Greetings everyone!

Hard to believe that it is almost mid-December and that the year 2010 is rapidly approaching its end, but what a great musical year it has been. A plethora of concerts, workshops, classes and music making opportunities. I am looking forward to leading the last session of the year and have several fun pieces - some with a holiday theme - to share with you! Come one, come all!

Some of you may be familiar with the Concerti for 4 flutes or recorders without bass by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier.  They are all delightful, rather straightforward pieces with typical idiomatic baroque phrases and harmonies. I've chosen some movements from his concerto in F major that work quite nicely for SAAA/T with optional Bass. Boismortier's music was extremely popular and made him very wealthy. He was one of the first composers that did not have to rely on patrons. He obtained a royal license for engraving music in 1724 and made enormous sums of money by publishing his music himself and selling directly to the public.

While cleaning up and re-organizing my music library I discovered an arrangement that I purchased back in the '90s of Tchaikovsky's March from Nutcracker Suite by Andrew Charlton. I have always wanted to play it but for some reason never have...so, this will be a fun debut for me as well. It is a really wonderful 8 part arrangement using all sizes from sopranino down to Great bass.

Then we will roast some old chestnuts on new fires with a clever SATB Holiday Medley arrangement by LaNoue Davenport. La Noue was one of the pioneering figures in the revival of early music and period instruments in the late 1940s, former editor for the ARS magazine and the first president of the American Recorder Society in 1960! He studied composition with Eric Katz, so these familiar holiday tunes have some rather interesting harmonic twists.

Last but not least we will play an arrangement by Seattle's own Peter Seibert of Attende ad te.  Why don't I keep you suspense about that one!

Hope to see you all there!

Vicki