Invitation to perform as demonstration group at Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic

What an honor! We’ve recently been invited by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic to serve as a demonstration band for a rehearsal lab clinic at this year’s conference. The Midwest Clinic will take place on December 13 – 17. Our session being on Wednesday, Thurday, or Friday of that week at the Palmer House. We should be assigned our date, time, and clinician soon.

Dear Chip:

I am writing to invite your band to serve as the demonstration band in one of the rehearsal labs being presented at the Midwest Clinic this year. Introduced last year, these labs are structured as actual rehearsals rather than clinics. By pairing local student groups with noted rehearsal technicians, they are intended to provide teachers with the opportunity to observe more thoroughly methods and insights for running a successful rehearsal than we are able to present in rehearsal clinics. At the same time, we are excited to be able to offer this educational opportunity to area schools. This program was so well received last year that we are expanding it from four to six labs, one each morning and afternoon on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, December 14-16.

This would be a 60 to 75 minute rehearsal, held in the Grand and State Ballrooms at the Palmer House. The basic idea is for the rehearsal to cover at least one selection that is new to the band and one that the students have some experience with. Based on the feedback we received about the labs offered last year, the less polished the band is on the music being rehearsed, the more valuable the lab is to the teachers in attendance. We would also like it to cover warm-up techniques and materials, if applicable. (This is the basic format, the actual decisions about which and how many selections and the amount of time given to each would be up to you and the rehearsal technician.) We are now in the process of inviting the rehearsal technicians for these sessions. Once they are confirmed, we would put you in touch with the person assigned to your lab and let you work out the details together.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this invitation. We would be very pleased if your band is able to take part in this important new offering of the Midwest Clinic.

Sincerely,

Kelly Jocius

Executive Administrator
The Midwest Clinic

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