During a rehearsal with the Rogue Valley Symphony this evening in Ashland, Oregon, I realized that after the three other times I had worked with this orchestra, they have truly become a major sounding ensemble. Thanks to Arthur Shaw, their maestro for 18 years, they sounded wonderful. In my estimation, with the turnover of musicians in the regional orchestras and so many new players graduating from terrific schools, the playing is awesome. It was a smooth sailing rehearsal with the tricky rhythms of the Duke Ellington 'New World A-Comin' and Leroy Anderson's 'Concerto in C'. They nailed it.