First I've heard the whole program, including Saint-Saens bassoon concerto (orchestrated by Cayenna from sonata for bassoon & piano), lovely Brahms for lower strings & woodwinds, horns, plus tricky Elgar.  I still get a kick out of my piece referred to as "the Boel".  Like "the Brahms".

My piece suffered a bit from missing players - both the pianist and the contrabass players were absent, though we had 4 horns, and a fuller woodwind section (only missing the second bassoonist).  Luckily Cayenna asked Diana Geiger, the assistant conductor to play the bass part on the piano, so the parts with the string accompaniment had the downbeat present.  And overall it is coming together well!

Interesting phenomenon (missing parts) that all the players are doing really well with - and I can just hope that this flexibility can continue - there are parts that will be heard only on Saturday - timpani, xylophone, second bassoon, and I trust that hearing them for the first time won't throw anyone off.

Bear and I listened from the back of the woodwinds, almost next to the brass, and it was fun to hear the concert from the "stage" so to speak.  Also helped my understanding of what goes on in the woodwind section, and how I might better employ the wonderful sounds, and combinations of tonal qualities in my next pieces.  Lovely to be immersed in all the music!