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LittleRusty
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
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Location: Gardena, Ca
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 Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:11 pm Post subject: Christmas gigs? |
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Anyone care to talk about their holiday gigs?
I have played for the Church I attend for many years. Both a Christmas Sunday and then Christmas eve.
This year a previous director is subbing in a local Church and asked me to play for her also. She scheduled the rehearsals and performances so they meshed with the current Church.
The fortunate part is that this has inspired me to practice more, so my lip is the best since I have come back to playing. |
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murph66
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Joined: 24 Jan 2004
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Location: Clinton, MS
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:56 am Post subject: |
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| I have two this coming Sunday. Our church has it's Christmas Musical that morning and a concert band I play with has our Christmas concert that afternoon. I need to keep my practice up after as I have cardiovascular surgery scheduled for Jan 7. It could be just clearing our a stint, or maybe a bypass. I don't know when I will be able to play again after that. So, I better get the practice done when I can. |
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LittleRusty
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Location: Gardena, Ca
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:19 am Post subject: |
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| murph66 wrote: | | I have two this coming Sunday. Our church has it's Christmas Musical that morning and a concert band I play with has our Christmas concert that afternoon. I need to keep my practice up after as I have cardiovascular surgery scheduled for Jan 7. It could be just clearing our a stint, or maybe a bypass. I don't know when I will be able to play again after that. So, I better get the practice done when I can. |
Best wishes for your surgery. |
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mm55
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Joined: 01 Jul 2013
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:26 am Post subject: |
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Our trumpet ensemble joined forces with trumpet sections from a big band and two nearby high school bands. We split up into quintets, and played Christmas carols and holiday pop tunes at the storefronts of sponsoring businesses around a small-town commercial district. Then we hit the sidewalk, slowly adding each small ensemble to the growing trumpet choir, until we were a few dozen. Then we arrived at a local school, where the elementary-school band trumpeters joined us too, for more than 50 trumpeters in a short concert.
I also dragged out my 1911 Conn euphonium for a Tuba Christmas concert.
Tomorrow night at the rock/soul/jazz jam session, the horn section will probably interrupt the jam a few times for some holiday trios. One of the singers or guitar players might instigate some other Christmas tunes. Unlike the trumpet and tuba events, at this jam their WILL be some wassail, and we won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some, we won't go until we get some.
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Last edited by mm55 on Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Turkle
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Location: New York City
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:40 pm Post subject: |
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This is the 4th year in a row one of my jazz groups is playing the Vince Guaraldi Xmas music along with the cartoon, with voices and foley performed with live actors. It's awesome every year. Great music, and a lot of fun.
I don't do church gigs anymore, thank goodness.
I of course throw in a number of Christmas classics at every jazz performance, as needed. My favorites are "White Christmas" played uptempo like Bird used to do, and "Mele Kalikimaka."
Cheers.
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Robert P
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Joined: 28 Feb 2013
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| Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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Not my gig and probably not exactly what you're thinking of but kind of a funny story. A few years back during the Christmas season I visited a "Gentlemen's club". Outside the front door was a guy playing Christmas songs on trumpet with a mute in. It was just him. He was/is actually pretty well known in the local music scene and somehow got hired to do this somewhat unorthodox gig. There's a good chance some of you know him.
I thought it was funny that when he found out I play and knew some names of people he knew professionally he made a point to work in a demonstration that he could play some high notes. I also think he figured he'd be doing the job anonymously, and didn't expect anyone acquainted with his professional circle to show up.
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murph66
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Joined: 24 Jan 2004
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Location: Clinton, MS
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| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 5:38 am Post subject: |
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| LittleRusty wrote: | | murph66 wrote: | | I have two this coming Sunday. Our church has it's Christmas Musical that morning and a concert band I play with has our Christmas concert that afternoon. I need to keep my practice up after as I have cardiovascular surgery scheduled for Jan 7. It could be just clearing our a stint, or maybe a bypass. I don't know when I will be able to play again after that. So, I better get the practice done when I can. |
Best wishes for your surgery. |
Thanks- I am not looking for any problems, but at 81 as of yesterday any thing worse that a cut finger could cause problems. |
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BGinNJ
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| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:52 am Post subject: |
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I volunteered to do a brass quartet for a Christmas Eve church service, now I wish I hadn't. I play with a rehearsal band that uses the church basement, so doing occasional services for them is our rent. Band director said it would be easy, just a couple of tunes we'd run through before the service, we'd be in & out. Wife wasn't crazy about it but said OK. Then the church's music director sent details, 3 tunes, and wants us for rehearsal 1 1/2 hrs ahead!
I feel like this is a big ask, and it's going to put me in hot water at home if I don't bail out! |
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LittleRusty
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
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Location: Gardena, Ca
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| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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| BGinNJ wrote: | I volunteered to do a brass quartet for a Christmas Eve church service, now I wish I hadn't. I play with a rehearsal band that uses the church basement, so doing occasional services for them is our rent. Band director said it would be easy, just a couple of tunes we'd run through before the service, we'd be in & out. Wife wasn't crazy about it but said OK. Then the church's music director sent details, 3 tunes, and wants us for rehearsal 1 1/2 hrs ahead!
I feel like this is a big ask, and it's going to put me in hot water at home if I don't bail out! |
That is pretty much the same as the Xmas Eve service I am playing. 3:30 call time for a 5:00 service. |
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Brad361
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Location: Houston, TX.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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| LittleRusty wrote: | | BGinNJ wrote: | I volunteered to do a brass quartet for a Christmas Eve church service, now I wish I hadn't. I play with a rehearsal band that uses the church basement, so doing occasional services for them is our rent. Band director said it would be easy, just a couple of tunes we'd run through before the service, we'd be in & out. Wife wasn't crazy about it but said OK. Then the church's music director sent details, 3 tunes, and wants us for rehearsal 1 1/2 hrs ahead!
I feel like this is a big ask, and it's going to put me in hot water at home if I don't bail out! |
That is pretty much the same as the Xmas Eve service I am playing. 3:30 call time for a 5:00 service. |
Hate to say this, but some churches do tend to impose on musicians. And the last Easter gig I did took me three weeks to get my check, which had been promised would be on site at the end of the service.
I also volunteered with a praise band, every Saturday afternoon (5:00) for three years. When I quit and resumed working with a paid gig band, instead of “thank you for the past years service”, I pretty much was treated like a traitor.
I’m kinda done with churches, generally.
Brad
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Last edited by Brad361 on Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:43 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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LittleRusty
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
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Location: Gardena, Ca
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| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Both churches I am playing for this year hand out the checks at the gig. |
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Arranger-Transcriber
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Joined: 01 Mar 2003
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Location: Maryland, USA
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| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:53 pm Post subject: Christmas Gig |
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This is a first. One of the groups in which I play has consistently limited itself to playing Dixieland, often just improvised. We're three horns, a vocalist, and rhythm. Hope it's not awfully politically incorrect to point out that the director is Jewish and less than keen on Christmas music, but over the years I've written some arrangements of secular Christmas tunes to enable us to toss in one or two token pieces during the holiday season.
We usually don't perform them very well. It's a struggle just to get everybody to find the holiday pieces that are in our "book" only a couple weeks a year.
The group rehearses at a senior facility, so we occasionally perform at the facility gratis. Well, guess what happened? They asked us to give a Christmas concert. For once, we got serious about this repertoire, and we spent three rehearsals working on the dozen arrangement I had written.
The concert was a huge success. Best crowd ever, and they loved the music, perhaps because it was more familiar to them than many of the historical Dixieland pieces we usually offer them. |
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WxJeff
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Joined: 10 Dec 2002
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Location: Atlanta GA
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:58 am Post subject: Re: Christmas Gig |
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| Arranger-Transcriber wrote: |
The concert was a huge success. Best crowd ever, and they loved the music, perhaps because it was more familiar to them than many of the historical Dixieland pieces we usually offer them. |
That's awesome. Glad to hear it all came together and thanks for the details.
Saddens me to hear the less than positive experiences with churches expressed above, but I get it. Here's mine:
For several years I have played early Sunday mornings with a pretty tight 15-20 member church orchestra which includes a very good brass section of three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone and tuba. We've had a lot of fun playing some brass ensemble pieces in the church as preludes and offertories.
The music director is an older gentleman who "builds out" the orchestra and choir for the Christmas program. He's kind of stuck in 1974 when he was elsewhere and had access to some collegiate and semi-pro players. The music is typically ambitious for us volunteers and he adds other elements (kid stuff, handbells, interpretive reading,) making for a long program.
Two years ago it ran almost two hours (not including a kickin' brass ensemble prelude from the balcony that we nailed  ) At the one hour mark, I watched families with young children leave the packed sanctuary (understandable, really.) At 90 minutes I watched some middle age couples leave. At 105 minutes we closely averted a train wreck (primarily the choir) on the finale because it was hot, we had been on stage for a long time, and there were a lot of older folks in the group. I decided at that point to "opt out" of Christmas playing for awhile. I expressed my reasons to some close friends in the orchestra that are members of the congregation but didn't feel it was my place to say anything to the music director.
I "attended" the program earlier this month and was pleased to see the director had shortened things to just over an hour and there were fewer embellishments. (I did express that the high school marching band drum line for "Little Drummer Boy" in a closed sanctuary was a rather bad idea.)
Perhaps next year I'll opt back in.
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Seymor B Fudd
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Location: Sweden
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 10:17 am Post subject: Re: Christmas gigs? |
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| LittleRusty wrote: | Anyone care to talk about their holiday gigs?
I have played for the Church I attend for many years. Both a Christmas Sunday and then Christmas eve.
This year a previous director is subbing in a local Church and asked me to play for her also. She scheduled the rehearsals and performances so they meshed with the current Church.
The fortunate part is that this has inspired me to practice more, so my lip is the best since I have come back to playing. |
My brassband did two christmas concerts à 1:15 each with a little more than one hour between. The rather big church was crowded every time. My lips were in fine condition, maybe a bit stiff at the end of the first concert, but in super condition the second. A real joy to play (front row) pianissimo as well as forte (not fortissimo - would be overkill in those acoustics), high and low.
I just love to play with brass ensembles in church - after all these years I´m not anxious at all even if I´m supposed to suddenly nail a A above staff, pp. Could be rather taxing though - a lot of psalms way down low, and then chorals pp/ff in the ordinary "church keys" (=concery key D etc). The chorals we played together with a big choir - you gotta listen carefully if the sopranos also sang these A:s...... 
Same concert again in another church Jan 5th - new choir.....and director!
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Last edited by Seymor B Fudd on Sun Dec 23, 2018 6:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Brad361
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Location: Houston, TX.
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:39 am Post subject: Re: Christmas Gig |
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| WxJeff wrote: | ....... (I did express that the high school marching band drum line for "Little Drummer Boy" in a closed sanctuary was a rather bad idea.)
Perhaps next year I'll opt back in. |
Yikes, I guess SO! Sort of like bringing live horses and a sleigh into the church for “Jingle Bells”!
Brad
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WxJeff
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| Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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| I didn't mention that they entered down the aisles. The snares were so loud I ended up putting my fingers in my ears to prevent hearing loss. Of course, you couldn't even begin to hear the choir and only the high notes of the 1st trumpet from the orchestra!! |
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LittleRusty
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 12657
Location: Gardena, Ca
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 3:58 pm Post subject: Re: Christmas Gig |
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| Brad361 wrote: | | WxJeff wrote: | ....... (I did express that the high school marching band drum line for "Little Drummer Boy" in a closed sanctuary was a rather bad idea.)
Perhaps next year I'll opt back in. |
Yikes, I guess SO! Sort of like bringing live horses and a sleigh into the church for “Jingle Bells”!
Brad |
Many years back when I was in high school our brass choir played for an Episcopal Church service.
Edit: The brass choir was located at the rear of the sanctuary behind the congregation.
The congregation filed in and sat in reflective quiet until the opening drum beats from Copeland’s Fanfare for Common Man echoed through the sanctuary. To quote the book Cheaper By the Dozen “Daddy you must have jumped six and nine tenths inches.” |
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cbtj51
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| Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 7:49 pm Post subject: |
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I got hired back in October for a 2 Service Church Performance on this past Sunday, a paid rehearsal each on the preceding Wednesday evening and Saturday midday. Got the music a few weeks earlier, so lots of time to woodshed and do my part! Good prep and delivery. 3rd time I have been called to perform at this church (not my home church). I really enjoy doing this and I get to meet some top notch musicians at every performance! I am performing during 2 Services at my home Church tomorrow morning. I have the privilege of participating in this at least once per month year round. Always a pleasure to be of service for my Church! I really enjoy playing, especially at this time of year!
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trumpetchops
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| Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 2:44 am Post subject: |
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I'm up early this morning to play in church. It's a really good gig. Rehearsal for about 30 minutes with the choir and then play. They let us go before the sermon. The check will be on the stand with the music when I get there.
Tomorrow, different church, but the same thing and a lot more money. This one starts at about 4PM. This one will be a little hard for me because the trumpet player that got me the gig and my good friend died a few months ago. Someone else will be there playing his part.
I will leave that one and go a few towns over for another with a quintet.
I'll get home late.
It's funny how every year I'm so busy in December and then nothing in January. So for, not one gig.
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Anthony Miller
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| Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Our community brass band played 3 hours of carols on our local market place this morning. Freezing cold here in the North of England but donations of coffee and sausage rolls helped us along. We’ve done two weeks of carolling- about 3 nights a week around the town and a Sunday concert in our local church raising funds for cancer research. People do love hearing the carols from the Sally Army book and there is something special about. Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year. |
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