Last update:
02/25/2008
Bar Harbor Brass Week Information for Participants
What to wear and what to bring:
For the main concert performance Friday, we will wear all black: black pants/slacks, black shirt (no t-shirts, please), and black shoes and socks. Ladies may choose to wear a black dress. For other events during the week, casual dress is appropriate. For Saturday’s outdoor concert, we will wear blue jeans and white or light-colored t-shirts. Please avoid shorts and sandals for the faculty recital. Please bring warm clothing with you, as it can get very chilly, especially in the evenings. You may also want to bring rain gear, hiking boots, alarm clock, camera, etc. Of course, don’t forget your instrument and any music you need. We will email you about what mutes you may need to bring.
If you have a folding music stand, you may want to bring it along. We should have adequate stands for rehearsals and concerts, but it may come in handy for private practice or if the stands all end up in one place far away.
T-Shirts: We will bring our Bar Harbor Brass Week t-shirts to sell at registration. They will be $5 each and are full color on white, front/back with our logo. You are not required to purchase a t-shirt, but if you do, we encourage everyone to wear the BHBW shirt at the outdoor Village Green concert. If you do not plan to purchase a t-shirt, please bring a light-colored, preferably white, t-shirt to wear at the Village Green concert. Returning participants: the shirts are the same as previous years, so if you bought one then, you are good to go!
Dorm Residents (college students, faculty) please note!!!! You will need to bring linens for your stay at the dorm. The college will provide a pillow and blanket; you will need sheets, a pillowcase, and your bath towel/wash cloth, etc… Please do not overlook this detail, as you will be charged by the college if you forget your personal linens and have to use their linen service.
About the dorm: The College of the Atlantic is a small college and we are very limited in space. All students staying on the campus will be housed in the Seafox dormitory, which is a very large old house. The rooms are very large and most if not all students will have roommates. Every individual will have a key to lock your door. The rooms are simple and do not have individual phones or television, but phones are located in the hallways and there is a large common area with television. There is also a large kitchen area that you are welcome to use.
Directions to Bar Harbor:
By auto: The College of the Atlantic is located at 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609-1105. Take I95 North to Bangor, ME and take exit 45, I395 East. On I395, take exit 6 to US-1 South. In Ellsworth, stay straight and follow SR-3 to Bar Harbor. The College of the Atlantic will be on your left (ocean-side of Route 3) as you come close to downtown Bar Harbor, one-quarter mile beyond the Bay Ferry terminal. Make a left at the last entrance—the third driveway (watch for signs).
By plane: Regularly scheduled flights are available to Bar Harbor Airport in Trenton, also called the Hancock County Airport, airline code BHB. It is about 12 miles from the College of the Atlantic. The airport in Bangor (BGR) is often cheaper. If you are flying, please let us know your flight information as soon as possible. We will schedule car pools to pick up students from the airport. If you prefer to make arrangements on your own, taxi service and rental cars are available at both airports. There are also shuttle services, such as http://www.barharborshuttle.com/. To find cheaper flights, it has not been uncommon for participants in the past to fly to Boston, and take a Greyhound or Concord Trailways bus to Bangor or Bar Harbor.
A note on travel to Bar Harbor: The New England area is full of travelers and tourists at the time of our camp, so please look into your travel arrangements as soon as possible. If you plan to drive and stop at a hotel on the way, try to make reservations before you leave. Finding a hotel room late on a weekend night in the summer anywhere in New Hampshire and Maine can be tough if not impossible.
Visiting Relatives: If you have parents, relatives, or friends who would like to visit during the week, they must make their own accommodations in the area. Be advised that Bar Harbor is a very popular destination this time of year, so make reservations as early as possible. Relatives are welcome to attend events during the week or eat in the COA cafeteria (there is an ala carte fee per meal)--please contact us so we know you're coming.
Registration and Arrival
Time:
College Students:
Registration is at Seafox—look for signs—from
5:00-7:00PM on Sunday, June 24.
We will hold placement auditions for all
participants following registration, except for bass trombone and tubas. These
auditions are for assigning parts and also for selecting players for the chamber
groups. Music for the auditions is included in this mailing, see Music to
Prepare below.
High School Students: You will have two options for registration: Sunday, June 24 from 5-7PM, or Monday morning, June 25 between 7:30-8:30 AM. Placement auditions are from 8:30-10:50. Some of you will start right away with a private lesson. Basically, plan to start the camp right away, so be sure you have your equipment, music, etc. with you for the day. If you are hosting a non-commuter: Please plan to meet your student(s) sometime Sunday. Host assignments are included in this packet—please contact each other personally. You may also make plans to meet elsewhere if you choose (since you have two options for registering). Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Daily Schedule:
You can see a draft of the schedule here.
Note: the schedule will change—the latest schedule will be given to you at registration.
One of the bigger changes this year for high school participants will be scheduled private practice time as well as separate masterclasses for high school and college.
Meal Information:
College Participants: Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be at the College of the Atlantic’s cafeteria beginning Monday morning and ending with Friday’s dinner. Saturday, June 30, we will provide a continental breakfast in the dorm, and we will also provide an evening meal (probably pizza) following the 5pm concert. You will, therefore, need to go to town for dinner on Sunday and lunch on Saturday. Lobster will be offered one evening during the week, for a $10 fee—you will be able to order this during registration if you wish.
High School Participants:
Lunch at the College of the Atlantic’s cafeteria Monday through Friday is
included in the cost of the camp. All other meals are the responsibility of
each student and/or the student’s host family.
There is no lunch on Saturday; you will have the time free until our concert.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday when there are performances in the evening,
high school participants may stay on campus and purchase dinner in the cafeteria
(approximate cost is $10) or eat supper in Bar Harbor, then walk to St.
Saviour’s for the Tuesday or Friday performance, or stay on campus for the
in-house recital on Thursday. Of course, this will be at the discretion of your
parents/hosts.
Music to Prepare:
- Please bring etudes, solos, and excerpts that you are working on and be prepared to play them in private lessons and in group sessions for faculty coaching.
- College players will be required to play a placement audition on Sunday evening. You must play about five minutes of a solo or etude and the music excerpts included in this packet. Mutes are not needed for the audition. Sight reading may be asked. For college participants, we plan to rotate seating, but reserve the right to make part assignments. College bass trombone and college tubas are not required to audition. This year, one college trombone may be selected to perform as a soloist on the Saturday afternoon concert.
- High School participants will be expected to play about five minutes of a solo or etude and excerpts from the music included in this packet for the placement audition on Monday morning. Mutes are not needed for the audition. Please bring the music with you to Brass Week.
Instruments and Mutes for College Participants:
Trumpets:
Bring all of your instruments including flugelhorn. Piccolo trumpet is not
required; however, you may prefer it. Mutes needed are: straight, cup, Harmon
Horns:
A mute is needed
Trombones:
Mutes needed are: straight, cup, Harmon. There will be need for one player to
play some euphonium. We can provide a Euphonium (Besson compensating). If you
play valves, please bring your mouthpiece.
Tubas:
Concerts require CC tubas. You might prefer an "F" tuba for some passages. It
is not required.
High School students will not need mutes this year, or any extra instruments.
Transportation around the island:
The Island Explorer, a free shuttle bus, takes visitors virtually everywhere on Mount Desert Island. More information is available at http://www.exploreacadia.com/. Other island information is available from http://barharbor.org.
College of the Atlantic information:
More information about the
College of the Atlantic campus can be found on their website:
http://www.coa.edu. Highlights you might want to check out while on campus
include:
Ethel
Blum Art
Gallery:
Provides excellent space for display of artwork by students, faculty, and
visiting artists.
George B. Dorr
Museum of Natural History: Showcases student work that explores
Maine's natural heritage.
Pier: COA's 120 foot pier provides access to the water during the summer
for guests.
Pebble
Beach:
A popular spot by the pier, participants can use COA's pebble beach for relaxing, wading, swimming, etc.
Blair Dining Hall: Meals are served in the Blair dining hall. The
kitchen's food was ranked number 1 in the 2000 edition of the Princeton Review's
The Best 331 Colleges.
Telephone/Mail/Email:
The office for the Brass Week will be in the common room of Seafox dorm. The phone number there is 207-288-3459. Please only call this number during the Brass Week, from June 24-July 1. Other contact numbers for the program directors are listed below. Friends and relatives who need to contact you may also leave a message with the COA receptionist (207-288-5015) during college business hours (8:30-4:00) Monday through Friday. After hours, the emergency number is 207-288-9001; this number is for emergencies only! You can make calls with calling cards from any phone. Friends and relatives writing to you should address mail to you c/o Bar Harbor Brass Week, College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden St., Bar Harbor, ME 04609-1105. There are two computer terminals on the campus linked to the internet, see one of the directors for more information.
Miscellaneous Information:
Pets are not permitted on the COA campus. Smoking is prohibited by law in all campus buildings including dorms, classrooms, meeting rooms, etc. Smoking on campus is permitted in outside designated areas only.
You may want to check out the promotional 8 minute video available on our website for background information about this camp.
Additional Contact Information:
207-288- 3459 (Brass Week
“office” on campus—Seafox common room June 24-July 1)
info@barharborbrass.org (e-mail)