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Once upon a time
(during the summer of 2002), there were three little grrls
(Nora Brennan, Colleen Whitty, & Laura Gabler) who bemoaned
the absence of symphonic band music at the Michigan Womyn's
Music Festival. With the initial goal of reinstituting that
tradition, these three grrls founded a women's symphonic band,
the Lakeside Pride Women's Ensemble.
In the space of a couple months (with support and guidance
from the Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band's fearless leader,
Tom Kowalczyk), the Women's Ensemble had gathered together
about a dozen members who rehearsed a handful of times, recorded
a demo CD, and compiled an audition package that was sent
to the Festival. Sadly, we were not invited to play. But happily,
we knew we had a good thing going and we forged ahead.
The Women's Ensemble is committed to representing Lakeside
Pride in the women's community and to encouraging women to
explore and expand on their musicianship (playing as well
as arranging, composing, and conducting). We make every effort
to perform music composed or arranged by women.
Because of our fluid and sometimes unusual instrumentation
(perhaps heavy on the brass and light on the woodwinds or
vice versa, or minus flute or oboe), we are faced with unique
challenges in selecting pieces to play. We have to adapt pretty
much any of our music to suit our instrumentation at the moment.
Sometimes trombone or baritone sax will cover a bassoon part,
soprano sax a flute or oboe part, and so on. Several members
have taken a stab at arranging music--and quite successfully
at that. So we are slowly building a library of music (arranged
or composed by women) suitable for concert performances as
well as other events (e.g., commitment ceremonies, dinner
parties, business functions).
Our Saturday morning rehearsals are held at the Women's Center for the Creative Arts. In this setting our group can
comfortably enjoy a cup of coffee, breakfast treats, and conversation
while also getting in a good solid rehearsal.
The first conductor of the Women's Ensemble, Jennifer Vannell, guest
conducted two pieces for the Symphonic Band's "Camp Out"
concert. She was the first woman guest conductor in the band's
history. Brava!
As we are inspired by women musicians, we hope to inspire
others to express themselves in the diverse world of music
making with women, as well as to appreciate the contributions
of women composers and arrangers. Join
us! |
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| Music
selections:
- To
honor and celebrate the life of Kay Gardner, who blazed
a trail for so many in the healing musical arts, we
have been working on several of her compositions.
- For
a change of pace, we have incorporated several drumming
pieces into our repertoire.
- Recent
acquisitions include pieces by two composers that were featured
in past Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band concerts: Elena Roussanova
Lucas and Julie Giroux.
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Lakeside
Pride Women's Ensemble
performing "Polar" (May 3, 2003)
(photo courtesy
of
the Grand Rapids [Michigan] Women's Chorus)
| Past
performances:
- March
22, 2003: A Taste of Lakeside Pride (with other small ensembles)
- May
3, 2003: guests of Artemis Singers for their Breast
Cancer Oratorio concert
- September
20, 2003: guests of Radical Nuances (a combo consisting
of Lakeside Pride and Artemis members) at Mountain Moving
Coffee House
- May
1, 2004: guests (with the Clarinet Choir) of Broadway
United Methodist Church
- June 5, 2004: An Evening of Women in Music (the group's first stand-alone concert)
- December 19, 2004: Sleigh Ride Chamber Concert (with other small ensembles)
- May 14, 2005: Coming Out Against Sexual Assault in the LGBT Community (program of music, poetry, and activism, presented by the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago LGBT Program and Lakeside Pride)
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| Lakeside
Pride Women's Ensemble
after Mountain Moving performance
(September 20, 2003)
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