Sally and Friends (plus 2 bonus items)

1. Have you reserved a spot at Rasputin's for Saturday, February 4th? Sally Robinson will be making music with many of her friends. Rasputin's is small and Sally has a lot of friends. It will sell out. Even with all the accordion music that'll be happening and without people realizing that a certain Eb Alto Horn player will be stepping in on a couple of numbers. [more details]
2. The Maple Leaf Brass Band practised some of our pieces for the Brass Band Festival in Toronto on March 11 tonight. It is going to be one solid programme. A piece that always gives me goosebumps, and sometimes makes my eyes water is Gabriel Major-Marothy's Hymn. It's the second movement of his Suite for Brass Band. [You can download an mp3 of us playing it here.] Our conductor used to tell people that Gabe wrote it after 9-11. "Why does he tell people that?" Gabe would go when he sat next to me. (One of the intimidating things about playing 2nd Horn is that very good cornet players sit next to you.) "I wrote it before 9-11 and it was more about my girlfriend than anything else." [Our Toronto gig probably won't sell out, but why take chances? see Collaborations details here]
3. On the way home from practice, I saw that the red mitten is still on top of the hydrant marker at Louisa and Bell, but it has lost its hat of snow. There is now also a blue and white knitted glove on top of a hydrant marker on Arlington between Percy and Bronson.