[Trombone-l] Orbits

[Danner, Mearl]

Wouldn't normally do this, but sounds interesting. Even if they did misspell my name.

She did not mention compensation.

Mearl

Dear Merle,

Hope you're well.  I'm working on a special project that directly involves the trombone community, and I thought it might be of interest to members of the Trombone-L Digest listserv.  

There are plans in the works for a New York premiere of "Orbits" by Henry Brant, calling for 80 trombones, to take place in the Guggenheim Museum on June 21st (part of the NYC's musical celebration Make Music New York).  We're delighted to extend an invitation to you and the trombone community to help make this happen.

The event will be a major highlight of MMNY's new initiative this year, called "Mass Appeal".  We're bringing together ensembles of similar instruments that anyone can join, such as 30 glockenspiel players in Central Park's East Meadow, 60 ukuleles jamming near Lincoln Center, or 45 saxophones in Tompkins Square Park near Charlie Parker's old residence.  And.. 80 trombones performing "Orbits" in the Guggenheim Museum.

"Orbits" has only been performed in San Francisco in 1979 and 1984, and a couple of times in Europe -- a legendary piece of massed instrumentation long overdue for a performance.  The piece includes 80 real parts for the trombones, scored together in groups of 10 players each.

All you would have to do is attend one rehearsal a few days in advance, in the NY-area, with Neely Bruce, the artistic director, conductor, and longtime friend of Henry Brant's, and then be present at 6pm at the Guggenheim on June 21st for the performance that evening.  The audience gathers in the rotunda below with the organ, and the trombonists with soprano lined along the ramps above.  The museum's main exhibition will be celebrating Frank Lloyd Wright.  The performance would be for free, as is the entire festival.  We're very pleased to help make this special event happen.

However, we do need to hit a critical mass of trombones by the end of this week, in order to go ahead with planning.  Would you accept our invitation to join the ensemble?  Is it possible for this email to be passed on to the listserv?  People are welcome to contact me directly at eferguson at makemusicny.org.

I look forward to your thoughts.

My best,
Elizabeth

-- 
Elizabeth Ferguson
Make Music New York, Inc.
510-316-3061
www.makemusicny.org

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