. Both the musicians and the music were good. There were great opportunities, like meeting Richard Rodney Bennett and being dumped for four days in New York City in between segments of the season.

For me these things outweighed the fact that R. A. Boudreau was a jerk and that the working conditions were bad. The group divided up into four quintets, each of which played both publicity concerts and other, more organized concerts. These groups were also transported two to a van, which meant that we saw each other way too much during the season. Some people did have chop problems, but the amount of playing was good for me. Besides often threatening to have people "pack their bags' to go home, Mr. Boudreau liked to test people, ala Fritz Reiner, making them play things over more times than seemed necessary. He also hated frisbees (which seemed like healthy exercise to me) and went on several rants about how his buddies Joey Novotny and Herbie Wekselblatt never wasted time with such frivolous things. There were lots of rumors about female musicians being singled out for special attention offstage, but I never really knew the truth about this.

I'm sure much has changed since I was in this group, and probably much has stayed the same. I bet RAB still doesn't like the word "band," for instance. I had some deeply unpleasant experiences while playing that season but still felt that the summer was of great professional and emotional value to me.

Michael Eastep

CJBlaha · Post by **CJBlaha** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:28 am

BVD Press wrote:After reading all of the posts, I am stilled confused.

Some people liked and some did not. How about "why" on each side? It appears that some didn't like because of the management, but that is about I got from the posts. Maybe some harder opinions will someone make a decision in the future.

I have heard some good things, but I only know a few people who did the tours.

Chris: How is Charleston?

Hi Bryan, I hope you are well. Give my best to your wife and family.
I think you were still the studio TA when I went to AWSO the 1st time in 1998 (second was in 2003). I really enjoyed the challenge of being tested on my parts in front of people, because I made a point to always be prepared. The very first time he tested me, he said I sounded like a cow... so I practiced my butt off and proved him wrong.
I also really enjoyed developing my sight reading as far as it could go both summers. Nothing raises your expectations like seeing Entry of the Gladiators for the 1st time in a concert.
The music was interesting, the people were excellent (as were the host families), the rehearsals were hard, but at least I was playing my tuba all day and not flipping burgers.
If Mr. Boudreau's style of criticism seems brash, you may have missed the fact that he is usually smiling or laughing as he gives out grief. It's good to be in an environment in which you are not coddled... the real world isn't half as easy as school.

Charleston is doing very well. I was on sabbatical this past year to finish my DMA course work and in that time, they have corrected the budget deficit, improved fundraising, improved working conditions and salaries and developed better programming. I'm looking forward to the new season.

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