Royal Swedish Navy Band in Trouble
The Royal Swedish Navy Band is in danger of being discontinued because of financial cutbacks in the Swedish Armed Forces. This outstanding ensemble, formed in 1685, is the last professional military band in Sweden. The band would like to ask for help from WASBE members. You can go to their web site where you will find a simple form with which you can add your name to their support list.
New News is Good News for the Newsletter
We are pleased to announce that there are two new reporters for the WASBE Newsletter. Timothy Oliver will be writing about and coordinating international issues such as histories of bands in various countries, important concert activities, and profiles of bands. In the upcoming June Newsletter we will highlight Brazil. Tim will be highlighting other countries in future issues. Donald Miller will be writing about wind music composers, premieres, new publications and new commissions. A full article will appear in the June Newsletter about all the recent changes to the Newsletter.
Web Site Needs Translators
We would like to post selected articles from the Newsletter on the WASBE web site in languages other than English. Our hope is to make information more easily accessible to more of our members. We posted reviews of the Killarney Conference and selected articles from the March Newsletter on line in German and Spanish, and these were very well received.
This is the work of a number of members who have generously volunteered to translate for us. We would like to be able to have articles in Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, and any other language for which we have a translator. For more details, read the full article or contact Executive Director Don DeRoche.
Bert Aalders and Tünde Gerlóczy, pictured at the closing ceremony of the WASBE 2007 Conference in Killarney
Tünde Gerlóczy 1976–2008
Pianist Tünde Gerlóczy, wife of WASBE Past President Bert Aalders, died unexpectedly on April 18 at the age of 32.
WASBE would like to extend our deepest condolences to Bert and both families on this untimely loss.
2007 Conference Archive Reorganised
Since 2003, the WASBE web team has been on site reporting to web site visitors on the biennial WASBE Conference. We have kept these articles posted so as to form an archive of the Conferences. The 2007 WASBE Conference in Killarney was a memorable one and it was also the most fully-covered conference to date. So it is only fitting that we have updated the archive to put it in a more accessible form. We've reorganised the content so that it is organised by type — Concerts, Sessions and Threads — rather than by the date we reported on it. Every concert and almost every session has some article written about it as well as a picture from the event. We hope that this will be a valuable resource to members as well as a great reminder of the excellent time we had with our Irish hosts.
Conductor Scholarship Program Applications Available
The WASBE International Conductor Scholarship Program provides support for WASBE members to attend a conducting workshop in a country other than their own. At last count, eight workshops are willing to offer some sort of tuition scholarship — a new record! For more information on this year's program and the exciting opportunities afforded to WASBE members in this regard, visit the International Conductor Scholarship Program page on this site.
The deadline for applications is as follows (revised April 9):
- May 1 for workshops held in May
- May 15 for workshops held in June
- May 29 for workshops held in July and August
Remember that we also maintain a list of conducting seminars and workshops, available to all website visitors.
Newsletter Articles "en español" and "auf Deutsch"
The March 2008 WASBE Newsletter is now available for download for WASBE Members. We welcome Russell McCutcheon (USA), who takes over publishing duties from Anthony Reimer (Canada) as of this issue. While the published version is in English, we now offer selected Newsletter articles in Spanish and German. For example, the review of the Sinfonische Blasorchester Mannheim concert cited on page 9 of the Newsletter is one of the articles available to members only. If you are interested in being a volunteer translator, talk to the Executive Director.
March Newsletter in English (
1.6 MB)
AWSO Auditions
The American Wind Symphony Orchestra, Robert Austin Boudreau, Music Director, announces auditions for its 2008 Tour of New England, New York, and Canada. The tour runs from June 15 to August 15, 2008, and auditions will be held by arrangement throughout the spring. Stipends of up to US$1,200, plus room and board (excluding lunch) are available. There are openings for all winds, percussion, keyboards and harp. For a listing of audition requirements, times and sites, contact:
American Wind Symphony Orchestra
550 Plains Church Road
Mars PA 16046
USA
Phone: (724) 779-8334
Fax: (724) 742-2897
E-mail: awso@execnet.net
Killarney Discs Shipping
Persons who ordered complete sets of the concert discs from the 2007 WASBE Conference in Killarney are starting to receive them now. If you did not order them at the time, you can contact Mark Custom Recording Service to order any or all the discs. Mark Custom also has discs from the 1999, 2003 and 2005 Conferences available.
