Letter from Vic Larsen

21 July 2009 Dear Fellow Band Members, Greetings from Lakeland! I hope this letter finds you well, productive, and just enjoying life. I know that many of you are contributing your talents to bands at home for the “summer season” and keeping your lip up and your musical edge sharp. Or, maybe you’re just touring the country or the world. In any case, I want to hear your stories when you return. Last season was a tough one for all of us. Ralph’s sickness was hard on his family and the band, but he tried to help until he couldn’t any longer. We will miss him. My challenge was finding appropriate music for some of our concerts, since we didn’t have a music library to pull from. And, it’s always a challenge to change venues. But, despite the hardships, we came through with a fine season. We received many audience compliments throughout the season. We are still getting calls from Billye-Mullins Smith. That tribute that we gave her rated highly in the eyes of the community. And, to cap off the season, the audience loved “Cabaret”! I believe Liane gave her best performance ever, thanks to our well-prepared accompaniment. I appreciate all of your hard work throughout the season. Thank you! I’m looking forward to our 2009-2010 season, as I hope you are. I’ve listened to some of your suggestions on improving the band. One of them is to give you more time for music preparation. We can’t change the length of rehearsal time between concerts, but, we can extend the practice time up front. So, with Cindy’s help, I am sending you some of our more challenging selections that you can practice before returning for the season. Your individual “wood shedding” will go a long way toward having the band ready for each concert, and I know we all want that. We’ll perform “Candide” in November. Most of the others will be programmed throughout the season when ready or where appropriate. This summer, we’ve been able to accumulate more music for our growing library, which will provide a variety of playable and interesting selections as well as some challenging material for each concert. The bottom line is to continue to keep our audiences entertained while keeping us happy with our performances, a feat that can only be accomplished by the team effort of a well-prepared band. I do need your help before you return. In order to finish planning the programming for this season, I need to know the proposed instrumentation for each concert. So, please let me know the concerts that you plan to perform in. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we need to know who we can count on and when. Remember to allow yourself the minimum 2 rehearsals in planning your return. I can be reached by email at viclarsen@yahoo.com or by phone at (813) 716-2577 or (863) 660-8428 (Susan). Also, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about anything in the music we send you. I wish you a safe return, and, until we meet again for another exciting season with the Lakeland Concert Band, enjoy your summer, stay healthy, and practice. Vic Larsen