SPRING 2022
The Trombonist
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President’s Welcome Editor’s Welcome SIMON MINSHALL
AL ASTAIR WARREN
Hello there readers, I hope you are all well and looking forward to some nice weather. You may even start to venture out to the park or garden to do some practise (use your judgment of course!). I know this was quite usual in the lockdowns of the last two years: often meeting up and playing together can be costly so why not find some suitable outdoor space and make some lovely sounds. Coming up in October will be the first ever British Trombone Festival. It’s going to be weekend packed full of fantastic musicians and events which promises to be a real celebration of all that is good in our trombone world. Visit the Festival website to book your tickets and find out more. I for one am looking forward to being inspired by some incredible playing and teaching. It will also be a great chance to say hello to as many of you as possible in person. You will have seen publicity for upcoming BTS events in Northern Ireland and the North East. Thank you to all who help makes these days happen, as it takes a huge amount of time and effort to get these occasions up and running. The BTS committee meets once a month via Zoom and the meeting is open to all our regional reps. If you have ideas or suggestions, please filter these through. You can find a list of reps here. Applications for Bursaries and the Instrument Loan Scheme will be opening soon so keep an eye out if you wish to apply or know of anyone who needs assistance. As always, we are here for you so get in touch, share your news and events, and let us know any feedback on what we are doing or how we can help. Go make some music!
Welcome to the Spring 2022 issue of The Trombonist. The start of this year has seen continued movement towards some kind of normality in the musical world and the number of concerts and events taking place has increased accordingly, many of them featuring trombonists front and centre. Reviewed within the pages of this edition are concerts by star soloist Peter Steiner, the Central Band of the Royal Air Force Trombone Ensemble, the UniBrass Gala Concert featuring Dennis Rollins MBE and Bone-afide, a rare performance of George Walker’s Trombone Concerto given by Kenneth Thompkins and Chineke! Orchestra, and the long overdue UK première of a major work by John Kenny. Elsewhere we include a roundup of news from the Brass Band world, profile Jürgen Krauss, known to many from his appearance as a contestant on the 2021 edition of The Great British Bake Off 2021, and learn about Dr Hannabiell Sanders and how she uses music to promote social justice. To coincide with the launch of the 2022 BTS Competitions, Tom Lees introduces the inaugural BTS Sackbut Competition, and in The Listening Lounge BTS Award winners nominate an eclectic range of music spanning two centuries. Finally, congratulations to Geoff Wolmark whose name was drawn of out the hat from amongst the entries to have successfully completed the Winter 2021 prize crossword. He receives a copy of Jim Andersons book, Travels with my Tuba.
Simon Minshall president@britishtrombonesociety.org
Alastair Warren editor@britishtrombonesociety.org
British Trombone Society, Registered Charity No: 1158011, Main Telephone: +44 (0)7715 273740 The Crows Nest, Apt. 17, Eastcliff Court, Crescent Road, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, PO37 6EJ
GET IN TOUC H:
T WITTER FACEBOOK WEBSITE
THE TROMBONIST MAGAZINE TEAM EDITOR
Alastair Warren editor@britishtrombonesociety.org SUB-EDITORS
Peter Chester and Alison Keep NEWS EDITOR
Barney Medland news@britishtrombonesociety.org EVENTS EDITOR
events@britishtrombonesociety.org REVIEWS EDITOR
Jane Salmon reviews@britishtrombonesociety.org ADVERTISING MANAGER
Chris Valentine advertising@britishtrombonesociety.org SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Martin Lee Thompson content@britishtrombonesociety.org MAGAZINE DESIGN
Sára Mikkelsen saramikkelsen.com FRONT COVER PHOTO CREDIT
James Woollen CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Alastair Warren Alison Keep Barney Medland Becky Smith Jeremy Price Josh Cirtina Nathan Moore Peter Chester Dylan Brewer Rob Egerton Tom Lees Kenneth Tompkins Kasia Kuchnicka Jürgen Krauss Simon Minshall James Druce Oliver Plant Laura Davison Dr Hannabiell Sanders BRITISH TROMBONE SOCIET Y :
CONTENTS 03 06 08 12 14 18 19 20 23 24 27 28 30 33
WELCOME
THE NEWS
PRESIDENT’S TOOLKIT
BRASS BAND NEWS
PROFILE: JÜRGEN KRAUSS
CONCERT REVIEW: PETER STEINER
BOOK REVIEW: BEFORE THE MUSIC STOPPED
INTRODUCING: DR HANNABIELL SANDERS
BOOK REVIEW: PERFORMED POETICS
RARE TREAT FROM C HINEKE!
THE LISTENING LOUNGE
CONCERT REVIEW: UNIBRASS 2022 GAL A CONCERT
EARLY DAYS ...
CONCERT REVIEW: CENTRAL BAND OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE TROMBONE ENSEMBLE
32 38 40
JAZZ BY JEREMY: THE LIP BREAK
FROM THE STAGE TO THE PIT
WHAT’S ON?
Officers & Staff // Honorary Patrons // Committee // Officers
Opinions expressed in The Trombonist are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the British Trombone Society.
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BY BARNEY MEDL AND
THE NEWS British Trombone Festival 2022 The BTS has recently announced the exciting news that over the weekend of 29 and 30 October 2022 the British Trombone Festival will take place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The Festival promises to be a wonderful celebration of all things trombone, comprising performances, masterclasses, competitions, massed blows, group warm-ups, and trade stands. Competitions taking place over the two days will include the BTS Inter-collegiate Trombone Choir Competition, the BTS Trombone Quartet Competition, the BTS Bob Hughes Bass Trombone Competition, and the inaugural BTS Sackbut Competition, in association with Egger Instruments. An array of world-class artists has been confirmed for the festival, including Ian Bousfield, Katy Jones, Callum Au, Isobel Daws, Emily White, Chris Thomas, Tony Boorer, Chris Augustine, and Slide Action. For all the latest updates about the Festival, you can visit the BTS’s dedicated Festival webpage.
Composers' Competition The BTS Trombone Composers’ Competition 2022 has been announced. Composers are invited to enter trombone quartets of no more than 15 minutes in length. Entries will be judged by an exciting line-up of judges including Mark Nightingale, Callum Au, and Dani Howard. The winning piece will be recorded and published by Bones Apart, while two runners-up will each receive an hour-long composition lesson with a judge. For more details and the entry form, visit the BTS’s website.
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Slide Action recently recorded the 2020 winning entry, Andy Wareham’s Fanfare and Three Poems. Check out their fantastic performance here, and purchase a copy of the sheet music from Bones Apart Publishing. The 2021 winning entry, Bright Call by Salvatore Sciarratta, is available now from Warwick Music.
Kate Rockett new General Director at Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century The Netherlands-based Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has announced Kate Rockett as their new General Director. Kate started her career as a trombonist, specialising in historical performance. She performed with leading historical ensembles around the world, such as The Gabrieli Consort and Freiburger Barockorcheser, before making the career switch to cultural management. On her appointment Kate said: ‘Since its founding over forty years ago by Frans Brüggen, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has been a highly respected key player in the historically informed performance movement and has inspired many other ensembles, both in the Netherlands and worldwide. Sieuwert Verster has been at the helm for all this time, a quite exceptional track record and a difficult act to follow. The Orchestra is a remarkable international collective of passionate and committed musicians; I am delighted to have the opportunity to shape the next chapter of the organisation’s history.’
THE NEWS
Tragic death of Tom Hammond We have been extremely saddened to hear the news that trombonist and conductor Tom Hammond passed away suddenly on 27 December 2021, aged just 47. Tom studied trombone at the Royal Academy of Music before embarking on a playing career. Gradually, Tom’s career focused increasingly on his conducting work. He founded the Hertfordshire Festival of Music in 2016 and was Principal Conductor of the St Albans Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles. He collaborated with the likes of Stephen Hough and Steven Isserlis. Tom was also a regular visitor to the Middle East, conducting ensembles at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, in Palestine, and the Palestinian Youth Orchestra. In 2017, Tom was described by Musical Opinion as ‘a serious contender for most promising maestro of his generation’. There are many people in the UK and beyond whose lives have been enriched by Tom’s music making; he will be greatly missed.
New Signings at Getzen Two new trombone stars have recently endorsed Getzen instruments. Principal trombone at the London Symphony Orchestra, Peter Moore, became a Getzen International Performing Artist in February. Peter now plays a Getzen 4147IB Custom Reserve, calling the instrument ‘an absolute dream’. Isobel Daws joined the Getzen stable the following month. Getzen said they ‘are so excited to welcome Isobel Daws to the Getzen team as a 4147IB trombone artist.’ 22-year-old Isobel is a student at the Royal Academy of Music and member of the trombone quartet Bone-afide. She has recently become the first British trombone player to be accepted into the prestigious Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Academy is the graduate arm of the orchestra, and mentors outstanding young professionals for top-flight orchestral careers. About one third of the current Berlin Philharmonic are graduates of the Karajan Academy. Congratulations to Isobel for this outstanding achievement.
Alan Adams appointed principal bass trombone at Scottish Ballet Congratulations to Alan Adams, who has been appointed principal bass trombone with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra. The former Royal Conservatoire of Scotland student won the Bob Hughes Bass Trombone Competition in 2020. Alan said he was ‘over the moon’ to be joining the orchestra of Scotland’s national ballet company.
Leading Role on Broadway According to a recently published Wall Street Journal article trombonists are playing a leading role in the resurgence of Broadway post pandemic. Despite the ongoing reductions in band sizes orchestrators are continuing to make use of the trombone because of the instrument's versatility to play across a range of genres. Though 74 short of the full complement two trombonists are employed in the pit for the current revival of The Music Man. In Hadestown trombonist Brian Drye appears on stage and interacts with the cast, prompting one twitter user to claim the trombone as the real star of the show, and at Chicago both trombonists are on stage for the entire show. Back at The Music Man, star Hugh Jackman has started a tradition which would be welcomed in orchestra pits everywhere: he buys the band members lottery scratch cards very week, in recognition of the vital contribution of live musicians.
And finally… A First World War era G trombone has been returned to its regimental home over a century after it was made. Many years ago, Richard Smith, a young Gloucester based trombonist, spotted the Boosey & Co. instrument in a second-hand shop. Richard sadly passed away in 2017. After his death, his wife Gill polished up the old instrument and saw the inscription on the bell ‘3rd Line 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment Pontypool’. Gill asked James Doran from the Leyland Band to do some investigating. He discovered the instrument was made for the regiment in 1916, and whoever played it would have likely seen considerable action in the First World War. The instrument has been presented to the Royal Welsh Regimental Museum in Brecon. James hopes one day researchers at the museum may find out who played this instrument over 100 years ago. ◆
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Presid ent ’s Toolkit:
Ask Simon … BY SIMON MINSHALL
A couple of months ago, Martin, our fantastic social media manager, asked you enthusiastic lot to suggest subjects you’d like me to delve into. Here are the first you asked for:
How Do You Approach Sight Reading? Any Tips? This comes up a lot. Due to the versatility of the trombone, we often find ourselves performing in many different genres, with a vast array of music that we are expected to read at sight. UK musicians have always been highly respected for their ability to play to the red light and get it right first time. I enjoy the challenge of practising sight-reading, and I do it by simply getting some new music and playing it. We all have study books that we play the same numbers from … find a new one. Before playing, take time to look. I have a little check list: clef, key, speed/time signature, geography. There is nothing worse than successfully playing each note (in the right order) and then getting thrown by a 1st time bar or a D.S./Coda.
How do you keep going without stopping if something goes wrong, especially at home where you can ‘get away with it’? Well simply, don’t let yourself get away with it; even if you make mistakes train yourself to keep going, you are practising a specific skill. Use a metronome (this prepares you for playing to a click track), and a recording device (your smart phone maybe?). Experiment with playing at different tempi. The recording device is there to give you some feedback on your playing.
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Playing in ensembles with people who share the same mentality really does help; maybe bring a new piece to every rehearsal none of you have seen. Don’t be afraid to use a pencil before you make the mistake! That one thoughtful moment can really make your life a bit easier. It has for me!
What Makes an Employable Freelancer? A few years ago, I was asked to write 10 points on this kind of subject, and they apply to all of us: amateur to seasoned professional. They are by no means gospel, and you will have some other points I am sure:
1. Always be early – never on time. 2.
Adapt to your surroundings, playing and other musicians’ personalities. Still be yourself but your job is to make others sound better.
3. Always buy your round – pub or coffee. 4.
Always be in good shape – take care to look after your basics – especially on free days or mornings/when work is slow.
PRESIDENT’S TOOLKIT
5. Smile – no one likes a miserable person, manners
cost nothing.
6. Pencil! (And spares) just buy a clip for the
instrument so you don’t forget (update: I’ve learnt you can get magnetic ones too!).
7.
Practise at home but keep a practise mute handy if you feel you need to have a blow in the venue – don’t blow open whilst the harp is tuning or whilst someone is having a conversation.
8.
Keep your instrument in fully working order (mouthpieces clean, mutes corked).
9.
Every gig you do doesn’t need to be broadcast on social media but do promote your own events if you think others will find it interesting or if it’s something you are particularly proud of.
Rotary, Thayer or Hagmann Valves? I think sound should always win! This could mean ending up with the valve set up you didn’t expect and not always the easiest to play. Having used all these valves, I settled on Rotax. I enjoy the ‘good resistance’ they create, allowing you to blend with most large bore tenors but free enough to navigate the silliness some composers write for the bass trombone: I do use Hagmann’s on my contrabass trombone though. I was asked to do a presentation on valves at the Dutch Bass Trombone Open and I ended up learning an awful lot from the people there. If you are interested drop me a message and I can share my acquired knowledge on this. There is certainly not enough space in the magazine for this. Questions, corrections, queries? I am here to learn too, so any thoughts you might have just email me president@britishtrombonesociety and I shall try to include them. Off we all go to practise … ◆
10.
Do other things – a few very similar weeks can affect your mood and quality of playing. Meet up and play with others; keep healthy, fit, and strong so you’re ready for any occasion.
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BTS NEWS North East Trombone Day
12.00pm – 5.00pm, Sunday, 8 May Mark Hillary Arts & Music Centre, Collingwood College, University of Durham, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LT
Free to BTS Members; £10.00 Non-Members; £5 NUS cardholders, under-18s, and parents/guardians. You can expect an afternoon of playing and listening, for trombone players of all ages and from all backgrounds. Our guest list at the moment includes Christian Jones of Opera North, the trombone section of the famous Fairey Band from Stockport, and a Trombone Ensemble from the Royal Northern College of Music. We will get started as soon as we can after registration at 12.00, but you can expect an informal afternoon of playing in a large trombone choir, listening to recitals and sessions led by our guests, and appropriate coffee and sandwich breaks (we suggest you bring your refreshments as needed, although there is a coffee bar nearby in the college). Towards the end of the afternoon, we hope to be able to make a video of the massed blow, to be broadcast under the BTS umbrella on Make Music Day* on 21 June. Parking will be in adjacent College grounds, so there will be a short walk to the venue. Precise details will be published on the BTS website and Facebook page nearer the day, or available from the organisers: Peter Chester: pm.chester@outlook.com and David Thornber: thornberdavid00@gmail. com Although entry is possible on the day we would encourage advance booking, from Ticketsource, as it does help our planning.
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*Make Music Day is an international event that has flourished in some countries for over 40 years. It celebrates music making in all its forms and on the appointed day, 21 June, musicians in many countries will be giving concerts, recitals and performances, in groups or as solos, with many in the UK being live-streamed on the Make Music Youtube channel. The recording we hope to make will also be broadcast on 21 June, but there is absolutely no reason why individual BTS members (and their friends!) cannot make their own recordings or investigate live streaming as well. This could be a great opportunity for performance and fun. The Make Music website is where you start your adventure: www.makemusicday.co.uk
20 Trombone Day 22 Sunday 15th May EA Antrim Board Centre 12.30pm - 4.00pm
Masterclasses Mass Play Grade 2 standard & above Student & adult players Free of Charge
Richard Ashmore Principal Bass Trombone of the Ulster Orchestra
Neil Gallie Principal Trombone of the Ulster Orchestra
In partnerships with the British Trombone Society and the Education Authority Music Service
Follow the link below to register https://tinyurl.com/TromboneDay2022
BRASS BAND NEWS BY AL ASTAIR WARREN AND BARNEY MEDL AND
JOHN
MAINES RETIRES FROM NATIONAL YOUTH
BRASS BAND OF GREAT BRITAIN
Announcing his retirement, John said ‘After 42 years as a member of the music staff of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain (NYBBGB) I now feel it is time for me to retire from this great organisation. My wonderful association with the NYBBGB started in 1963 as a young trombone player where I made my many lifelong friends. A few years later, in 1979, I was invited by Harry Mortimer to become trombone tutor of the Band. I held that position for 30 years until passing it on to a younger pool of tutors. I then took on the responsibility of Librarian and conducted the NYBBGB audition sessions around the country. I was honoured to be installed as a trustee of the Band. I have enjoyed my many happy memories during my time with the NYBBGB and the National Children’s Brass Band working alongside some world class conductors, soloists, and some of the finest instrumental tutors on the planet. As well as the obvious musical side of things the social life has been tremendous with the legendary quizzes, informal concerts and not forgetting all the ‘unofficial’ staff meetings! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of staff, tutors and the thousands of players through the years for making my time with the NYBBGB/NCBB such a memorable experience.’ Looking back on his long career John shared a couple of memorable moments for readers of The Trombonist. ‘When I was 13 I joined a very good band in Birkenhead called the Cammell Laird Works Band, sadly no longer in existence. I was allowed two afternoons off school to attend rehearsals and would travel by bus to Birkenhead. On one occasion the bus broke down and JOHN MAINES
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BRASS BAND NEWS
everyone had to walk a short distance through Knotty Ash on the outskirts of Liverpool to get a replacement bus. I had my trombone with me, so I was lagging behind the rest of the group somewhat and as I was passing a man mowing his lawn, he called out ‘what’s that you’ve got, a machine gun?’ It was the great Ken Dodd! I said, ‘no it‘s a trombone,’ so he asked me to prove it. I played The Acrobat, standing on the pavement, and he threw me 2 shillings (10p) and I went on my way! On another occasion our trombone section and a few cornets were asked to augment the brass section of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for two performances, firstly the Verdi Requiem and sometime later the Mozart Requiem. Both were performed in the giant Anglican Cathedral, and they were conducted by Sir Charles Groves. There was an unbelievable echo, and I had a set of minims to play. I confidently came in with the said minims and was told in no uncertain terms to shorten them to quavers!’ NYBBGB 70 TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR
The National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain celebrates its 70th Anniversary this year. The theme of the 2022 Concert Season is ‘Celebration’, and two concerts will feature female trombonists from Norway as guest soloists. The NYBBGB Easter Course will take place at Harrogate Ladies College, and specifically focuses on women in bands, female composers, conductors, and soloists. Irene Anda, from the Netherlands, is the guest conductor for the week and Grethe Tonheim is the guest soloist. Grethe has played principal trombone with the famous Eikanger-Bjørsvik band for more than twenty years and is a legendary teacher at Manger Folkehogskule and a free-lance professional musician, performing with both the Bergen Philharmonic and the Oslo Symphony Orchestra. She will perform Ray Steadman-Allen’s The Eternal Quest, Philip Wilby’s White Knuckle Ride, and Icicles by Anne-Grete Preus, a significant Norwegian female composer. The National Youth Children’s Band Summer Concert continues the theme set by the National Youth Band at Easter of celebrating females in music, with Karianne Flåtene Nilssen joining as the guest soloist. Karianne is the newly appointed principal trombone with Stavanger Band and is a Yamaha Artist. She teaches at Stavanger School of Culture and gained her Master of Music Degree from The Institute of Music and Dance at University Stavanger. She will be performing an arrangement of Percy Grainger’s Shepherds Hey and give the world première of Lucy Pankhurst’s Trio. Full details of NYBBGB’s Anniversary year can be found on their website. LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA YOUTH BRASS BAND
As part of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company,
RLPO Principal Trombonist Simon Cowen has set up a Youth Brass Band, the first in the UK to be sponsored by a major classical orchestra. Membership is open to brass and percussion players aged 13–21 from across Liverpool and Merseyside. More information about this exciting new ensemble can be found here. Applications to join from young trombonists are particularly welcome. STEPHEN LOMAS WINS BRITISH OPEN SOLO 2022
Congratulations to Brighouse and Rastrick Band bass trombonist Stephen Lomas, who took first place at this year’s British Open Solo Championship. Stephen’s winning performance of Walter Hartley’s Sonata Breve was praised by the adjudicator for his ‘total control and style … showing how a bass trombone should be played.’ NEW BRASS BAND APPOINTMENTS
There have been several high-profile solo trombone appointments at top brass bands over the last few months. The GUS Band have announced Matthew Brown as their new Solo Trombone, taking over from Alan Gifford who has made the decision to focus on his conducting, with a new position as MD at Blidworth Welfare Band. Matthew joins the band after most recently being a member of the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, as well as successes conducting the Milnrow band and his appointment as a member of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators. Matthew said, ‘I’m excited to be joining one the country’s most prestigious bands who I have long admired.’ Matthew’s debut with the band came at the Midlands Regional Championships, where GUS achieved a third-place finish. Over at Friary, Neil Wharton has joined the Band to fill the Solo Trombone vacancy created by Isobel Daws’ departure for Berlin. Neil enjoyed successful spells with Reg Vardy, Sellers and Hepworth before joining the Royal Air Force in 2002 on euphonium. After filling in on trombone for a period he made the decision to make the move permanent. Having spent most of his RAF career with The Band of the RAF College in Lincolnshire, he is now posted to The Band of the RAF Regiment where he is a trombonist and Drum Major. The Friary’s chair Nigel Stevens welcomed Neil to the band saying ‘Neil is a highly accomplished musician with an excellent history in banding. We’re so pleased to welcome him to Friary.’ Neil commented: ‘I’m only too aware that these are big shoes to fill – and I won’t be wearing Princess Isobel’s sparkly ones – but I’ll certainly give it my best.’ Finally, congratulations to Melissa Brown for her appointment as Resident Conductor of the Raunds Temperance Band. Melissa is a trombonist and has previously appeared in these pages discussing her Bold as Brass podcast. Melissa will join forces with the band’s Creative Director, fellow trombonist Jonathan Pippen. ◆ 13
Profile: Jürgen Krauss TROMBONIST, SACKBUT PLAYER, BAKER
SERIES EDITOR AL ASTAIR WARREN
My earliest musical memories were certainly my grandpa (euphonium) and my father (trombone) going off to rehearse with the town band every Friday night. There was a certain aura about it – them getting shaved, putting on nice clothes, and getting the instruments down from the top of the cupboard. And of course, the whole family would attend any occasions where the band played, carnival, religious processions, and the like. When I entered primary school, we were offered recorder lessons, and together with a girl, I was ahead of the class very quickly, but I don’t remember the recorder group lasting for more than two terms or so. Anyway, it taught me to read music. When I was about 12, I picked up my father’s trombone just out of curiosity and managed to get a good noise out of it, and that started it off. I quickly got an instrument, the German style unbranded trombone my father had learned on, and after doodling around under my father’s supervision I got integrated into the youth band and later the town band. I had some lessons from the conductor, but from my current understanding there was very little in terms of direction there. Nevertheless, I enjoyed playing. Right from the beginning I joined a brass club at school, and later a Dixie band and Big Band, where I learned a lot by just playing along with a very talented euphoniumist. When I got into Oberstufe, which is somewhat equivalent to sixth form, our music teacher, who had studied at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, organised an
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Early Music group, a very lively experience of sometimes rather experimental ensembles and a bit of teenage romance. We had recorders, an oboe, a violin, a dulcian, a cello, and me on my modern trombone. At that time, I also began taking lessons with Hans Skarba, principal of Freiburg Philharmonic, and he put me into a quartet, participating in the German contest “Jugend Musiziert”, playing the Serocki Suite and Speer Sonata. I also bought lots of sheet music I couldn’t quite play … I started to think about a musical career, but frustrations with my self-taught playing, and not being able to play piano, lead to a pause in musical activities during my national service and the first half of my Physics studies. But music didn’t disappear completely from my life – I began to obsessively listen to classical music of all sorts, and a few favourites started to crystallize. Thinking about what kind of thing I would like to play or could play I chose Early Music, found a course to make Renaissance woodwind instruments and got hooked, literally, playing crumhorns and recorders. I went to the Musikwoch in Staufen, and there, after a long day of Ockeghem on recorder, in a social setting I asked a lady if I could try out her sackbut, and managed my way through Ortiz’ Recercada Primera, which I had performed years earlier at a school concert. After that I got asked a lot ‘What are you doing here playing the recorder !?’ Now, this lady was about to buy a new sackbut and lent me her old one. She was active in the Basel Posaunenchor and well connected to the Schola
Profile: Jürgen Krauss
PHOTO CREDIT: JÜRGEN KRAUSS
Cantorum and the amateur scene, so we started to meet regularly, having group lessons with Heinrich Huber at the Schola, and playing from the tower of Basel Münster! Many private and public workshops followed, and eventually I considered bringing my sackbut playing up to professional level. After courses with Bruce Dickey and Charles Toet, the cornett player Peter Birner recommended I should talk to Ulrich Eichenberger, who then became my trombone mentor for the next four years. Peter also introduced me to the Feldenkrais Method. I started to have fairly regular gigs with Ulrich Eichenberger, Gruppe für Alte Musik München/Martin Zöbeley, Musiche Varie/Martin Lubenov, and others (a highlight being Monteverdi’s Vespers in Iceland). Later I started the Feldenkrais training in Heidelberg, from which I graduated in 2002. During that time of trying to find my musical path I graduated in Physics, moved to Frankfurt and worked as a kitchen fitter. In Frankfurt I became part of a very nerdy amateur Early Music scene. I regularly played trombone or sackbut in church and was part of the Frankfurter Renaissance Ensemble. Matthias Schneider, the leader, turned his house into a library of facsimiles of music up to about 1650, and every Monday we met around his dining table to play 8-part Renaissance music from copies of original prints, on brass and double
reeds. Mostly I played sackbut, on occasion I also played shawms. Another circle I had at that time was smaller – a physicist living in Bad Homburg would invite two or three players, and we then focussed on maybe two pieces a night, starting at 7pm, and at times finishing at 3am. Using 8-foot recorders or a mix of recorders, viols and sackbut we studied mainly music from sources dated before 1500, using facsimiles. I was fluent in reading ligatures back then … In the late 1990s the sackbut opportunities dried up, and I had the opportunity to get into IT and computer programming. Taking another break from music I still pursued my Feldenkrais training though, and this is what brought me to the UK. I took part in the Lewes Feldenkrais Training as a guest and fell in love with my wife Sophia. A year later I moved to the UK. Sophia is very creative in many ways, and we explored some possibilities together, playing duets on recorder and violin, and she even got me to play the Japanese Noh flute. Trombonists, this is a brilliant tool for breath control! Sophia got me back into trombone playing by putting me in touch with The Brighton & Hove Concert Orchestra, and I started to discover the wealth of YouTube resources, especially the two little videos by Sam Burtis about overtones got me going. I had always wondered if there was a connection between overtone
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Profile: Jürgen Krauss
DIXIE: L–R: EDWIN WEISS, JÜRGEN KRAUSS, ANDREAS ALTHAUS, WINFRIED RUH, JOC HEN SEGGELKE.
singing and trombone playing, and his approach made sense to me, with immediate results. Meanwhile we had our son Benjamin. On a visit to my parents, he was not yet 2 at the time, he picked up my wooden Swedish trumpet and made some astonishingly good noises! I had a Finke alto trombone in F, which I then left out and Benjamin could play on it whenever he wanted. Eventually, when he was 8, I got him a mini pBone to get started. At a fair in Brighton I came across the Sussex Jazz Orchestra and joined them soon after. A wonderful bunch of people, and a place where you can’t hide. The wonderful trombonist Mark Bassey, our MD, makes sure everyone gets a solo spot. It is one of the great joys in my life to play duets (Blazhevich, Genzmer …) with Benjamin and to play in the Sussex Jazz Orchestra together. Although I am not currently practising the Feldenkrais method it runs through so many things I do. One of Moshe Feldenkrais’ descriptions of the method is to get a flexible mind by getting a flexible body. To me it’s more a way of thinking than a prescribed set of movements. To achieve this flexibility, you can offer alternatives to the way you do things in everyday life.
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If you are right-handed, use your left hand to brush your teeth. Read your book upside down. Make your mind curious by questioning habits and offer alternatives. I experienced these ideas with my infinitely resourceful teacher Ulrich Eichenberger (who is not a Feldenkrais practitioner), and I am using them when working with my son on his trombone pieces, and, of course, when I practise the trombone. It is so easy for habits to sneak in when you play an instrument and practise for hours every day. And many habits can create problems, not only affecting musicality, but also creating painful conditions through the repetitive and often asymmetrical use of your body. The Feldenkrais Method can help a lot in tracking down and transforming those habits. I know very well that other approaches yield similar results, and that the non-prescriptiveness of Feldenkrais is not for everybody. There is a lot on the internet about my baking career and my participation in the Great British Bake Off, so I’ll keep this short. I started seriously making bread when I craved German bread, back around 2010. I found some good books, and understanding formula and fermentation also tickled my scientific mind. Many people urged me to apply for Series 3, which I did. But I wasn’t convinced I should and was worried
Profile: Jürgen Krauss
SAC KBUT: L–R: MIC HAEL MULLEN , LYN HARRADINE, JÜRGEN KRAUSS. PHOTO CREDIT WAYNE PLUMMER
about all that publicity. I submitted my application 10 seconds before the closing date and was relieved not to get a call. Colleagues, friends, and my wife kept nagging me to apply again, and so I did in November 2020, with a very different mindset. Baking in a ‘Bubble’ without disturbance, felt appealing, and I felt I would have something to give. Many people who watched the show told me that they saw me there just as I am in real life. My approach to things, be it music, swimming, computer programming, baking and so on, is hugely influenced by the Feldenkrais Method, the teaching I received from Ulrich Eichenberger, and of course from my wife, who always manages to pull me back down to earth when I get too lofty. A reflected consistency is the basis on which my creativity can grow. As I am doing IT work for a London job agency my time is limited, and it is a bit of a juggle to fit in baking, trombone, exercise, and family life, plus all the new things popping up after Bake Off. The first lockdown was great in terms of expanding my musical network – last summer we had weekly sessions in our garden with new friends, playing through a huge number of Italian canzoni (Banchieri, Triolo, Frescobaldi, G. Gabrieli) on violin, cornet,
sackbuts and curtal. The Sussex Jazz Orchestra has resumed its activities and I look very much forward to our next gig in April. Occasionally I also join the band Pam et des femmes in Lewes, my wife is a regular member there. New projects have come up thanks to Bake Off: a collaboration with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and a recording of 6-part music with the Bone-Afide quartet, in which my son will also participate. I am super-excited about these opportunities. Finally, my equipment: Vincent Bach 36G from the 1980s with Denis Wick 5BS, Thomann (Chinese) Alto with Denis Wick 10CS, Egger Hainlein MDC Tenor and Egger Starck Alto Standard, both with Egger mouthpieces. I’ve got a few other things, two 1920s peashooters among them (Boosey, Brown & son) with original mouthpieces. I really like the sound of the peashooters but need to do something about the sticky slides! Follow Jürgen on social media via Twitter @juergenthebread, Instagram @juergenthebread and Facebook Juergen Thebread. ◆
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CON CERT REVIEW Peter Steiner Recital ROYAL BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE BY JAMES DRUCE
Peter is quickly gaining renown in the US, across Europe and further afield as a trombone soloist. While still enjoying work with orchestras including the Colorado Symphony and Vienna Philharmonic; Peter and his accompanist/partner, Constanze Hochwartner, now focus on bringing the virtuosity of the instrument to wider audiences, making waves on stage and on social media. Their recent Conservatoire masterclass tour across the UK was a first for the duo and included a fulllength recital at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The recital started with an energetic and virtuosic introduction – something the musical world is starting to associate with Peter. Bertrand Moren’s Psychedelia was adapted for tenor trombone and piano soon after its original composition for the bass trombone. Along with being in complete command of the technically demanding passages, Peter indulged the audience with lovely lyrical sections which showed off his range capabilities. The ending of the piece was just as fiery as the start, leaving the audience thoroughly energised. Peter decided to add David’s Concertino to the programme after Constanze remarked upon it as being one of her favourites in the repertoire. I was personally not sure how I felt about adding concerti (with piano reduction) to a trombone and piano recital, but Peter changed my mind right from his first note. I assumed initially that the opening was played at a conservative dynamic, for what is usually a dominant entry over an orchestra, but it quickly became apparent that Constanze and Peter had gone to great lengths to approach this Concertino from a chamber point of view which worked very well. Peter’s playing efficiency didn’t take away from the musicality portrayed whatsoever and we were treated to a very polished rendition of a trombone classic. Between the two seminal pieces for trombone was a lovely little arrangement of Song to the Moon from Rusalka by Dvořák. Peter and Constanze shared
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the melody and created silky bel canto lines full of emotion and yearning. Weber’s Romance was next on the programme and was widely considered the most impressive playing of the whole recital. An absolutely unblemished rendition of another ‘big tune’ in the repertoire with low notes rivalling any class bass trombonist and absolute control all over the instrument regarding range and dynamics. This piece in itself was a masterclass of trombone playing. Another arrangement followed with Carlos Gardel’s Scent of a Woman. The audience enjoyed a lighter style of music with a simple film-esque melody handing itself nicely to some slide vibrato and virtuosic flourishes from Peter. A similar style piece followed as Peter played an adaptation by Freidlin called Towards the Light which was inspired by a recording made by Nitzan Haroz of the Philadelphia Orchestra. This tune again very clearly saw the musicians’ hearts on their sleeves during this lovely ballade. The final piece played was Brahms’s Hungarian Dance. As with the opening piece, Peter let go with a flamboyant end to the programme. The inspiration for adapting this for trombone was how ‘jealous’ he felt watching the violins enjoying themselves with the adrenaline-filled melody while he sat playing off beats at the back of the Musikverein. Peppered with almost comedic recitative sections, Peter and Constanze had plenty of virtuosic flare to add to their growing reputation as a dynamic duo. To find out more about Peter Steiner visit his website. His YouTube channel contains free masterclass videos, alongside live performances and studio recordings. James Druce is a trombone student at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. ◆
BOOK REVI EW
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Before the Music Stopped THE LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN, 1965–2000 BY DYL AN BREWER
Peter Bassano’s latest book Before the Music Stopped recounts his memories and thoughts on a stylistically broad and hugely successful career as a trombonist, teacher, and conductor. Written much in the same style of music critic John Amis’s book My Music in London 1945–2000, Peter reflects on both the serious and humorous sides of his development as a musician, ranging from his formative years as a boy in The Salvation Army to his time with orchestras, pop groups, Early Music ensembles and teaching at the Royal College of Music. Each chapter is a stand-alone read, underpinned by the author’s knowledge of Western Art Music. Despite the often deliciously indiscreet nature of this book, it is perhaps best understood as a useful historical document of the music industry over the last 40 years and a source of inspiration for people developing their work in our movement. Ostensibly a memoir, this book will strike a personal chord with many brass players who have worked in the UK over the last 50 years. I enjoyed reading hilarious accounts of the actions of hugely personable trombonists, with whom I was lucky enough to work in the twilight of their careers, such as the Roger Brenner and Roger Groves, in addition to the many musicians I was inspired by such as the trombone section of the New Philharmonia Orchestra (Peter was a member from 1973 with Arthur Wilson and Ray Premru). The book also addresses the changing fortunes of those working in the music industry including rates of pay, attitudes of musicians towards the maestro conductors of yesteryear, and even the societal acceptance of smoking in rehearsals. Peter’s description of the Polish trombonist, Alfred Flaszyinski, smoking during a rehearsal whilst using a cigarette holder (in almost mock Matinee idol hero-like manner) is now engrained in my memory. Hilarity is always present. I was bent double with laughter on reading about ground-breaking early music expert David Munrows’s octopus-like bagpipe playing,
and Frank Mathieson’s lack of sympathy for a twisted testicle, endured whilst Peter slept in an uncomfortable bed during a gruelling tour. Another equally funny recollection was of Flaszyinski asking Stockhausen if a performance of the composer’s music would be better with the lights turned off … By contrast, I was moved by Peter’s tearful recollection of David Munrow’s death, and it was a joy to read about Bassano’s long association with John Elliot Gardiner and lifelong devotion to the study of historically informed performance. Clearly Peter, alongside other similar highly regarded academic musicians, has ensured that the training in conservatoires and universities results in a more stylistically informed generation than 40 years ago. Both the title and conclusion may raise a question to some: despite the challenges of the pandemic, many high-profile musicians continue to be busy. Peter raises a heartfelt concern for the future of musicians in general, as a hugely experienced, caring teacher and someone who has helped shape successful and varying musical paths for his former students and friends alike. Peter’s career spanned a golden age for musicians, with countless recordings, film music, the birth of the Early Music movement, and relatively well-paid work. Perhaps, a ray of hope is that music appears to be adapting and continuing to evolve. The artists who create music continue to work around political problems and raise awareness during pandemics and wars. Peter clearly states his admiration for the conductor Yevgeny Svetlanov and discusses working with cellist and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich. Evidently, both were aware of the ability of music to break down ideological barriers through their collaboration with Orchestras from both the West and the former USSR. As the world struggles with the pandemic and conflict, the ability of music to heal and forge friendships is as pertinent now as it was during the timeline of this book. Dylan Brewer is a Devon based trombonist and teacher, and BTS Southwest Representative. ◆
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Introducing Dr Hannabiell Sanders BY L AURA DAVISON
Laura Davison: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your earliest musical memories? Hannabiell Sanders: I’m originally from Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. Like most, my earliest musical memories revolve around school. When I was 9 years old the high school came to our school to perform and showcase the different instruments. After the performance everyone went back to the band room and picked instruments. I remember telling my mom ‘I wanna play the long slidey thing!’. LD: Did you continue playing in bands at university? HS: I received a music scholarship from Norfolk State University (NSU) to study music education and to be a member of the Spartan Legion Marching Band. Studying at a Historically Black College (HBCU) was an amazing experience and taught me a lot about camaraderie. The marching band performed halftime shows during football games and would also compete with the opposing team’s band across the field. A big highlight for me was when the individual sections battled across the football field. Our trombone section consisted of 23 trombones, and we had the best fanfares. After a few years at NSU I transferred to Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University back home in New Jersey where I majored in music education and minored in music performance. LD: Was it always a dream of yours to be involved in bands like these? HS: In high school, my goal was to march with the Cadets of Bergen County (New Jersey), one of the top drum and bugle corps in the USA at the time. You go
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to camps, learn, and plot a show then tour around the country during the summer when school is out. I became a Cadet after auditioning with three of my band mates from NSU. LD: What did you do after graduation? HS: My first job was a music teacher. It was a very insightful experience that changed the trajectory of my career. In the beginning I struggled to connect with my students because all I could do was regurgitate western classical music and history, but I made major breakthroughs after researching and creating lessons that combined African American history and diverse music styles. Throughout that process I discovered the reality of my lopsided education and as an active member of the People’s Organisation for Progress, I became more aware about racism, economic inequality, and the lack of representation of our history in education. I had a successful year teaching and developed a great relationship with the students, however, I felt like I needed to go and learn about different cultures and music to be a better music educator and musician. I moved to Durban, South Africa to study at the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN), learned about teaching for praxis and the power and potential musicians, artists, and teachers have to make positive impacts on people’s lives. I learned about some of the different music and instruments in that region, took up the mbira Nyunga Nyunga, taught at UKZN and a nearby school, created my own band and joined a ska punk band. After a year in Durban, I moved back to New Jersey for ten months and then moved to Newcastle
THE FILLING IN THE SANDWICH
PHOTO CREDIT: ANNA MILLER
upon Tyne to study music at Newcastle University where I completed my MMus in Performance and PhD. LD: What did you focus on in your PhD? HS: My PhD, Protest Culture: Creative Practise As Socio-Political Engagement, explored how I use music, knowledge, and everything I do in service to social justice. It was a creative practise PhD that comprised a portfolio of performances, an album, and a thesis exploring the elements of my music, what politicised me, how I create Community Intimacy and how Harambee Pasadia became the site where I put my theories into practise. LD: How would you describe the music you create, and what projects are you currently working on? HS: My music is a mix of powerful and upbeat Latin & African percussion, brass, vocal chants, Blues, Jazz, Afro-beat, Funk, and Reggae. It’s dance music to free your soul! I’m currently working on new music for my band, duet, and solo show. I’m an Artist in Residence at The Sage Gateshead where I am reworking, writing
new music and creating a stage show. The residency will culminate in a performance in Hall 2 on June 16, 2022. I just completed a residency with Opera North where I built a stage set for both the duet, The Ladies of Midnight Blue, (LMB), and the larger band, Hannabiell & the Midnight Blue Collective (HMB). With the collective, the goal is to turn the show into a theatrical production with dancers, stage props, and projections. I’m rebranding both ensembles, writing and performing new music. We are also preparing for our Afro Fusion Music & Arts Festival Harambee Pasadia. LD: How did you come up with the concept of a festival and then go about creating it? HS: The festival was born from a desire to create more performance opportunities for artists from the African diaspora and to celebrate the diversity amongst them. When Yilis and I first moved to Newcastle upon Tyne to study at Newcastle University we performed as a duet LMB and started the UK version of our band HMB and there weren’t many performance opportunities or artists that looked like us in the region. It was difficult to get gigs so we started organising our own events,
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Introducing Dr Hannabiell Sanders
hosting double bills and film screenings as a strategy to showcase our ensembles, share audiences, and to build our following. Harambee Pasadia was a grassroots initiative to create a platform for Afro-fusion music and arts. Haramabee in Swahili means ‘let’s get together’, and Pasadia in Spanish means ‘to spend the day’. LD: When is the festival taking place and what’s on the agenda? HS: The festival will take place 23 -26 June 2022 and will feature an amazing line-up of music, creative workshops, outdoor activities, water sports, food, along with talks, presentations, and panel discussions in our Speaker’s Corner conference. There will be lead up events including the Roots Rhythms All Tribes One Vibe Gathering at the ARC in Stockton-on-Tees on 28 May to celebrate diversity within the region and Afro-fusion music. Harambee Pasadia has been commissioned by Seascapes and the University of Sunderland to work with coastal communities in County Durham to explore people’s stories around the coastline through music. We also plan on running a consciousness raising reading group in May exploring the book Feminism is for Everybody by the American author and social activist bell hooks. LD: Do you have any other projects that combine your passion for music and activism? HS: It’s paused due to Covid but in the past my partner, Yilis Suriel, and I facilitated a series of creative practise workshops as part of a program ran by the University of York’s Centre for Applied Human Rights for several years. We worked with activists from across the globe, exploring activism through creative mediums such as music, drumming, singing, visual art, printing, painting etc. Many of the activists we worked with were lawyers and leaders in the communities and didn’t necessarily see themselves as creative. We created a safe place for them to focus on themselves, explore their creativity, find inner solace, and destress away from their normal and sometimes dangerous lives. We have a lot of pride working with Human Rights Defenders and are grateful for the privilege to be able to provide them with skills to approach activism in creative ways. LD: What’s your outlook on life and music, what inspires you? HS: I love creating and strengthening community through music, art, culture, and collaboration. I believe we need a united front and personally like making change from within while creating projects and events that bridge the gap between activism and academia. I believe in collaboration not competition or as Cornel West puts it, Antagonistic Cooperation. I believe that we have to manifest and create what we want rather than focusing too much of our time and energy on what does 22
not exist or what someone else hasn’t thought about or created. I think we need to rethink and redefine what best practise is and looks like because previous models in all sectors don’t always have authentic good, where everyone benefits, at the core. I am a lifelong learner and a big advocate for continued professional development and self-care. I believe that leadership skills, social and emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and strategies for developing an abundant mindset should be an integral part of the education system. As a musician, activist, mentor, educator, and ambassador of fun, I use my platforms to create safe and inclusive spaces where joyful, thought-provoking, and meaningful experiences can take place. My favourite image and source of inspiration is the book Little Melba Liston and Her Big Trombone. LD: Do you have any long-term goals? HS: We would like to organise a UK and international tour for both my bands LMB & HMB; release two singles and work towards an album; consult on music, leadership, and making music education more whimsical and inspiring; continue to create events where artists, educators, activists and entrepreneurs come and try out new ways of working and collaborating. LD: Who are your heroes, musical or otherwise? HS: Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. I find their playing spiritual and inspiring. One of my favourite songs is Pharoah Sanders’ Love is Everywhere, along with Alice Coltranes’ album Journey in Satchidananda. The theorists bell hooks and Patricia Hill Collins and their philosophies on critical thinking, Teaching to Transgress, and Black Feminist Thought, have informed and shaped my morals, values, leadership style, and goals on how to champion equality and abolish racism. LD: What’s your favourite thing about playing the bass trombone? HS: The depth and range of the instrument. As a soloist I find it beautiful. LD: Do you have a favourite musical memory? HS: I have three: dancing and making music with Bobby McFerrin, being invited to sit in the pit by my teacher John Rojak for Les Misérables on Broadway and getting to play with The Drifters. LD: If you had to sum up your philosophy in one sentence? HS: Add joy, play, enthusiasm, kindness, and whimsy in everything you do. LD: Finally, outside of music what do you like to do? HS: I love having fun, hosting parties, and being outdoors hiking, building fires, and skipping rocks. ◆
BOOK REVI EW
Performed Poetics JOHN KENNY: SONGS FROM A BOOK OF HERNE
BY KASIA KUC HNIC KA
On Sunday, 13 March Songs from a Book of Herne, composed by John Kenny, received its UK première at the Great Hall of King’s College, London. This song cycle in five movements for soprano voice and alto trombone duo with chamber ensemble was performed by the Scot Free Ensemble, directed by John Kenny himself. The settings of four poems from Eric Mottram’s A Book of Herne originated as a dance theatre project with choreographer Rosina Bonsu. Commissioned by The Chamber Group of Scotland, with assistance from the Scottish Arts Council and completed in Salzburg in August 1995, it was originally broadcast on Radio 3, premiered in Germany, and is on Kenny’s album Amaterasu, but it has never been performed live in the UK – until now! Kenny met Eric Mottram at the London home of John and Mary Whiting back in January 1995 to discuss a potential collaboration. At the end of a stimulating meeting Eric gave John a copy of A Book of Herne. Sadly, Eric died suddenly a few days later but John, inspired by the book, decided to set four poems from this collection as a tribute to Mottram, and to dedicate it to the Whitings. The instrumentation, mainly inspired by Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, is a perfect combination that carried the rhythmical qualities of the words from the poems with the lyrical vocalise of instruments and voice. The music corresponds to the sound quality of the language, and strong emotional suggestiveness of the imagery in the poems. The voice and alto trombone interchange much to reveal the poetic images. They begin as a duo in the first movement Antlers broken and proceed to share a primary role of theme development in the second movement Herne Oak. While the voice becomes a wordless melisma and the trombonist becomes the spoken voice in movement three, From the Exeter Book, in movement four, Herne the Hunter, they explore interchangeability that leads to a wordless epilogue in the last movement. The lack of words is a symbol of the composer’s missed chance on working on that movement with the poet – an unspoken loss …
BOOK COVER: SONGS FROM A BOOK OF HERNE
Mottram has hugely influenced the way Kenny perceives the creative process, and changed the way he appraises the art. It has become more about the honest reactions and trusting your instinct rather than agonising over the literal meaning of art. He used this technique when writing the script for the Songs from a Book of Herne, which culminated in a fantastic piece of illustrative music that sparks the imagination of listeners, and transports the audience from the Greek theatre, through forests and rough seas, to the Italian opera, all the way to the street bands of New Orleans. At times this moody and airy musical affair cleverly imitates the sounds hidden in the poems and playfully carries the meaning of the words. Beautifully performed and interpreted by the ensemble: Soprano voice – Adaya Malka-Peled; Alto trombone – John Kenny; Clarinet/ bass clarinet – Cara Doyle; Violin – Emily White; Cello – Adrian Brendel; Piano – Ben Jason Smith, it was very well received by the audience on the night. It’s quite astonishing that such an important piece of music has only just been published, by Warwick Music to coincide with this performance, but here is to hoping that more works written by important British trombonists/composers, such as John Kenny, will find their way onto the printing press soon. ◆
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Rare Treat from Chineke! BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
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n 25 February Detroit Symphony Orchestra Principal Trombone Kenneth Thompkins performed George Walker’s Trombone Concerto with the Chineke! Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, London. I caught up with him to find out more about the piece, the performance and Chineke! Alastair Warren: Could you tell me a little about your background and route to your present position with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra? Kenneth Thompkins: I was appointed Principal Trombone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra by Neeme Järvi. Prior to this appointment, I held positions in the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Florida Orchestra and performed with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. As a former participant in the Detroit Symphony’s African American Fellowship Program, I’ve been a mentor to several Orchestra Fellows over the years. I’ve toured Europe with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 I recorded a CD Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals featuring the music of Alec Wilder, William Grant Still and Philip Wharton, available in the UK via Amazon. Sonatas, Songs and Spirituals was the winner of The American Prize in Instrumental Performance for 2018–2019. The instrument that I choose to play due to its incredible tonal colour and flexibility is a Greenhoe
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Trombone. You can get more information about these instruments at www.greenhoe.com The Detroit Symphony Orchestra regularly webcast concerts. Please visit www.dso.org for more information about upcoming programs. AW: How did the opportunity to perform the Walker Concerto come about? KT: I had met the founder of Chineke!, Chi-chi Nwanoku, three years ago when she visited Detroit as an adjudicator for the Sphinx Competition. Chi-chi contacted me about the opportunity to perform the George Walker concerto with Chineke! this past summer. I had performed the concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2001 so I was eager to perform this great work again. AW: George Walker is not well known in the UK, could you give me a little background on him and a brief description of his Concerto? KT: George Walker (1922-2018) was educated at Oberlin College, Curtis Institute of Music, and received his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his composition Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra in 1996, becoming the first African American recipient. Mr. Walker was a prolific composer who refused to be defined by one type of compositional style. His works varied from lush romantic lyrical pieces to compositions incorporating serialism. The Trombone Concerto was written in 1957 and displays his uncompromising style
PHOTO CREDIT: SARAH SMARC H
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Rare Treat from Chineke!
throughout. Unlike many trombone pieces whose melodic material is written in some type of scale pattern or incorporates arpeggios, this piece uses wide intervals of an octave or more to create melodies. This concerto is full of anxious harmonic tension throughout the first and second movements, with brief sections of relief in the cadenzas. The third movement has a sense of hopefulness and cheer by using darting jazz-like figures to create a swinging lilt to the music. AW: Finally, your thoughts on Chineke! What it was like to perform as a soloist with the orchestra, was it different from other ensembles. Does something similar exist in the US? KT: I loved performing with Chineke! The wonderful musicianship and enthusiasm of the ensemble created a compelling performance. The process of creating great music is always full of wonder and joy for me. To be able to do this with musicians of colour performing at an extremely high level adds another depth of joy to the experience. In the United States the Sphinx Organization is similarly devoted to celebrating, cultivating, and promoting musicians of colour. The Sphinx Organization has an annual string competition and also has touring string ensembles that regularly perform the music of under-represented composers. Chineke! is not only an important resource for musicians of colour, but it also exposes the public to music of diverse composers performed by musicians of colour. Chineke! is an outstanding ensemble that should be celebrated for its excellence but is also a source of inspiration for young people and those in positions where there are few people one who resembles them. Follow this link to listen to a recording of George Walker’s Trombone Concerto performed by Denis Wick and the London Symphony Orchestra.
The Chineke! Foundation Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE created the Chineke! Foundation in 2015 to provide outstanding career opportunities to established and up-and-coming Black and ethnically diverse classical musicians in the UK and Europe. Chineke!’s motto is: ‘Championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music’. The organisation aims to be a catalyst for change, realising existing diversity targets within the industry by increasing the representation of Black and ethnically diverse musicians in British and European orchestras. The Foundation’s flagship ensemble, the Chineke! Orchestra, comprises exceptional musicians from across the continent brought together multiple times per year.
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As Europe’s first majority Black and ethnically diverse orchestra, the Chineke! Orchestra performs a mixture of standard orchestral repertoire along with the works of Black and ethnically diverse composers both past and present. The Chineke! Orchestra works closely with its sister ensemble, the Chineke! Junior Orchestra, a youth orchestra of Black and ethnically diverse players aged 11-22, with senior players acting as mentors, teachers and role models to the young musicians. With many of our junior musicians already benefiting from several existing youth schemes, junior music colleges and specialist music schools across the UK., The Chineke! Junior Orchestra acts as a bridge between such schemes and higher education, giving its players experience, encouragement and confidence during their formative years, with the hope of increasing the numbers of Black and ethnically diverse candidates currently studying music at third level. This process has already begun, with several of the junior musicians having won national competitions, gained places at top music schools or been admitted to study at elite third level institutions. Chi-chi says: ‘My aim is to create a space where Black and ethnically diverse musicians can walk on stage and know that they belong, in every sense of the word. If even one Black and ethnically diverse child feels that their colour is getting in the way of their musical ambitions, then I hope to inspire them, give them a platform, and show them that music, of whatever kind, is for all people.’ ◆
T l
ISTEN IN
The listening lounge In this edition of The Listening Lounge BTS Award winners Kris Garfitt, Christian Jones and Angus Butt, and BTS Northern Ireland Representative Nathan Moore nominate pieces encompassing two centuries of musical history.These, and previous selections, can be found in The Listening Lounge playlist on the BTS YouTube channel Nominations of tracks or albums to include in The Listening Lounge can be made by emailing editor@britishtrombonesociety.org. BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
BENJAMIN BRITTEN – PIANO CONCERTO
In 2001 I was fortunate enough to join the BBCNOW while still a student and in-between house hunting and commuting to the Academy, I spent most of my time more than a little concerned about ‘letting the side down’ as I was by far the youngest member of the orchestra. BBC ensembles rely on ‘selling’ their concerts to Radio 3, which encourages programming of lesser-known repertoire. Having been introduced to the Classical Music Exchange in Notting Hill by Welsh tuba player Jonathan Rees, over the course of a year I spent around £1000 of my student loan building a CD library of standard repertoire and works such as the Britten’s Piano Concerto. Although it was intended as little more than a study aid, I was blown
away by the brilliance of both the composition and performance: I would love to know the personnel as the brass sound superb. While the intervening 20 years have featured many career highlights, Britten’s sparklingly original op. 13 remains one of my very favourite pieces in the repertoire – and sadly I have performed it just twice. Fast forward to 1 December 2021 and I worked with Joanna MacGregor for the first time (on Gershwin’s Concerto in F – another first for me), plucking up the courage during an orchestral break to thank her for this amazing disc – apparently her first ever concerto recording – and nab an autograph! Christian Jones – BTS Teacher of the Year 2021
EMPEROR JOSEPH I – ALME INGRATE
A beautiful album of Viennese late baroque music by the Capricornus Ensemble Stuttgart, featuring the sackbut as soloist. Directed by Henning Wiegräbe, professor of trombone at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. Some of the most elegant and stylish trombone (sackbut) playing you could ever hope to hear, performed alongside the beautiful voice of the German soprano, Lydia Teuscher. Highly recommended! Kriss Garfitt – BTS Player of the Year 2021
URBIE GREEN – I GOT LOVE
I Got Love is the opening track to Urbie Green's 1972 album Bein' Green and what an opener it is! I vividly remember my brother Matt sharing this record with me when I was young, and it has been a huge influence on me and my playing throughout the years. Urbie can do it all; wild virtuosity all the way up to the stratosphere like in this track, experimental multi-tracking in Quadrobones, to pure lyrical magic in Gounod's Ave Maria. If you thought 21 Trombones was special, check out Bein' Green. Nathan Moore – BTS Northern Ireland Representative
GUSTAV MAHLER – SYMPHONY NO. 7
This recording by Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra has inspired me so much as the brass playing is absolutely exhilarating. I specifically love the trombone sounds that always make want to just pick up the trombone and play. The sound and blend of the section is just amazing and inspired me to play in that style. Angus Butt – BTS Student of the Year 2021
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CON CERT REVIE W UniBrass 2022 Gala Concert FRIARY BRASS BAND FEATURING DENNIS ROLLINS AND BONE–AFIDE
BY OLIVER PL ANT
A superb day of banding at the University of Sheffield on 5 February was topped off with a spectacular trombonethemed concert from Friary Brass Band, Dennis Rollins MBE and Bone-afide! Friary Brass Band opened with Malaguena and the Overture to Colas Breugnon which was both audibly and visually fantastic. The band’s precise togetherness was supported by a phenomenal percussion section. Friary’s Musical Director, Chris King, then introduced Dennis Rollins MBE to the stage, who performed such panache with his unique Gillespie-esque Rath R3. Jazz funk brass band pieces are quite scarce but there were some amazing arrangements including Earth, Wind and Fire’s Fantasy and Maynard Ferguson’s Chameleon. A special highlight was Bill Geldard’s Autumn Leaves enabling Rollins to display his gorgeous tone and his elegance, with every phrase becoming more and more breathtaking. Bone-afide entered the stage playing Irish Washerwoman. New member, Rob Moseley, kicked off the set with some meticulous playing accompanied by Bone-afide’s sonorous sound. Angus Butt on bass trombone providing an incredibly satisfying foundation, making it look and sound effortless. On their own, Bone-afide performed David Faleris’ City of Arts and Sciences, which won them the International Trombone Association Quartet Competition in 2020. With the melody passed around the group, it is hard to keep track of who is playing with their sounds blending so beautifully. Ending the first half with Sam Every’s arrangement of The Beatles classic Yesterday, Rollins was invited back to the stage to play alongside Bone-afide and Friary Brass Band. The communication between
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the five trombonists and the band was truly superb with Rollins and Merin Rhyd bouncing off each other displaying their class and improvisation. The second half kicked off with a programme derived from Friary’s previous Brass in Concert programme, featuring Isobel Daws (aka Princess Isobel!). With Tim Mylechreest narrating, Friary played Love Medley and What a Wonderful World, performed by their principal cornet, Richard Straker. Played with such elegance, the relaxed nature of this performance was reflected with some exquisite playing. The Dukes Journey by Callum Au featured famous Ellington standards, which brought Dennis Rollins back into his element. Lovely moments from the soprano cornet added to the band’s ability to switch between genres, which was impressive and captivating. Up next was Isobel Daws with Arthur Pryor’s Thoughts of Love, performed with incredible finesse and flamboyance. Following a very enjoyable and entertaining performance from Isobel, who is off to study in Berlin at the Karajan Academy, were two crowd favourites which were fantastically arranged by the band’s MD, Chris King. Featuring tuba soloist Ross Graham, the theatrics of Your Song and I Wanna Dance with Somebody conveyed real emotion and enjoyment from the band. Jaco Pastorius’ The Chicken was the perfect way to round off a fantastic Gala Concert from all. Bravo to all those involved in making UniBrass and the Gala Concert a huge success, proving that during these unprecedented times, the power and emotion from the highest calibre of brass playing shines through. Oliver Plant is a trombone and euphonium student at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. ◆
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CONCERT REVIEW
DENNIS ROLLINS. PHOTO CREDIT JAMES WOOLLEN
L -R ISOBEL DAWS, MERIN RHYD, DENNIS ROLLINS, ROB MOSELEY, ANGUS BUTT. PHOTO CREDIT JAMES WOOLLEN
ROSS GRAHAM AND PRINCESS ISOBEL. PHOTO CREDIT JAMES WOOLLEN
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Early Days … BY TOM LEES
The British Trombone Festival 2022 competition schedule has a newcomer this year: the inaugural BTS Sackbut Competition, in association with Egger Instruments. The intention of the competition is to give a platform to the many young trombonists, both at home and abroad, who have chosen to explore performance practices on original instruments. Covid-19 and lockdowns have been tough for everyone, not least for those just leaving music college and forging their own paths in the music profession, so it is hoped that this competition will give them something to work towards. The competition is being generously supported by Egger Instruments who are offering a 1st prize of a £500 voucher towards the cost of one of their instruments, and a 2nd prize of one of their historical mouthpieces. Based in Basel, Switzerland, Egger Instruments have been at the forefront of producing extremely high-quality instruments according to historical methods for 80 years. They make beautiful sackbuts after Hieronymous Starck, Sebastian Hainlein, Anton
Schnitzer, the Elder and Isaac Ehe that are used by leading players all over the world. The competition is also supported by the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble who are offering all entrants access to open rehearsals, with the finalists being offered additional mentoring and ‘side by side’ opportunities. The initial round requires submission of a 10-minute recorded programme. This can be on any sackbut and is a completely free choice programme – playing with other instruments or voices is acceptable as long as the sackbut features prominently! From this initial round, three finalists will be chosen to play in a live competition as part of the British Trombone Festival 2022 at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Sunday 30th October. The day will also include a sackbut workshop and recital by Emily White, providing opportunity to explore the origins of our instrument and hear music from early in the trombone’s history. Hopefully it will inspire some of you to have a go. Full details of entry can be found on the BTS website. ◆
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O N C E RT RE VI E W
Central Band of the Royal Air Force Trombone Ensemble BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
On 9 March the Central Band of the Royal Air Force Trombone Ensemble gave a lunchtime concert as part of the RAF Chamber Music Festival held at the RAF Church, St Clement Danes, London. Introduced by the performers from the stage, the majority of the programme featured works for trombone quartet, with the four tenor players taking turns to sit out. Opening with Elizabeth Raum’s Processional Fanfare it was immediately obvious that this was an ensemble who perform together day in and day out. Throughout the recital the blend and balance within the group was exemplary, no matter the personnel employed, though special mention must be made of Sergeant Adam Smith who anchored the whole recital on bass trombone. Anton Bruckner’s Locus Iste made full use of St Clement Danes wonderful acoustic, warm but not overly resonant, allowing a burnished tone to develop at higher dynamics which was obviously enjoyed by the performers. By contrast Suite Parisienne by John Glenesk Mortimer brought a lighter interlude to the recital. I particularly enjoyed the lyrical second movement, Au Bois de Boulogne, which was played with great freedom, and tasteful vibrato. In just five minutes, Ben van Dijk’s Wagner for 5 Trombones gives a whistle stop tour of themes from the Ring Cycle. Originally conceived as a multitrack project by van Dijk this arrangement is a major workout when performed ‘live’, a challenge the ensemble rose to magnificently, creating a truly Wagnerian wall of sound. Personally, the highlight of the concert was a spine-tingling performance of Ray Premru’s Tissington Varitions. For the audience this was the most challenging work on the programme, based as it is on major and minor 2nds and their inversions, but the beautifully judged performance brought out the many subtleties and nuances of the work, as well as some truly extraordinary tonal colours which left those
L -R: CORPORAL KIM NEATH, SERGEANT ANDY TAYLOR, SERGEANT ADAM SMITH, SERGEANT JONT Y HILL, CORPORAL ASHLEY HARPER. PHOTO CREDIT: SENIOR AIRCRAFTMAN DAWID VENTER
listening spellbound. Beyond being one of the finest bass trombonists of his generation, Premru was an exceptional composer of both chamber music and large scale works and I urge readers to explore his output further. The remainder of the programme comprised of J. S. Bach’s Contrapunctus IX, played with a satisfying blend of technical precision and musicality, proving Corporal Ashley Harper’s assertion that although Bach had not specified the instrumentation for the work, he had surely always intended it to be played by trombones, and concluded with another staple of the quartet repertoire, Achieved is the Glorious Work from Haydn’s Creation. The UK is currently blessed with some of the world’s finest trombone quartets and ensembles, among which must be included the Central Band of the Royal Air Force Trombone Ensemble. ◆
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BY JEREMY PRICE
JAZZ BY JEREMY THE LIP BREAK
I’ve chosen this Carl Fontana solo so I can talk about the ‘lip break’ which is a commonly used technique in jazz improvisation on the trombone. It’s pretty ubiquitous on many solos across the ages from numerous trombone artists, so you will have heard it before, but as it’s particular to jazz trombone I thought it was worth highlighting in this section. The track is Lee Morgan’s Sidewinder from an album directed by Kai Winding called Dirty Dog. It features Urbie Green, Bill Watrous and Carl Fontana taking short one chorus solos in quick succession. The date is 1968, recorded in NYC and has a very heavy rhythm section of Bob Cranshaw, Kenny Burrell, Grady Tate and none other than Herbie Hancock. In jazz, unorthodox and idiosyncratic techniques are embraced rather than ironed out of your playing. Having your own approach to articulation and phrasing should become part of your personal signature and something that defines your sound. Most jazz trombonists don’t have to pursue this deliberately as a concept, as it just comes from a ‘needs must’ type of approach to getting your playing together and is generally developed naturally through trial and error. I don’t think it needs to be too conscious as part of your regular practise, but you do have to expel any thought that sounding different can be a bad thing. As trombone students develop their classical playing, homogeneity, uniformity and reliability come to the fore as objectives in daily practise, and while the best of classical players do indeed have bags of personality and individual expression in their playing,
34
it has to be said that it’s from a narrower spectrum than within jazz. Maybe you disagree. Discuss! Working out how to do lip breaks and how to incorporate them in solos will result in a very individualistic approach that you can develop over years, so I invite you to play around with them and see what works best for you intuitively. I first came across the term ‘lip break’ in a book by Bill Watrous and Alan Raph called Trombonisms. I still have my copy that I must have bought in the late 80s and I remember it came with a floppy piece of plastic stuck in the back cover that you could pop onto your turntable at 45rpm to hear Bill go through some examples. Pre-CD era obviously dates me somewhat! The basic principle is to move across the harmonic series to get a flurry of notes without using your tongue to articulate. The rhythmic nature of jazz phrasing however makes it instinctive to let these harmonics pop into place in a very clear way rather than aim to achieve a smooth legato as you move across the slide. In that definitive tome or rather pamphlet, How Trombonists Do It by Eric Crees and Peter Gane, there are several exercises based on this principle, but the aim here is to achieve one continuous and evenly supported breath as you move across the slide; a true legato. These are incredibly helpful exercises and make the chops feel great, so if prescribed by your teacher, don’t stop doing them but although they are the same idea as the ‘lip break’, it’s not what I’m talking about here. Rather than smooth legato and continuous breath, give a diaphragm
JAZZ BY JEREMY
kick as you move across the slide to get a popping kind of articulation without the tongue. Five bars from the end of the transcription you’ll see exactly what I mean. Carl Fontana is showing you the classic place that everybody eventually finds to do a lip break, using slide positions 2 3 2 1 – 2 3 2 1 to flick through that bluesy shape that is essentially an ornament around Db. Note that the first note in a group of four is tongued while the others pop into place with a fastmoving airstream and a diaphragm kick. Once you’ve mastered this one, you can start moving lip breaks all around the instrument. They are a great way to create arpeggio shapes. They can work in both directions on the slide also, so experiment with ‘contracting’ and ‘expanding’ lip breaks. It’s quite a challenge to land the tongued note within the lip break, at least to do it rhythmically in a way that adds to the groove. As with the Fontana example, you’ll feel the need to tongue an important chord tone that is well synchronised with where you want to place the phrase rhythmically. Again, this is best done through natural trial and error. Don’t over think it but rather feel the pulse so that everything sits well rather than glides over the top of the rhythm section. Try these ‘trombonism’ cliches to get you going. On E7 altered, start on the sharp 9, G natural in short 2nd, then descend to an E in 2nd, the sharp 5 (C natural) in third, then stay in third position for the major third which is G sharp. Once you’ve got this one it’s very hard not to do it every time you see E7 altered!! Ahh! Then try the well-worn, Bb, Db, Eb, F, and back down again. Completely irresistible for blues in Bb! ◆
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LINK: ROB EGERTON JAZZ TRANSCRIPTIONS
Carl Fontana's Solon,,,
Trombone (Treble Clef)
Sidewinder Lee Morgan
= 175
D7
E♭7
D7 E♭7 D7 D7 E♭7 E♭7
D7
E♭7
3
G7 A♭7 A♭7
6
D7
D7
E♭7
G7
D7 E♭7
E♭7
3
D7 A♭7 D7 3 E♭7 E♭7 A♭7 G7
11
G7
15
D7
E♭7
B♭7
19
Fmin7
3
Fmin7 B♭7 B♭7 Gø
C7♭9
Fmin7
D7 E♭7 B♭7 Fmin7
3
D7 E♭7 D7 E♭7
22
D7
E♭7
3
36
3
Rob Egerton Jazz Transcriptions
3
3
D7 E♭7
LINK: ROB EGERTON JAZZ TRANSCRIPTIONS
Carl Fontana's Solon,,,
Trombone
Sidewinder = 175
E♭7
E♭7
D7
D7
D7
Lee Morgan E♭7
D7 E♭7
E♭7 E♭7 D7 E♭7 D7
5
D7
D7
3
G7 9
A♭7
A♭7
E♭7
13
D7
3
3
A♭7 G7 A♭7
G7
G7
E♭7
D7
E♭7 E♭7 D7
Fmin7 B♭7 Fmin7 B♭7 B♭7
16
Gø
Fmin7
C7♭9
3
B♭7
20
Fmin7
E♭7
D7
3
3
E♭7
D7 22 E♭7 D7 E♭7 D7
3
25
D7
3
3
E♭7
Rob Egerton Jazz Transcriptions 37
From the Stage to the Pit … What a great start to the year in the classical scene! We’ve seen orchestras and arts organisations bouncing back into life after the rather unpredictable winter of 2021. If you’ve not yet jumped on the live events bandwagon, we really recommend you do. In the Arts we’ve learnt over the last couple of years that however impressive (and useful) streaming is, it just does not replace the excitement of live music – get out there and support your local orchestras and theatres! In this edition you may notice the glaring omission of any of the BBC Proms, as the 2022 programme has not yet been released – but if murmurings around the orchestras are true then we’ll be in for a great season so check out the BBC Proms website when it’s announced! BY JOSH CIRTINA // PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE IN THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORC HESTRA
SYMPHONIC HIGHLIGHTS WAR & PEACE
A POSTCARD FROM ITALY
– LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
– ULSTER ORCHESTRA
7.30pm, Wednesday, 27 April Royal Festival Hall, London Quite poignant programming in current times from the LPO and their chief conductor Ed Gardner. VaughanWilliams’ gloriously rich 5th Symphony with its long, lush flowing lines juxtaposes Britten’s explosive Sinfonia Da Requiem. Between the two titanic works Alban Gerhardt is the soloist for the UK première of Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto – sure to be a fantastic evening.
7.30pm, Friday, 13 May Ulster Hall, Belfast Join Northern Ireland’s Ulster Orchestra and their chief conductor Daniele Rustioni for an evening of Italian music from composers all born around 1880. There’s plenty on offer to enjoy here in this concert from composers such as Malipiero and Pizzetti, but the highlights for me will certainly be Martin Riccabona’s performance of Casella’s Organ Concerto – Concerto Romano, and Respighi’s picturesque Fountains of Rome!
MAXIM’S FIREBIRD
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– SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
ELGAR AND MAHLER
7.30pm, Wednesday, 11 May Perth Concert Hall, Perth 7.30pm, Thursday, 12 May Usher Hall, Edinburgh 7.30pm, Friday, 13 May City Halls, Glasgow The SCO and Maxim Emelyanychev close their Spring Season in style with Stravinsky’s Firebird – the ballet that really established the composer’s name back in the early 20th Century. Violinist Alina Ibragimova joins the orchestra for Prokofiev’s energetic 1st Concerto in the first half.
– ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
7.20pm, Sunday, 29 May Royal Festival Hall, London The RPO and Vasily Petrenko continue their 2022 Royal Festival Hall Season with two major works written within six years of each other. Mezzo Soprano Kathryn Rudge joins the orchestra for Elgar’s evocative work Sea Pictures, depicting the boundless scale and power of the sea. Following this on a grand scale is Mahler’s colossal 6th Symphony with massed brass, percussion and strings which takes listeners on a thrilling journey from electric opening to tragic finale.
FROM THE STAGE …
ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION
ARTIST PORTRAIT: HÄKAN HARDENBERGER
– BBC NATIONAL ORCHESTRA OF WALES
– LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
7.30pm, Thursday, 9 June St. David’s Hall, Cardiff 7.30pm, Friday, 10 June Brangwyn Hall, Swansea Ryan Bancroft and his orchestra contrast one of Walton’s most romantic works, his Cello Concerto with Shostakovich’s dark and dramatic 10th Symphony, known for its unrelenting pace and power. In the hot seat for the Walton is the masterful Steven Isserlis who will certainly bring out every nuance in Walton’s writing.
7.00pm, Friday, 16 June Barbican, London This concert celebrates this phenomenal musician’s 60th birthday in style, accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra, pianist Roger Muraro and Sir Simon Rattle. Hardenberger features in Betsy Jolas’ True Stories, while the orchestra envelopes the audience in the warm embrace of Brahms Second Symphony (and its EPIC D Major trombone-tastic ending!)
ANGLO–AMERICAN HALLÉ
7.30pm, Friday, 10 June Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham The Hallé are in Nottingham for this eclectic and exciting programme featuring young star-saxophonist Jess Gillam. Stephen Bell directs the orchestra through a number of gems of 20th century jazz-inspired repertoire. Copland’s ballet Billy the Kid features, as does Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Adam’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine. An adrenaline filled evening!
BY BEC KY SMITH // PRINCIPAL TROMBONE AT THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA
OPERA PICKS What a difference a year makes! From a hesitant start to last spring, this year looks positively blooming with lots of shows to choose from. There seems to be a chunk of Wagner on offer this year, with Longborough Festival Opera putting on the third instalment of their Ring Cycle. This year they are performing Siegfried from 30 May until 7 June, with Gotterdamerung in the diary for 2023, building up to the full Ring Cycle in 2024. They are also performing a semi-staged production of Die tote Stadt by Korngold from 21 June until 27 June. Not performed that often, Die tote Stadt is a glorious score, highly recommended. More Wagner at the Royal Opera House this spring, the lengthy (over four hours) Lohengrin, fabulous music and a stellar cast makes this a show not to miss, running 19 April to 14 May. Opera North are taking Parsifal on tour, another long show at five and a half hours! Opera North are performing this concert production across Northern England and London between 1 and 26 June so try to get to a performance if you can.
Other, non-Wagnerian, highlights include: Garsington Opera performing Rusalka by Dvorak from 18 June to 19 July. Gorgeous music and not performed that often. This was the show English National Opera were rehearsing when the first lockdown hit, so I think I can safely say you will enjoy this, there’s nothing not to like! Jenufa by Janacek: I will always recommend this if it is on, as it is one of my favourites. Welsh National Opera are performing this on tour across the South and West of the UK from 25 March until 10 May. The Glyndebourne season begins in May with The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth. I don’t know this opera, but some critics consider it to be the ‘most important English opera composed during the period between Purcell and Britten’, which is quite a statement! A major work not to be missed in the beautiful setting of Glyndebourne Opera House in the Sussex countryside. Do get out there and enjoy live music once again. It is such a privilege to be able to go to work and perform, and to see people get so much from a live performance once more. ◆ 39
What’s
on
By Alastair Warren OLD DIRTY BRASSTARDS Old Dirty Brasstards perform the Artic Monkeys 7.30pm, Friday, 15 April Blues Kitchen, Brixton, London EUROPEAN BRASS BAND FESTIVAL Four-day Brass Band Festival incorporating the European Brass Band Championship Thursday, 28 April to Sunday, 1 May Symphony Hall and Town Hall, Birmingham PETER MOORE Peter Moore performs Dani Howard’s Trombone Concerto with the LSO 7.00pm, Sunday, 24 April Barbican, London NATIONAL YOUTH BRASS BAND and NATIONAL YOUTH CHILDREN’S BAND NYBB are joined by guest soloist Grethe Tonheim 7.30pm, Saturday, 16 April Town Hall, Huddersfield NYCB are joined by guest soloist Karianne Flåtene Nilssen 7.30pm, Friday, 29 July Wells Cathedral, Wells 40
SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA Tales of the Tribe 7.30pm, Thursday, 12 May Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow 7.30pm, Friday, 13 May Aberdeen Music Hall, Aberdeen Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh 7.30pm, Saturday, 14 May WINSTON ROLLINS Winston Rollins joins electric bass virtuoso Shri Sriram in a Gala Concert also featuring Tim Garland and NYJO 7.30pm, Thursday, 19 May Watford Palace Theatre, Watford TROMBONE SHORTY New Orleans legend tours the UK Doors 6.00pm, Friday, 20 May Academy 2, Birmingham 7.00pm, Saturday, 21 May SWGS Studio Warehouse, Glasgow Doors 7.00pm, Sunday, 23 May Round House, London Doors 7.00pm, Monday, 24 May O2 Ritz, Manchester
s
ALEX PAXTON Alex Paxton performs his critically acclaimed album Music for Bosch People 7.30pm, Friday, 3 June Rymer Auditorium, York MARK BASSEY – ANDY PANAYI REUNION QUINTET 2pm, Sunday, 19 June The Con Club, Lewes SLIDE ACTION Slide Action conclude their year as Britten Pears Young Artists Aldeburgh Festival Snape Malting, Snape, Suffolk The Dreamers by Robin Hauge World Première of Quadruple Trombone Concerto 7.00pm, Sunday, 5 June Rebuilding the Trombone 9.30pm, Saturday, 11 June Chamber Opera: Animal Farm 12.00pm & 1.30pm, Sunday, 12 June RORY INGHAM Ingham/Davison Sextet plays the music of Art Blakey 8.00pm, Friday, 29 April Ilminster Arts Centre, Ilminster Rory Ingham Trio 5.00pm, Friday, 3 June Symphony Hall, Birmingham Rory Ingham Trio – Live at the Libraries 7.30pm, Monday, 13 June Beeston Library, Beeston 7.30pm, Tuesday, 14 June Worksop Library, Worksop 7.30pm, Wednesday, 15 June Southwell Library, Southwell 7.30pm, Thursday, 16 June West Bridgford Library, West Bridgford
BRASS AGAINST Really. Heavy. Metal! 8.00pm, Monday, 20 June Electric Ballroom, Camden 8.00pm, Tuesday, 21 June Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 8.00pm, Wednesday, 22 June Liquid Room, Edinburgh 8.00pm, Thursday, 23 June St. Luke’s, Glasgow 8.00pm, Sunday, 26 June The Mill, Birmingham 8.00pm, Monday, 27 June Tramshed, Cardiff 8.00pm, Tuesday, 28 June The Fleece, Bristol 8.00pm, Wednesday, 29 June Concorde 2, Brighton HANNABIELL SANDERS Workshop: Ladies of Midnight Blue 10.00am, Saturday, 4 June Paxton House, Berwick upon Tweed Northumberland Miners' Picnic Saturday June 11, 2022 Woodhorn Museum, Ashington Hannabiell Transmuted 7.30pm, Thursday, 16 June Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Rhythms Sans Frontières Friday 1 – Sunday 3 July Euston Park, Suffolk Little Llind1 Festival Saturday, 23 July Lambton Estate, County Durham Stockton International Riverside Festival Sunday, 7 August Stockton High Street, Stockton-on-Tees
Do you know of an event that should feature in our next publication? LET US KNOW
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The Bob Hughes Bass Trombone Competition 2022
Trombone Composers’ Competition 2022 The British Trombone Society is pleased to announce the 2022 competition for composers of music for the trombone to be judged by
Final to take place as part of
The British Trombone Festival
at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire 29–30 October 2022
Mark Nightingale, Callum Au and Dani Howard
The Prize:
1st Prize: Recording of the winning work and
The Bob Hughes Bass Trombone Competition Trophy (which remains with the winner for two years), £300 plus a Mercer & Barker Mouthpiece. Runners-up will each receive a Mercer & Barker Mouthpiece.
publication by Bones Apart
The preliminary round of the competition is by submission of an unedited mp3 recording of two works for bass trombone. The total playing time should be 12–15 minutes. Three players will be chosen from the preliminary round to perform in the final.
Repertoire: v
v
‘Sonate in 6 minutes 30’ by Claude Pascal, for bass trombone or tuba, with piano accompaniment. (Available from June Emerson Wind Music. BTS members may use the discount code obtainable on the benefits section of the BTS website). A recording with piano accompaniment is preferable. An own choice piece.
Closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday, 31 July 2022.
Entry Fees: BTS members: Free Non-members: £30 Rules, Conditions and Entry Forms can be found on the BTS website: www.britishtrombonesociety.org/competitions/current The British Trombone Society is a registered charity: England and Wales No. 1158011
Two runners-up receive a one-hour composition lesson each with a judge.
• The competition is open to anyone • Compositions must be for a quartet of trombones and be no more than 15 minutes duration • The deadline for the submission of works is midnight on Sunday, 31 July 2022 • The winner will be announced on Wednesday 31 August 2022 Entry fees: BTS members – free, Non-members – £30 For full details and an entry form please visit www.britishtrombonesociety.org The British Trombone Society is a registered charity: England and Wales No. 1158011
The British Trombone Society presents the
Trombone Quartet Competition 2022 Final to be held as part of
The British Trombone Festival at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire 29–30 October 2022
The preliminary round of the competition is by submission of an unedited mp3 recording of the chosen programme. Three quartets will be chosen from the preliminary round to perform in the live final.
Prize:
Performance opportunities.
Repertoire:
Free choice not to exceed 15 minutes in duration.
Closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday, 31 July 2022 Entry Fees:
Free, where all four players are paid up members of the BTS. £50 per quartet where one or more players are non-BTS members. Rules, Conditions and Entry Forms can be found on the BTS website:
www.britishtrombonesociety.org/competitions/current The British Trombone Society is a registered charity: England and Wales No. 1158011
Inter-collegiate Trombone Choir Competition 2022 to be held as part of
The British Trombone Festival at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire 29–30 October 2022
Repertoire: Own repertoire not to exceed 20 minutes in duration. To register an intention to compete, please send an email to: competitions@britishtrombonesociety.org to arrive no later than 30 September 2022. General conditions and more information can be found on the BTS website: www.britishtrombonesociety.org/competitions/current The British Trombone Society is a registered charity: England and Wales No. 1158011
