Happy New Year

The Taffanel Wind Ensemble wishes everyone a Happy New Year as we start a new season. We have prepared a new programme for the first half of the year. This will include works like Malcolm Forsyth's Melancholy Clown and Beethoven's Trio, Opus 87 originally for 2 oboes and English Horn.
Our first performance of 2009 will be a return visit to Sunnybrook K-wing; a place that we feel privileged to perform.
Time for us to practise and get ready for many new opportunities.

2009

Soon, we will be putting away our Marsha Schweitzer arrangements of Christmas music for flute, clarinet and bassoon and focusing on our new season of music. Things are falling in place for 2009 for the trio. I called a new residence and gave the recreation coordinator references. I did not have a chance to check with the references if it was okay to use them for referrals. The trio was very pleased to hear that all of our references were very positive about our music and performances.
As Zach, our flute player said; this inspires us to work harder to continue to improve on what we are doing.
After a short break, we will be back performing and working on new repertoire, enjoying what we are doing.
We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and Hanukkah and Happy New Year.

Christmas is coming!

This Thursday marks the beginning of the Christmas season for the Taffanel Wind Ensemble. We will be performing as Artists in Residence for the official evening function for Edwardian Christmas at Spadina House. This is the evening when the government officials and others come to view the house and sample food from the official culture. This year the culture is Pan Indian which is the many cultures which are located on the Indian Ocean.
The Taffanel Wind ensemble will be performing some classical music and our arrangements for flute, clarinet and bassoon. These arrangements are by Marsha Schweitzer, a bassoonist located in Honolulu. These arrangements are quite charming.

Spadina house

Time to start thinking about Christmas and seasonal music. The Taffanel Wind Ensemble is planning its seasonal music for performances at Spadina house on Sunday November 30, December 7 and 14th. This will be the 10th season that the group has performed at the Edwardian Home. What an honour to be asked to return annually.
This year the Pan Indian group will be presenting is food and culture for visitors to the home.

Hope that some of you will consider visiting the home.

Spadina House

Time for Otteto Prosciutto to put away the Strauss Suite and Serenade. We are going to take a break after a very successful season. Our last concert was our best ever and all the members of the group are ready and eager to play again next year. We received many positive comments from the organizer and audience about our performance last Tuesday.

It was also a privilege to be coached by Gloria Ratcliffe, former french horn player with Winnipeg Symphony and also one of the founders of the Toronto horn festival. She has already agreed to return and is already thinking about music to play.

Jubliee United Church-tonight

Tonight as mentioned sometime ago, members of the Taffanel Wind Ensemble will join others as part of Otteto Prosciutto and perform at Jubilee United Church, 40 Underhill, 7:30 p.m. . In order to let others know where the church, I was checking for a website and found a copy of the brochure for the concerts. The brochure mentions that "these young musicians have been performing together for ten years". Well we are young at heart and some of us have been part of the group for ten years.
Will get some pictures taken and posted.

Princess Margaret Lodge

The past week was a very busy time for the Taffanel Wind Ensemble, we started by playing at Lansing Lodge. The audience was appreciative but small since some of the residence were starting the Jewish high holiday. Thursday, we played background music at Kensington Gardens for a Volunteer Recognition Dinner. It was a delightful event with volunteers from the residence and community participating. Representatives of various faiths who minister to the residents were also present. It was a delightful evening and after our performance we were fed. Our meal ended with the best Tiramusu that I have had in many years. Ate all of it, did not regret a single bite!

Friday, we went to the Balmoral residence, a charming residence were the resident birds accompanied our performance, chirping in time to the music especially our concluding Joplin rag.

This week, a quieter week, we will perform for residents at Princess Margaret Lodge which is a residence for cancer patients who do not live in Toronto and need to undergo a course of treatment. I have knitted some scarves to donate to the Lodge for the patients and their fundraising. Nice to know that I can contribute in more than one way.

After this week, we will start planning our season music. Yes, it is nearly that time of year.