WINTER 2021
The Trombonist
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President’s Welcome Editor’s Welcome SIMON MINSHALL
AL ASTAIR WARREN
Dear all, I am delighted to be writing to you from my new position in the BTS. For those of you who don't know me, I have been an active member of our Society for over half my life, and I feel very proud of what we contribute to the trombone community. I would like to thank Matthew Gee for all the great work he has done over the last two years, especially in such challenging times. As a society we have come together and supported each other in various projects including the epic online festival, which I think you'll agree, we all needed! Looking to the future, we have lots of exciting events planned and I am sure there will be a location each of you can make it to. Biennially will see our British Trombone Festival take place, beginning in the Autumn of 2022. Not only will this feature the massed blows, masterclasses and meeting of like minds we have come to expect, and I’m sure we’re all longing for, but will also be home to all of our performance competitions and inspirational guest artists. Please take a look around the BTS website as that is where you'll find names and contact details for your local representatives and any vacancies we might have on the committee. We are extremely lucky to have such hard-working people on our committee and involved in the Society. They are all approachable and will assist in any way they can, so don't be shy! That's enough from me. I shall leave you to enjoy the rest of your magazine with a suitable beverage and wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year filled with much music making!
Welcome to the Winter 2021 issue of The Trombonist. Rather as we say goodbye to the Old Year and welcome in the New, so this issue is filled with goodbyes and welcomes. Firstly, all of the editorial team at The Trombonist would like to say a heartfelt goodbye and thank you to Matthew Gee, an inspirational BTS President during the most difficult of times, and welcome Simon Minshall as the new BTS President. We also say thank you to Dr Sarah Crick who has stepped down from overseeing the Musicians Health section. Elsewhere in this issue we catch up with up Rob Burtenshaw to reflect on his career after his retirement from the Orchestra of Opera North, and then Rob joins forces with Jim Maynard to give us an insight into the role of the second trombone in the orchestra. Welcomed are the winners of the BTS Awards 2021 and the BTS Composers’ Competition, and we celebrate the return of the National Brass Band Championships. Around the Regions brings welcome news from all parts of the UK of trombone playing life continuing to return to normal, Jazz with Jeremy exams the idea of ‘Pop’ trombone, and Benjamin Ellin and Christian Jones tell the story of the creation and première of a new bass trombone concerto, Gresley. Completing the prize crossword over the festive period? Why not check out The Listening Lounge for some diverse recordings to stimulate the mind. Finally, to get us all in the Christmas spirit, there is an extract from Jim Anderson’s new book Travels with my Tuba, and a review of the debut album from Bone-afide, Christmas with Bone-afide, which includes a chance to win your very own copy. Merry Christmas!
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
CONTENTS 03 06 08 12 16 19 20 22 26 29 30 32 33 36 38 40 42 44 48 49 50 52
WELCOME
NEWS
BTS AWARDS
NEWS EDITOR
Barney Medland news@britishtrombonesociety.org EVENTS EDITOR
events@britishtrombonesociety.org
AROUND THE REGIONS
BTS COMPOSERS’ COMPETITION
PRESIDENT’S TOOLKIT
REVIEWS EDITOR
Jane Salmon reviews@britishtrombonesociety.org ADVERTISING MANAGER
Chris Valentine advertising@britishtrombonesociety.org SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Martin Lee Thompson content@britishtrombonesociety.org
PROFILE: NASSER PERVEZ
THE FRONT PAGE: ROB BURTENSHAW
GRESLEY
CONCERT REVIEW: GRESLEY
BOOK REVIEW: TRAVELS WITH MY TUBA
MAGAZINE DESIGN
Sára Mikkelsen saramikkelsen.com
CD REVIEW: C HRISTMAS WITH BONE- AFIDE
CONCERT REVIEW: THE EVOLUTION OF THE TROMBONE
Illustrations: iStock
NATIONAL BRASS BAND C HAMPIONSHIPS
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Alan Swain Alastair Warren Alison Keep Barney Medland Becky Smith Benjamin Ellin Bev Norman Blair Sinclair Christian Jones Fiona Smith Gary Austin Jenny Gartside Jeremy Price
Jim Maynard Josh Cirtina Martin Heartfield Matthew Gee Mike Tatt Nasser Pervez Nathan Moore Owen Brannigan Peter Chester Rob Burtenshaw Rob Egerton Ron Simpson Simon Minshall
THE FILLING IN THE SANDWIC H
REFLECTING BEETHOVEN
MUSICIANS’ HEALTH: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS...
JAZZ BY JEREMY: POP TROMBONE
THE LISTENING LOUNGE
PRIZE CROSSWORD
FROM THE STAGE TO THE PIT
WHAT’S ON?
BRITISH TROMBONE SOCIET Y :
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.
THE TROMBONIST
A note from Matthew Gee After two rather unusual years, the captain’s armband gets handed over to the one and only Simon Minshall. The decision to step down as President was not an easy one: on the one hand Simon is enthused, full of great ideas and the ideal person to take on the society; on the other hand, COVID prevented me from realising many of the plans I had for the Society as we found ourselves in uncharted waters. But I am enormously proud of what we did achieve – the online festival, supporting Trevor Mires with his free online trombone lessons, the series of interviews with Chris Garfitt, Ruth Molins and Elliot Mason, and plenty of behind-the-scenes development, which should pave the way for some very exciting years ahead … the Minshall Years! Thank you to all those who helped me along the way. The BTS Committee have worked tirelessly, especially Alison Keep who deserves special mention, and I look forward stepping back into the fabric of the Committee, helping Simon to realise his ambitions. MATTHEW GEE
An opportunity for YOU to be involved
T
he success of the BTS obviously depends on its membership and lots of rank-and-file members are ready to be involved and support what we do. As you will know, there is a central Committee which has responsibility for the general direction of the Society. At the moment there are two vacancies for rank-and-file members on that central Committee and YOU may very well have the skills and talents to make a valuable contribution to our continuing success. Being on the Committee gives you a chance to influence that wider world of what you enjoy doing – playing the trombone. There are no pre-requirements about background or age or experience – what is needed is enthusiasm and your skills. In practical terms, the Committee meets regularly online, so you don’t even have to travel! YOU might be that person the BTS needs – why not?
If YOU are that person, our Secretary, Alison Keep, would very much like to hear from YOU. CONTACT: secretary@britishtrombonesociety.org 5 PHOTO: ISTOC K
BY BARNEY MEDL AND
THE NEWS New President and BTS Committee changes The BTS is delighted to announce Simon Minshall as the new President of the British Trombone Society. To Matthew Gee, the previous President, Simon offered ‘a huge thank you’ for his ‘leadership of our society over the last two years and during such uncertain times.’ We are pleased to report that Matthew will be remaining a member of the Committee. Simon is taking over leadership of the BTS at a time when we all hope the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic are behind us and we can look forward to many in-person gatherings and live events. In his message to BTS members, Simon said: ‘trombones sound better in a group, and we are hoping to run some fantastic events in the very near future for you to attend and take part in, so please keep an eye out on the website.’ The other Committee changes are: Tom Lees (Chairman), Matt Gee (Vice-Chairman), Jane Salmon (Treasurer), and Jon Stokes (Vice-President). Thank you to Emily Watson for everything she has done for the BTS as she steps down from the Committee.
British Trombone Festival 2022 The BTS is delighted to announce that the first biennial British Trombone Festival will take place over the weekend of 29–30 October 2022, at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Ivors Composer Awards Nominations for Alex Paxton Composer and trombonist Alex Paxton has scooped several nominations at this year’s Ivors Composer 6
Awards. Each year the Ivors Academy presents Ivor Novello Awards for exceptional songwriting and composing. The awards are recognised as a pinnacle of achievement for composers and songwriters. The Ivors Composer Awards, in association with BBC Radio 3, are the awards for composers of classical and jazz music. Bye and Corncrack Dreams are both nominated in the Jazz Composition category and Sometimes Voices, for keyboard and drums, has been nominated for the award in the Small Chamber Composition category. The winners of the awards will be announced at an awards ceremony at the British Museum on 8 December. Readers may be interested in our interview with Alex Paxton published in the Spring 2021 edition The Trombonist.
RPS Award for Dani Howard In June, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with Peter Moore as soloist, premièred Dani Howard’s Trombone Concerto (you can read our review of the concert here). Both the piece and the performance were widely praised by critics, with The Times hailing the concerto an ‘instant classic’. Dani Howard has been awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Large Scale Composition Award, ‘for an outstandingly imaginative and engaging largescale work receiving its first UK performance’. The RPS judges said: ‘Dani Howard’s captivating, cinematic Trombone Concerto is the sort of jewel that’s created when an orchestra – in this case, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – makes a longstanding commitment to a composer. She writes intuitively for them, and equally for star soloist Peter Moore, brilliantly, sensitively calling upon all his virtuosity. Here is a much-needed new masterpiece for the
THE NEWS
trombone, sure to attain a lasting place at the heart of its repertory.’ Many congratulations to Dani for this award, and for writing such an important addition to the trombone repertoire.
New concerto première in San Francisco There is another significant addition to the trombone repertoire, in the form of a major new concerto. Timothy Higgins, principal trombone with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, premièred his new Trombone Concerto with the orchestra on 18 November. After a year-long delay, caused by the pandemic, the performance took place under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. A major première of a new work for trombone is always an exciting event, particularly when performed by world-class musicians of this calibre.
Slide Action announced as 2021–22 Britten Pears Young Artist Trombone quartet Slide Action have been selected as Britten Pears Young Artists for the 2021–22 season. They are one of two chamber groups on the programme and the only wind or brass players selected. As Britten Pears Young Artists, the quartet will make regular trips to perform at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, home of the Britten Pears Foundation. They will also benefit from coaching and masterclasses from top musicians and leading industry professionals. The accolade cements Slide Action’s place as one of Britain’s most exciting young chamber groups and will help further their commitment to advancing the repertoire and recognition of the trombone quartet. For more information about Slide Action, you can read the feature The Trombonist ran on them last year.
Death of Slide Hampton Slide Hampton, legendary American jazz trombonist and Grammy Award winning composer and arranger, died on 18 November, aged 89. Born to a musical family in Indianapolis in 1932, Hampton showed gifted musicianship from a very young age, singing and dancing with the family band. In a 2007 interview for America’s National Endowment for the Arts, he said ‘I was hearing music every day from the time that I was born, so I knew right away that my life would be in music.’ He began trombone at the
age of 12, because ‘the band needed a trombone, and I was the youngest.’ This turned out to be fortuitous, as Hampton soon developed extraordinary dexterity on the instrument and a warm tome. ‘[The trombone] has to use the beauty of its sound to make a point,’ he told the New York Times in 1982. For sixty years, Hampton worked at the pinnacle of the jazz world. The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Popular Music calls Hampton’s career as one of the most distinguished in all jazz. He played alongside, composed and arranged for the likes of Duke Ellington, Maynard Ferguson, and Dizzy Gillespie. He lectured at Harvard, and led on many solo albums, including his famous debut Slide Hampton’s Horn of Plenty. In 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts bestowed Slide Hampton with its highest honour in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award. Hampton was a voracious practiser throughout his life, working around his composing and arranging commitments to practise three or four hours a day. According to his son Lamont Hampton, who confirmed his father’s death, Slide Hampton was still practising two days before his death.
New drive to address gender imbalance in brass instruments A new initiative aimed at encouraging young girls, women, and non-binary people to take up brass, percussion, and other ‘large and shiny instruments’ and to view them as a viable career path has launched. Gender and the Large and Shiny Instruments has been founded by percussionist Beth Higham-Edwards and horn player Letty Stott, with the launch event held at the Royal Oversees League in London on 22 November. Jane Salmon (BTS Treasurer and former editor of this magazine) and Helen Vollam (Principal Trombone BBC Symphony Orchestra) performed at the event. The founders point out, for example, that women occupy only 7% of professional trombone chairs in Britain (as of 2019). They hope to address this imbalance, by, among other things, promoting positive role models to young girls. As the founders say: ‘it is extremely important to show children and young people that there are professional musicians working in this sector at the highest level look like them!’
Correction In the last edition of The News, we incorrectly said Chris Augustine was leaving Welsh National Opera to play in the West End show Wicked, he has in fact left to play in Frozen. Apologies to Chris for this error. ◆ 7
British Trombone Society
Annual Awards 2021 The winners of the British Trombone Society Annual Awards were announced at the AGM, held virtually on 7 November. Congratulations to all of the recipients on their well-deserved awards
Outstanding Contribution – Bob Hughes Born in Wales, Bob moved to London in 1976 to study bass trombone at the Royal Academy of Music with Harold Nash, where he won the Sydney Langston Brass Prize. Bob’s first job was with the BBC Scottish Symphony at the age of twenty. He then went on to play with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (1981–1989), The Philharmonia (1989–1994) and the London Symphony Orchestra (1994–2006). He made multiple recordings with these orchestras including soundtracks for blockbuster films such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Braveheart, and toured extensively throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. Bob began teaching Bass Trombone at the Royal Academy of Music in 1989 and many of his students hold orchestral positions in the UK. He was president of the British Trombone Society from 2006–2010 and there is a biennial competition named after him – The Bob Hughes Bass Trombone Competition.
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ANNUAL AWARDS 2021
Player of the Year – Kris Garfitt Kris Garfitt is a Courtois Performing Artist, Solo Trombonist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Gold Medal winner of the 2019 Royal Overseas League Music Competition in London and first prize winner of the 2019 Jeju International Music Competition, 2018 International Tenor and Bass Trombone Competition in Budapest, the 2018 International Juozas Pakalnis Competition of Wind and Percussion Instruments in Vilnius and the 2019 International IPV Trombone Competition in Germany. Kris was also second prize winner of the Competition Concorso Internazionale ‘Città di Porcia’ and the International Trombone Competition of Alsace. He graduated in 2015 from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD), London, with a First Class Honours Degree and the GSMD Brass Prize (funded by the Armourers and Brasiers Company). During his time at Guildhall he undertook regular lessons with Eric Crees, Christopher Houlding and Peter Gane and later with Fabrice Millischer of Freiburg Musikhochschule. Kris is now receiving regular instruction from Guilhem Kusnierek of Saarbrücken Musikhochschule. Between 2016 until 2020 Kris was a member of the German Radio Philharmonic, becoming solo trombonist with the WDR Symphony Orchestra in 2021. Besides regular concerts with his orchestra, he frequently performs as guest solo trombonist with
many of Europe’s leading orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Kris was fortunate enough to have been a member of both the European Union Youth Orchestra and Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. Alongside his orchestral career, Kris also manages to navigate a busy schedule as a solo musician. He has worked with ensembles such as the Vilnius City Chamber Orchestra, the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra, Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra and Luxembourg Military Orchestra, performing concertos by Nino Rota, Henri Tomasi, Lars-Erik Larsson, Christopher Rouse, Vladimir Cosma and Gyula Fekete. Shortly after winning his first job Kris experienced an increased interest and love of the trombone’s wonderful solo literature, leading him to start a duo with the exceptional Korean pianist, Seri Dan. Together they perform regular concerts throughout Europe and beyond, and are planning to release their first album in 2021. Kris also has a passion for music education and regularly offers guidance to trombonists of all levels, on a private basis and in the form of masterclasses. He has been the brass tutor of the City of Sheffield Youth Orchestra since 2016.
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Sheila Tracey Award – Carol Jarvis
Student of the Year – Angus Butt
Carol Jarvis is one of the most in-demand session musicians in the UK. A multi-award-winning trombonist, keyboard player, arranger, orchestrator and voiceover artist, Carol has toured and recorded extensively with stars such as Sting, Queen, Seal, Rod Stewart, Amy Winehouse, Bon Jovi, Ellie Goulding and appeared on many renowned television programs with stars such as MUSE, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Bublé, Taylor Swift and so many more. Carol can also be found working with internationally renowned ensembles and some of the world’s top orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and all of the BBC Orchestras. Regular film and TV session work fills a lot of Carol’s diary and she can also be found regularly performing in London’s West End shows. She is a professor of trombone at Trinity Conservatoire of Music in London and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where she, herself, gained the highest qualifications possible. Carol is currently President of the International Trombone Festival, a post she has held since 2017, and in 2023 will become the first female President of the International Trombone Association. Carol’s orchestrations and arrangements have featured on albums at the top of the UK and US billboard charts, been recorded at the famous Capitol Studios in Hollywood and also played during the Academy Awards ceremony.
Angus grew up in Helensburgh, Scotland, learning first tenor trombone with Sarah Grant and then moving onto bass trombone with Alastair Sinclair. Throughout this time he played with the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland and Great Britain; he is currently a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra. Angus studied his undergraduate degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Bob Hughes and Keith McNicoll and is now studying with James Buckle and Paul Milner for his postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Music. He has recently begun working on the professional circuit and is currently on trial with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra whilst freelancing with orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English National Opera, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Sinfónica de Galicia in Spain. During his time in London, Angus has won various solo and chamber music awards. As a soloist, he has won the John Solomon Brass Prize as well as the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Brass Prize with brass dectet, Ibex Brass – with whom he was also a RAM chamber music fellow. He is a founding member of the trombone quartet Bone-afide, who have won the International Trombone Association quartet competition and were awarded both the Tunnell Trust award and the RPS Philip Jones award. Other achievements include being a finalist in the Solo Hungarian International Trombone Competition, winner of the Dublin Brass Week Concerto Competition and 1st prize in the Swisstbone Bass Trombone Student Competition. Angus is very grateful and honoured to be a Victor and Lilian Hochhauser award holder as well as being an Ian Fleming Award holder, and having a James Caird Traveling Scholarship and is a also Countess of Munster Scholarship holder.
PHOTO CREDIT: JUSTIN SLEE PHOTOGRAPHY
ANNUAL AWARDS 2021
Teacher of the Year – Christian Jones Opera North bass and contrabass trombonist Christian Jones began playing at the age of ten, progressing through the excellent Staffordshire, Midland and National Youth Orchestras. Christian was appointed to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2001, aged twenty, and graduated from London’s Royal Academy of Music with first class honours the following year. A month later, he joined the Philharmonia Orchestra, London and spent a decade recording soundtracks such as Resident Evil: Apocalypse and performing around 150 concerts annually in venues from Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall. Highlights included Messaien’s Turangalîla conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, Verdi’s Requiem under Riccardo Muti, a Mahler symphony cycle with Lorin Maazel and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in Bonn which launched the career of last-minute substitute Gustavo Dudamel. Since relocating to Yorkshire in 2012 with wife, Hallé Principal trombonist Katy Jones, and their young family, Christian has been delighted to discover operatic repertoire from Puccini’s Turandot to Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Orchestra of Opera North. Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music since 2015, Christian also coaches regularly with the Brass Academy and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He served as President of the British Trombone Society 2013–15, appearing as the mystery guest on
Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 breakfast show before 9.8 million listeners! Solo appearances include Dublin Brass Week 2015, Arctic Trombone Festival 2016 (Tromsø), Glasgow Trombone Week 2017 (on BBC Radio 3), Hungarian Trombone Bootcamp 2018, and the 2019 Slide Factory (Rotterdam) and Gravissimo Festival (Portugal). Having directed low brass residencies in Spain, London & Portugal, he has been invited to give three days of masterclasses in Rome once pandemic restrictions allow. Christian’s YouTube channel, launched in 2017 as a study aid for students, currently features over 80 videos of solo works, technical advice, and orchestral and operatic excerpts. He is currently using the footage as part of a Master’s degree in performance at the RNCM. In October 2021 Christian gave the world premiere of Gresley, accompanied by the Orchestra of Opera North. The occasion marked the fulfilment of a 25-yearold ambition, held since playing in the National Youth Orchestra together, to commission Benjamin Ellin to write him a bass trombone concerto. It would not have been possible without the support of Opera North, The RVW Trust, instrument sponsors Conn-Selmer, and above all, Christian’s family and friends. Away from music, Christian can usually be found walking, running, cycling & swimming in his beloved Peak District! ◆ 11
Around the Regions Midlands BTS Midlands Trombone Day with Dr. Brett Baker, Chris Binns, & The Black Dyke Trombone Ensemble
Saturday 27 November. The day dawned on a white and windy world, as Storm Arwen made the Peak District, and Buxton in particular, aware of its presence. Snow lay round about, deep and slushy and uneven. The whole event was in some doubt, as people were snowed in, snowed out, with power cuts in places, and roads in and out of Buxton closed for several hours. Unable to fight the weather the organizer, BTS Midlands representative Jenny Gartside, had to delay the start until midday. Unfortunately, there were a few participants who didn’t make it due to the weather, and some very early bird arrivals who were taken in and given tea by local trombonist Barbara until the day could get under way. Christ Church, Burbage, eventually saw Dr. Brett Baker begin the day by organizing players into a trombone choir and, after some warm-up exercises, we played some four-part pieces, then launched into ten, twelve, fourteen and sixteen-part pieces. Black Dyke Trombone Ensemble, performing for the first time as a sextet, included Brett Baker, Paul Woodward, Dan Eddison, Garry Reed, Adrian Hirst and Adam Reed, then entertained the attendees with a spirited version of Wilfred Heston’s Praise, a modern spiritual called Wave, a spot-on version of Deep River, and an intricately extended version of Scarborough Fair called Back To The Fair. Chris Binns, Solo Trombone with Grimethorpe Band, provided a recital filled with pieces for unaccompanied trombone. Fanfare by John Kenny, Sarabande from J. S. Bach’s Cello Suite no. 4, No. 9 from Tommy Pederson’s Advanced Etudes and Improvisation 12
PHOTO CREDIT: JENNY GARTSIDE
by Enrique Crespo were executed confidently by a master of his art. The trombone choir then reassembled to practice Procession of the Nobles, (brilliant choice for massed trombones!) conducted by one of the Black Dyke trombonists, Paul Woodward. After another tea and cake break, provided by Jenny and Barbara, who are both members of nearby Burbage Band (Buxton), we watched and heard some young players from the Yorkshire and East Midlands Youth Bands being put through their recital paces by Chris Binns. One had an upcoming RNCM audition and had the benefit of feedback from Chris Binns in front of a live audience, another amazing benefit to come from this kind of event, and we wish him the very best with his audition!
AROUND THE REGIONS
After a final massed trombone choir to round off proceedings, Brett Baker thanked Jenny for organising the day, the first live BTS event since the pandemic (and Jenny’s first as a BTS Rep) and then home, some being pushed out of the frozen and snowy car park by massed trombone assistance. Very satisfactory day, lots of happy faces, and re-inspired trombonists.
Past members of Diss-located Bones include Tony Parsons, founding Editor of The Trombonist, and Edmund Fivet CBE, ex-Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
BEV NORMAN
Yorkshire
North-East
Skelmanthorpe Band recently played host to the first Yorkshire Trombone Day led by Brett Baker and members of the Black Dyke Trombone Ensemble. The event was sponsored by Michael Rath Trombones. Twenty-six delegates from far and wide, including Switzerland and Norway descended on Skelmanthorpe to enjoy a full programme of masterclasses and ensemble activities. The delegates were split into groups according to ability and performed pieces such as La Danza, Amazing Grace and Mid all the Traffic, all skilfully transcribed by Ian Jones. A lunchtime concert featured the Black Dyke quartet which led to delegates being invited to play along with the group to gain ensemble experience. Tim Sidwell from Rath Trombones then led a demonstration on Instrument Maintenance with delegates being given opportunities to try out the latest range of Rath Trombones. The day concluded with a performance to family and friends. Brett Baker commented ‘After the best part of two years without any trombone ensemble workshops, it was wonderful to once again work with an enthusiastic group of musicians, there were a lot of new faces, having players taking part from Norway, Switzerland, London, the North-East of England and the Midlands for the first ever Yorkshire Trombone day. I am already planning for next year’s event’ I was delighted with the number of delegates and received the following feedback … ‘A big “Thank you” to you and all those responsible for the Trombone Day yesterday at the magnificent Skelmanthorpe Band room. I really enjoyed the content of the day and look forward to a further event next year. ‘I learnt a lot being a trombone novice. Many thanks go to my tutor Adrian for his patient explanations as to how I could improve.’ ‘Thanks to the players from Black Dyke Band and all at Skelmanthorpe Band – they were fantastic.’ Plans are already in place for a 2022 event with an evening concert added to an already busy programme.
Here in the North-East we are pleased to report that musical activity seems to be returning to some sort of normality. We know that orchestras in Tyneside, Sunderland, Durham, and Teesside have started to meet and plan concerts and that brass bands, big bands, wind bands and youth ensembles across the region are playing again and giving concerts. We know that BTS members are involved in all this and very pleased to be doing so. We were also pleased to learn that one of our members, Laura Davison, a freelance player on Tyneside has recently joined the Centre of Advanced Training teaching staff, working on the popular and prestigious programmes based at The Sage Gateshead. As for our own BTS event in the region, we are beginning to think about something for Spring 2022 – we’ll keep you all informed. PETER C HESTER & DAVID THORNBER – BTS NORTH-EAST REPRESENTATIVES
East Anglia
DISS-LOCATED BONES ARE BAC K!
Diss-located Bones returned to rehearsals in September, meeting every six weeks in Haughley, Stowmarket. Rehearsals are open to players of all standards, just bring your trombone/s, a music stand, a beer mat, any trombone ensemble music you may have, and a contribution to the hire of the hall. Don’t forget to leave time to come for a buffet curry in Haughley after the meet. New members are welcome, if you would like to join, please follow this link to be added to the mailing list. The next rehearsal is Sunday 19 December, 1.00pm – 3.00pm, and gigs are being booked for next year. Haughley is pretty much in the centre of East Anglia – about one hour drive from Chelmsford, Norwich or Cambridge. The hall is three minutes from J49 on the A14. There is plenty of parking space and lifts can be arranged from Stowmarket Station.
MIKE TATT
MIKE HEARTFIELD – ORGANISER/MD SKELMANTHORPE BAND
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AROUND THE REGIONS
PHOTO CREDIT: MIKE HEARTFIELD
Northern Ireland
There has been a wealth of musical activity in Northern Ireland in 2021! In June the recently appointed principal trombone of the Ulster Orchestra Neil Gallie performed a sparkling rendition of Lars-Erik Larsson’s Trombone Concertino in a programme entitled ‘Imagined Worlds’ alongside works by Rautavaara, Nielsen and Sibelius. In November Peter Moore travelled back to his homeland to give another rendition of the awardwinning trombone concerto by Dani Howard, again with the Ulster Orchestra. The busiest musicians here have definitely been our wonderful brass banders; in October the Marketplace Theatre in Armagh hosted the first live brass band contest since March 2020 with Roger Webster adjudicating works by George Lloyd, Philip Sparke and Christopher Bond. Congratulations to all the bands that performed in what was a great day of music making! The next contests planned are the Brass Band League Solos and Ensembles in February, Brass in Concert entertainment contest in March and to finish off the season the Spring Festival in May. The 1st Old Boys band are travelling to Perth to compete at the Scottish Open contest after a successful visit in 2019. At the time of writing the young trombonists are
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practising Scheherazade and Smetana’s Sarka for their Ulster Youth Orchestra (UYO) auditions in December. After two very successful online courses in 2021 (see below) the fantastic team at UYO are planning for a residential course in August 2022 in the beautiful setting of Antrim’s Greenmount College. I have made some enquiries with venues and spoken to the local musicians here about hosting a BTS event in Northern Ireland and we have exciting plans, please keep an eye on the BTS social media for more information! NATHAN MOORE – BTS NORTHERN IREL AND REPRESENTATIVE
On the 16 August 2021 the 28th Ulster Youth Orchestra Summer Course began. Unfortunately, five of the six
AROUND THE REGIONS
UYO TROMBONE SECTION; L -R PATRIC K CREAGH, OWEN BRANNIGAN , JAMIE CADDEN , ANDREW MILLIGAN. PHOTO CREDIT: UYO
days of the course had to take place online on zoom, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but we had the final day, Saturday, to look forward to, where we would all meet and spend a day of playing together. As the second trombonist I spent two hours each of the five days in an online sectional with Andy Berryman as the tutor as well as assistant help from George Sandford and Nathan Moore, my own teacher! Despite the difficulties of online playing, I developed skills and knowledge about the trombone and learnt better ways to practice skills such as lip trills and tonguing. A pleasant atmosphere in these meetings as well as evening entertainment every other day meant the entire course was very enjoyable. The real fun began when we met in person to play through and develop our two pieces, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 and Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto (the 2nd movement). Although the trombones were not playing in the Shostakovich, I found listening to this very moving. The Saturday rehearsal was one of the few times I’d been playing with a group of people never mind an entire orchestra since the pandemic began although, luckily, I’d had rehearsals with the 1st Old
Boys Brass Band since June 2021 but for many others, including our conductor, David Brophy, this was a first in almost two years. Despite a shaky beginning, due to people not even used to playing with others, everyone quickly settled and worked hard to achieve a successful final performance at the end of the day. Although I hope next year the course will be fully in person, the UYO 2021 course has no doubt improved me as a player. It is just so great to be able to play together again. OWEN BRANNIGAN – ULSTER YOUTH ORC HESTRA
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T
he results of the BTS Composers’ Competition 2021 were announced on 12 December. The three prize winners were selected from a total of 11 entries encompassing compositions for trombone ensembles of varying size. The judging panel, comprised of Mark Nightingale, Rob Wiffen and Dominic Sewell, awarded 1st Prize to Salvatore Sciarratta for his work Bright Call commenting, ‘Salvatore’s composition stands out head and shoulders above the rest. We loved the intriguing and accomplished writing which we felt included hints of Copland and even Giovanni Gabrieli in the inner part movement especially. There is a beautiful sense of balance and style in the piece with good musical logic in its overall shape. Both in the orchestration and individual melodic lines we found it to be most pleasing. This would work tremendously well in performance.’ Bright Call will be published by Warwick Music in 2022.
1st Place
Bright Call for Trombone Quintet – Salvatore Sciarratta Salvatore is an Italian trombonist, euphonium player and composer. In 2018 he obtained a BA degree from the “Alessandro Scarlatti” Conservatory, Palermo, studying trombone with Giuseppe Bonanno, and euphonium with Francesco Tolentino. He is currently studying Chamber Music at the ISSM “Arturo Toscanini”, Ribera, with Egidio Eronico, continues to specialize in trombone with Roberto Basile and studies composition disciplines with Alberto Maniaci. He has written and arranged music for orchestra, bands, big bands, chamber ensembles and pop groups. He has participated in trombone masterclasses held by masters of the national and international scene, such as Massimo La Rosa, Josè Pons Boils and Jesùs Vincente Monzò. He has played in the most important Sicilian theatres with Symphony orchestras, Wind orchestras and Big bands, often as first or second trombone, first euphonium or
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SALVATORE SCIARRATTA
soloist. He has made several recordings with the band Sikania: a single Siciliano medio, for which he wrote the music, received the “ACEP/UNEMIA” special prize at the national contest “Musica contro le mafie” 2019 and an album Grazie. He was commissioned by ISSM “A. Toscanini”, Ribera, to compose Prologo – Tempio di Hera for orchestra, the first movement of Suite dei Templi, premièred at the Selinunte Archaeological Park on 1 July, 2021, with a repeat performance at the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento on 4 July. In both concerts he was also involved as performer. He is the author of the innovative method entitled Exercises against ease on unusual scales in irregular time signatures aimed at improving rhythmic perception and technique, stimulating the mind while reading and maintaining concentration.
BTS COMPOSERS' COMPETITION 2021
2nd Place
Spring in My Step for Trombone Quintet – Olli Martin Olli is a freelance trombonist based in London and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music jazz course. Olli has performed across the UK and Europe with artists and ensembles such as the BBC Big Band, Cory Wong, Nikki Iles, Stan Sulzmann, Gareth Lockrane, Alex Mendham, and the Britten Sinfonia, along with London West End theatre and recording session work. Olli has his own project, the Olli Martin Quintet, which performs his original compositions. Olli is also a passionate educator with various roles including teaching jazz at Southampton University.
OLLI MARTIN
3rd Place
Trombone Trio – John Holland John has been composing and arranging since his early teens and in 2008 won a British Composer Award in the Making Music category, going on to have several pieces recorded and published worldwide. He continues to champion community music-making and has been conducting Lambeth Wind Orchestra, based in Herne Hill, for over 14 years. Alongside his musical career, John is a keen runner, works in finance for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and runs his own bespoke cake business.
JOHN HOLL AND
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P reside nt ’s Toolkit:
Best make it a double … BY SIMON MINSHALL
A few topics sprung to mind for this feature. I settled on something that I myself need to think about and strive to improve, so I hope these musings will be deemed somewhat useful. The nature of the trombone ensures that nearly each and every facet of the music world may feature us at some point in time. Due to this we may sometimes find ourselves a little further away from home base than we would like. I'm talking about doubling, tripling and more, not just in regard to instrument and equipment choice, but also to style. Now, doubling on a related instrument often comes about due to a difference in style from what you're used to or where the music dictates a change of equipment. For example, a big band musician may opt for a large bore trombone for a symphony, although we know it's not as simple as that. Usually doubling comes in an assortment of euphonium, bass trumpet, sackbut, classical trombones, tuba, contrabass trombone, baritone and alto trombone to name a few. It also means moving from large bore to small, to bass and perhaps back again. I'm working on the basis of trombone being our main instrument here. Some of us even began life on valves... We all have somewhere we call home and for me it's the bass trombone. It's the instrument I warm up on and where I do the majority of my practice. Changing instruments and mouthpieces can be very daunting to some and can cause issues in playing when done incorrectly and without thought. I find it important to remind myself of what I deem the most important foundations and basics of my playing. What am I going on about? Playing a related instrument can enable you to have a lot of fun and develop your skills in different styles. It can keep music interesting and fresh. As a professional and semi-
professional, it can earn you extra income, but more importantly, it will make you a much more rounded musician. We know it isn't just a simple act of picking up a different instrument. Your ears need to be so switched on and your brain open to learning. Immerse yourself around people playing in the style you want to achieve, be a sponge and soak up all the nuances in their playing. Length of notes, vibrato, articulation, timing … so much more. Should I change my mouthpiece? This question is sometimes viewed with shock and horror with the answer waited for with bated breath. Yes, changing too frequently can cause long term problems if you are very set in your ways, but be smart and aware. Playing a few of our related instruments will mean more time in the practice room keeping things in shape but, as I said, can enable you to enjoy each and every style of music we are lucky to play as trombone players. Go get your euphonium or tuba out and down to a brass band rehearsal. Rally round some friends who want to experience playing sackbuts or even get together with a friend and play some contrabass trombone duets. Most importantly, don’t neglect where home is and go have fun. If there is anything you would like to ask, suggest for an article or correct me on (I want to learn too), then please do send me an email at president@britishtrombonesociety. Enjoy some music making! ◆
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Profile: Nasser Pervez TECHNICAL PRODUCER – BBC RADIO 3 CLASSICAL MUSIC
SERIES EDITOR AL ASTAIR WARREN
I will always remember the first classical concert I experienced at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon as a boy, hearing the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karl Bohm (then aged about 80 years) striking up the opening fanfare to Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony. At the opening, the horns start with a rhythmic staccato and when the trombones and trumpets join in with the momentous descending scale passage it knocked me off my feet! It was at that moment I knew I wanted to play a brass instrument and in particular the trombone. To a young child growing up in Croydon, this introduction began a musical journey into a world of infinite possibilities. At the beginning of my studies, I did not appreciate that learning to play a music instrument would teach me so much about life skills generally, but now I understand the importance of teamwork, discipline, loyalty and friendship. All this hard work results in a distinct thrill during live performance and a feeling of quiet exhilaration after an especially good concert. Soon after I began my music lessons, I knew that music was going to play an important part in my life. I have been lucky to be involved with some fantastic amateur ensembles, including brass bands and orchestras, a big band and a brass quintet, all of which were based around London. I have been introduced to a vast repertoire of music and have experience of playing to a very high level. Playing in brass bands I found especially useful for developing sight-reading skills and technique as well as sheer stamina.
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The performer I find most inspirational was John Fletcher, the tuba player with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. As well as being a remarkable technician, he was incredibly musical and always made the instrument ‘sing’. Another hero is the late Maurice Murphy, principal trumpet of the London Symphony Orchestra, a consummate musician and master of his instrument. His phenomenal performances of the Star Wars scores will be admired by generations to come. I will also never forget hearing the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Daniel Barenboim playing the opening bars of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony in rehearsal at the BBC Proms, which displayed the power and depth of a music ensemble finely tuned. It sent shivers up my spine! My musical experience has underpinned my career as a sound engineer and producer with the BBC. A close knowledge of the repertoire as well as an ability to score read have enhanced the technical aspects of my work. Music and in particular being part of an ensemble has enriched my life. As well as playing in some iconic venues, I have met so many wonderful people, including my wife! I intend to continue playing as long as I have breath! ◆
PROFILE – NASSER PERVEZ
PRODUCING THE BREAKFAST SHOW ON RADIO 3. PHOTO CREDIT: SIMON FUNNELL.
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HE FRONT COVE
The Front Cover:
One of a Kind – AN INTERVIEW WITH ROB BURTENSHAW
BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
After more than 40 years as sub-principal trombone with the Orchestra of Opera North, Rob Burtenshaw retired on 23 September following a final concert at Huddersfield Town Hall that included a performance of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and Elgar’s Cello Concerto. To mark the occasion, I caught up with him to look back over his career, and to share tributes from his colleagues in the Opera North trombone section. Alastair Warren: When did you first pick up a trombone, and what was your route to Opera North? Rob Burtenshaw: Originally from Scarborough, I started on tenor horn with Scarborough Town Band and then quickly moved on to the trombone, being taught by the aptly named Joe Blewitt. I enjoyed playing with the Band on Sundays, at holiday camps or at the Spa, and the cricket festival. Attempting to play 76 Trombones at a tender age certainly pushed my technique. After having lessons with Nev Roberts when the Hallé played in Bradford with Barbirolli I got a place at Chetham’s School of Music where I was taught by Peter Lacey. Chet’s was an all-round education; Residents (Boarders) had a weekday trade sweeping or cleaning bins, then 30 minutes practice before breakfast! And on Saturday’s, if you didn’t play rugby, you had extra jobs,
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such as replacing light bulbs or moving pianos. The trombone lessons were a delight in comparison, and so were the many orchestral, chamber and solo concerts. In the 6th Form I would be sent off, with David Hall on the piano, to perform such pieces as Saint Saens’ Cavatine, a Handel Concerto or the second of Defaye’s Deux Danses. We were usually joined by David Greed (who went on to become the founding Leader of Opera North, a post he still holds today). And you always had to be ready for the Boss (headmaster) to call you in to tell you to play a piece for some visitors. I then went to the Royal College of Music as an Exhibitioner and was taught by the legendary Arthur Wilson. I have fond memories of trombone section sessions with Arthur taking Sue Addison and I and Dave Gordon through lots of repertoire, especially Brahms. In those days there was much paid work for the students at weekends with amateur orchestras and choral societies. My first gig at the end of week one was La Creation du Monde by Milhaud up near the top of Norfolk and by the third year I was becoming quite familiar with the Requiems of Verdi, Berlioz, Mozart and such like. In my final year I won the Arthur Somerville brass prize and gained the ARCM diploma with honours. Whilst in London I freelanced and got to enjoy playing second trombone with the English Chamber
THE FRONT COVER
PHOTO CREDIT: SARA PORTER
Continues on next page …
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HE FRONT COVE
THE FRONT COVER
Orchestra and Northern Sinfonia and regularly with the Oxford Pro Musica. Alan Gout, Bernard Bean and Roger F. Payne were especially helpful to me then, and we performed many concerts from Et exspecto by Messiaen, to Star Wars, Tubular Bells and brass ensemble gigs. I played in West End shows, Kismet, Oliver, one starring Tommy Steele, national tours of The Threepenny Opera, Pal Joey, My Fair Lady and Wizard of Oz and started teaching for the Inner London Education Authority. In 1978 I joined the newly formed Orchestra of Opera North, becoming the sub principal trombone. That was an exciting time with a brand-new orchestra starting with a busy opera schedule and quickly developing a regular concert identity thanks to the vision of David Lloyd Jones and Ian Killik. I quickly grew to enjoy living in the Pennines where I could take part in many outdoor pursuits. I got married in 1989 to Melanie and now have two grown up children. AW: Can you share some highlights from your career?
RB: The highlights are plentiful after 43 years! Gary Howarth conducting Verdi’s Nabucco with the widest range of dynamics ever! Operas such as Prokofiev’s For Love for Three Oranges (scratch and sniff!!), Berg’s Wozzeck, Britten’s Billy Budd and Puccini’s Turandot. Monteverdi’s Orfeo in Monte Carlo was fun; we were finished after 15 minutes and could ‘get out of the pit’. Concerts; Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with Dietfried Bernet. Outside the classical world playing Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s I Need It with Guy Barker in the Landscape offshoot, the Gardeners. Away from Opera North I freelanced with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and toured the Canaries, China and bits of Europe with the RPO. I played in the Proms with the LSO and RPO, and recorded Gabrieli with the LSO Brass. My teaching experience has been extensive, teaching trombone at Chetham’s and Leeds University, as well as all brass at schools such as Bingley Grammar and Giggleswick. I’ve also taken part in many Opera North education projects, Chetham’s outreach days and helped to lead a masterclass in the Canaries with Roger Argente and Matthew Gee. I claim to have learned much from my pupils and have discovered useful teaching techniques from coaching adventure sports! AW: Why did you decide to stay with Opera North for so many years, and what plans to do you have for your retirement?
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CYCLING THE STELVIO PASS, ITALY. PHOTO CREDIT: MEL ANIE BURTENSHAW
RB: The Opera North schedule is quite helpful with planning family and professional life because despite it being restrictive in allowing time off, it is set in stone six weeks in advance. This has made it a difficult job to leave, especially in the last 10 years being part of an inspirational trombone section sat between Blair Sinclair and Christian Jones. Now I’ve retired I’m hoping to be able to go skiing more often and when at home pursue many outdoor activities such as hill walking, mountain biking and para gliding.
THE FRONT COVER
THE FRONT COVER
23 SEPTEMBER, HUDDERSFIELD TOWN HALL, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING ROB’S FINAL CONCERT; L -R ELIZABETH BANNAN , BL AIR SINCL AIR, ROB BURTENSHAW, C HRISTIAN JONES, BRIAN KINGSLEY
Christian Jones – Principal Bass Trombone, Orchestra of Opera North Music making with Rob Burtenshaw over this past decade has been sublime. One of the last remaining founder members of Opera North, Rob’s final concert in September was performed with the total dedication and focus that became a hallmark for his numerous adoring brass colleagues over 43 years. Even before moving to Leeds, I knew that working in a section with Rob would be special, having basked in the warm sound and solid technique of his many ex-students around the country: their artistry stands as testament to a remarkable career which nurtured aspiring players, inspired professional colleagues … and still managed to find time for plenty of fun, whether cycling to the Craven Arms in Appletreewick or flying over it! To hear Rob at his best, search out English Northern Philharmonia/Orchestra of Opera North recordings: especially Walton’s First Symphony and Howard Blake›s Sinfonietta from the mid-1990’s, plus our Ring Cycle from 2016 available via YouTube.
Blair Sinclair – Principal Trombone, Orchestra of Opera North I cannot emphasise enough how lucky I feel to have been able to work with Rob (Burt) for the better part of the last decade. Every single day was made better by having him there. His playing was flawless, all of the time. His dedication to getting the right balance in chords, the right style, and the best sound was always inspiring. However, it wasn’t just the playing, it was his personality. Rob was almost always happy and was a very calming presence to sit next to. I have never been in a section who laughed as much, or as often as we did, and when the instruments were back in the case, Rob was always more than willing to socialise and rehydrate with his colleagues. I think I can simply sum it all up by saying that Burt made our jobs easy. One of a kind. ◆
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Gresley BY BENJAMIN ELLIN AND C HRISTIAN JONES
On 7 October Christian Jones gave the world première of Benjamin Ellin’s bass trombone concerto Gresley, at the Town Hall, Huddersfield, accompanied by the Orchestra of Opera North. Benjamin and Christian tell the story of how the work came into being and how it took on even greater meaning as the COVID pandemic developed.
Benjamin Ellin I’ve known Christian Jones since 1996, when he and I were part of the National Youth Orchestra. As a young tuba player, and a budding composer and conductor, I found myself sitting a ‘few doors down’ from one of the nicest people I’d ever met – who also loved playing low octaves in great symphonic repertoire – which we did with great commitment! I was immersed in a world of wonderful music-making and great camaraderie. Both our lives have evolved somewhat since those early days, but there was always a desire to collaborate in the future on a big composition project and Gresley has provided the perfect vehicle to realise our long-held aim. At a meeting before Covid had changed the landscape of all our lives, arguably forever, the broad plan for a full concerto commission for Opera North and Christian was hatched. We were both committed to creating a work that did not go near any of the stereotypes of what a trombone concerto is, the typical ‘licks’ – to use the jazz phrase – or theatrical gestures that people often associate with the trombone and with which they subsequently pigeonhole the instrument
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and player. We wanted to leave a substantial work, one that players would want to challenge themselves to play, enjoy playing but also feel musically satisfied with. Equally, we knew we had to create a work that would be seen as a serious offering to the entire concerto genre, a strong concerto in its own right and not just bracketed as a brass concerto. The challenge was high. I knew Christian would be incredible and the Orchestra of Opera North are first-class so where would I start to hang the many musical ideas we both had? I hadn’t immediately decided on the influence of Sir Nigel Gresley, the famous railway engineer, on the work. What I was fascinated by, following talking with Christian and exploring subtle and new ideas for the solo writing, were machines, gears, systems, the mechanical textures and layers of how things work independently to enable a much bigger ‘thing’ to exist and work. The work of Sir Nigel then became an obvious direction: the creation of huge, beautiful and thrilling steam engines that broke world records and transformed journeys, noted for their beauty but also their mechanical brilliance. There was also an obvious connotation, an association really, between heavy engineering and the might of the brass instrument and as this concert was born in the North of England it all resonated true. Then, two things happened. At the same time as researching the tragedy of Sir Nigel’s wife, who had died from cancer, the Covid pandemic struck the world. All our lives had been changed overnight in the UK when the lockdown hit and anyone who hitherto
GRESLEY
C HRISTIAN JONES PREPARES FOR THE WORLD PREMIÈRE OF GRESLEY. PHOTO CREDIT MIC K ARDRON.
enjoyed any form of human communion – which is almost anyone – found themselves isolated. It struck me that just as Sir Nigel had to rebuild his own spirit, energy and creativity to continue his own path, we too, all of us, had to find a way forward and hold on to our own sense of self-worth and self-meaning. This might sound grandiose, but for musicians, for example, the entire raison d’être in so many ways had been taken away from us with no knowledge of when, if ever, it would return. Ultimately my own emotional, practical, and perhaps spiritual challenges were all faced in some degree in this period through the composition of this concerto. It was a cathartic process that was inspired by the similar journey of the rebuilding of an individual by the great Sir Nigel Gresley himself. Click here to hear an extract from Gresley in rehearsal. Christian Jones Writing this late into the night of the copy deadline, in a hospital ward with a family member under observation, reminds me that music must jostle with all the other demands of life: so it was with Gresley, the first ever bass
trombone concerto I know of to be commissioned by a professional UK orchestra for one of its members. Having received the blessing of the refreshingly open-minded Opera North management in September 2019, it became clear to Benjamin and I that our collaboration – a quarter century in the making – would unfold during a period of unprecedented turmoil. During May 2020 I turned 40, unable to leave the house for anything fun, but at least a date was set for the premiere: Thursday 8th April 2021. Benjamin expertly scored orchestral forces that could vary in size to suit prevailing Covid restrictions, without compromising on the technical challenge of the music. Keen followers of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra concert series will know this was the same day Peter Moore was originally scheduled to première Dani Howard’s concerto! What is it they say about buses …?! At Opera North, government-sanctioned ‘test events’ were held in public but hosting a commercially viable (non-socially distanced) live audience remained impossible. I joked with our manager in autumn 2020 that I really wouldn’t want my first or second full orchestral performance post-pandemic to be a concerto: however, within weeks our entire 20/21 season was
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GRESLEY
BENJAMIN ELLIN AND C HRISTIAN JONES BAC KSTAGE BEFORE THE PREMIÈRE OF GRESLEY. PHOTO CREDIT: OPERA NORTH.
postponed, with the revised première date of Thursday 7th October announced the day after my 41st birthday (still unable to leave the house for anything fun!) My only half-joking nightmare scenario suddenly became a reality: delighted as I was with the opportunity, Gresley would feature in only our second orchestral concert since March 2020. Both semiprofessional concerti performances I had arranged in preparation had vanished due to covid restrictions and I needed somehow to prepare mentally and physically from home. I turned to my favourite quote, which you probably already know: Henry Ford’s, ‘Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you are right’. Applying that mantra was not simply a question of telling myself, ‘It’ll be fine; I’ve been playing for over 30 year’, as that leaves room in the mind for rational doubt (‘have I really done enough?’) which becomes magnified in front of an audience one cares about, whether during an audition, job interview or concerto. Rather, as I encourage my students, positive thinking is an incremental process that starts with talking ourselves into something, not out of it, be it our very first performance or assessment, right
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through to a 25-minute concerto after a year and a half with very little playing. Thinking ‘why not?’ instead of ‘why bother?’ is the single most important step to approaching anything new. In practical terms, I had to quickly get used to audiences again, while negotiating home schooling and chronic family illness: every day for months, whether at 7am or midnight, on holiday in Scotland, or in isolation wheezing with Covid, I visualised walking onto the stage and listened to the overture preceding Gresley, to imagine the assembled audience. Practicing at full orchestral dynamics was tricky at home, and I am grateful to those who enabled me to perform short recitals in local shopping centres, outdoor festivals and covid secure halls. By dealing with the anxieties of a big performance well in advance, one is much better placed to cope with what else transpires in life: when my wife’s stepmum passed away from cancer on the morning of the première, the solid preparation meant I could still head to the Hall – with a dedicatee. In the words of Oscar Wilde, ‘life imitates art far more than art imitates life’. Dedicated to the memory of Sarah Cardus, 17/5/55–7/10/21. ◆
C
CON CERT REVIEW
Benjamin Ellin Gresley CHRISTIAN JONES/ORCHESTRA OF OPERA NORTH BY RON SIMPSON
PHOTO CREDIT: OPERA NORTH
Concerti for bass trombone are pretty rare animals, but now there’s one more. Gresley, a 20-minute work by Benjamin Ellin, well-known in Huddersfield as Principal Conductor of the Slaithwaite Philharmonic, was written for Opera North’s Christian Jones and performed by him with the Orchestra of Opera North under Antony Hermus on 7 October. There is a more or less convincing programme that links the music to the life of Sir Nigel Gresley, converting his grief at his wife’s death into the ambition to build great railway engines. After an ominous orchestral opening, Part One – dealing with his reaction to her death – is dominated by the haunting melancholy of the solo part whereas Part Two at times demands a lightness of tone and fluency of articulation not usually required of a bass trombone. A lively opening, apparently denoting the Gresleys’ happy early days of marriage, is scored initially for upper woodwind, with the bass trombone joining in the fun,
then, after a more sombre section, the concerto ends with a triumphant finish, the solo part again being very busy. Without ever employing any obvious train effects, Ellin manages to hint at the rhythm and soundscape of the steam railway world. As a tuba player himself, he has an affinity with the lower depths of the brass section and the orchestral trombones play a considerable part in the concerto, including the opening bars. Otherwise, the concerto takes the bass trombone into places it seldom goes. Christian Jones was wonderfully assured in showing the range of the instrument, from solemn legato to sprightly dancing rhythms, creating, with the aid of mutes, a remarkably varied tonal landscape and effectively puncturing the clichéd view of the bass trombone’s limitations. This review first appeared on The Reviews Hub ◆
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BO OK REVI E W Travels with my Tuba by Jim Anderson BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
Jim Anderson has enjoyed a long and highly distinguished career as a tuba player in the UK and internationally, including 30 years as a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, during which time he appeared on TV as Mr Oom-pah-pah in Rainbow, played on soundtracks including Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and worked with a who’s who of conductors and soloists, many of whom make an appearance in his new book. Travels with my Tuba is a mixture of biography and anecdote: the first chapters deal with Jim’s early life and career in chronological order before moving on to stories grouped thematically that flit back and forth through time, all told with the easy style of a natural raconteur. These anecdotes range from the absurd to the truly poignant; from misbehaving trombonists, to witnessing once great stars of the music world losing their powers and new stars being born. Throughout, Jim gives honest reflections on mistakes made and details personal highlights of his 50-year career in the music profession. Travels with my Tuba is a must-read for all brass players and can be ordered via Jim’s website. I fervently hope some of his trombone-playing contemporaries are encouraged by his lead and write books of their own. I can only imagine the stories waiting to be told! An exclusive extract from Travels with my Tuba is reproduced below by kind permission of the author.
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CHRISTMAS CAROLS IN JUNE Musicians are very lucky – we generally really like what we do or we wouldn’t do it. Sometimes we have reservations about the pieces we play but like any professional performers we just have to ‘get on with it’. The next gig could be wonderful. I have a great fondness for Christmas carols, for both the music and the words. ‘Hark The Herald Angels Sing’ … light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. To me, these words remind me of this magic time of year; of childhood Christmases; of hope; of getting out of the cold into a warm home; of the light shining through church windows. I often worked for Nat Peck, an American fixer who had settled in London. He had been a trombonist with the Glenn Miller band. Every year we would do two weeks of recording sessions for Nat, for an American friend of his, Brad Junior II. Brad would turn up with a large pile of Christmas carols and songs. He had arranged for these to be played in the lifts of Midwest Bible belt hotels. The first time I was booked, I was looking forward to hearing these. The only drawback was that every year he turned up not at Christmastime but in June. Brad was a large, pleasant, plumpish man. He had a scrubbed pink florid face and blonde hair, and he always wore the same clothes: a sky-blue one-piece garment that perfectly matched the colour of his eyes. In England
BOOK REVIEW
at the time this was only worn by babies and was called a Babygro (now, apparently, they’re called ‘onesies’). My youngest child, who was three, had just grown out of his. Every June for two weeks Brad would turn up and bring the hot weather with him. We sweated our way through his arrangements of ‘In the Bleak Mid-winter’, ‘See Amid the Winters Snow’, ‘Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire’ and other warming Christmas numbers, with Brad growing progressively pinker as he waved his arms around in the stuffy hot studio. Somehow Brad’s arrangements have taken the edge off the Christmas celebrations. I do have the odd nightmare at Christmas time. I imagine an enormous pink faced man clad in a blue Babygro suit, leaping around accompanied by strangely atonal Christmas music. ◆
BOOK COVER: TRAVELS WITH MY TUBA
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C D REVIEW Christmas with Bone-afide BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
Performers: Isobel Daws, Merin Rhyd – Trombone, Chris Brewster - Trombone & Euphonium, Angus Butt – Bass Trombone & Sleigh Bells, John Butt – Organ. Bone-afide’s first album release is a collection of ten familiar Christmas Carols and songs presented in stunning original arrangements by Sam Every. Sam is a recent graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and it is easy to see why he is beginning to make waves on the UK music scene as a commercial arranger, in addition to leading his own big band from behind the drums in sold out shows across London. Santa Claus is Coming to Town, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Good King Wenceslas are given swing and Latin treatments, while Infant Holy, In the Bleak Midwinter, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and When a Child is Born receive lush new harmonisations. O Come, All Ye Faithful and Hark the Herald evoke a more traditional brass band style, enhanced by the addition of euphonium, and reinforced by the organ. All the arrangements are available for purchase via Bone-afide’s website. The playing throughout is impeccable, with the tenor players swapping between large and small-bore instruments as the arrangements require. The balance and blend of the ensemble is impressive, whilst still being able to clearly hear individual players voices. Each of the members take turns as soloists, but special mention must be made of Frosty the Snowman, which takes an unexpected twist, turning into an absolute tour de force for BTS Student of the Year Angus Butt. To celebrate the release of Christmas with Bone-afide we have three copies to give away to BTS members. To enter the draw just send an email, subject Frosty the Snowman, to editor@britishtrombonesociety.org by 19 December. ◆
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CD COVER: C HRISTMAS WITH BONE- AFIDE
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS OFFER! BTS members not lucky enough to win a copy of Christmas with Bone -afide can still enjoy an exclusive 10% discount on purchases from the Bone -afide website, valid until 25 December. Please log into your BTS account to access the discount code.
O N C E RT RE VI E W
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The Evolution of the Trombone BY GARY AUSTIN
August 21st saw a visit to Swanage in Dorset from not one but two spectacular trombone quartets and for not one but two spectacular occasions: a workshop during the day and an evening concert entitled The Evolution of the Trombone. Both events took place in St Mary’s Parish Church and were part of the Purbeck Art Weeks Festival, this year slightly reduced due to covid. The Concert Trombone Quartette (CTQ) consists of Sue Addison, Emily White, Miguel Tantos and Adrian France, and features the bass voice of Robert MacDonald. They lean towards instruments and repertoire from earlier periods and came armed with sackbuts and plenty of 19th Century ‘pea shooters’ and G bass trombones. Sue even had a slide trumpet (more about that later). I can only presume they all drive cars with large boots. Studio 5 (St5) are the new kids on the block: Emma Bassett, Matthew Lewis, Tom Berry and James Buckle. Their name comes from the room in which the original line-up rehearsed at Wells Cathedral School, though I believe that Matthew and Tom are more recent members. James is a local lad made good and it was great to see him back on his home turf. I must declare an interest here as I started him off on the trombone some twenty years ago. As a contrast to the CTQ they all play modern instruments (mostly Conns if you were wondering). The day began with a workshop led by James, Matthew and Tom, with Sue and Adrian also in attendance. Kevin Morgan from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra was also there on a bit of a busman’s holiday, the rest of us were local players (or reasonably local) of all ages and experience. Altogether there were 15 trombonists and about three times that many trombones in the church. St Mary’s Church is a fantastic venue. It has a warm acoustic without too much echo which complements the trombone without anything sounding too stodgy or
PHOTO CREDIT: LOUISE LEFFLER
drawn out, unless that is how you’re playing in the first place, of course. Some of the building dates to medieval times with Victorian and 20th century additions. So very much like the two trombone quartets. We kicked off with James and Matt taking us through a group warm-up. We began with quick introductions and how long we’d all been playing. I won’t tell you how long that was for some of us, but clearly what some people can do in 20 years some of us are still Continues on next page …
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CONCERT REVIEW
L -R TOM BERRY, SUE ADDISON , ADRIAN FRANCE. PHOTO CREDIT LOUISE LEFFLER.
working at after 50! We started playing, of course, with some breathing and relaxation exercises; various glissandi got the air flowing and simple lip slurs with metric modulations meant they weren’t that simple after all. These started with crotchets before playing the same slurs in quavers and then triplets. Some scales followed, grouped and phrased in different ways. I have reproduced my favourite exercise below, it’s very simple and very effective.
Sue and Adrian also talked to us about the more unusual instruments that their quartet uses. Sue’s slide trumpet had been recreated from Renaissance paintings of trumpet playing cherubs as there are no extant examples. It’s half the length of a trombone, the same length as a trumpet. The body of the instrument moves up and down the lead pipe, effectively having only a
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single tube for the slide, which plays havoc with your chops. Sue proceeded to tell us it hadn’t been out of the case for many years, before then playing it beautifully and hitting every note perfectly which is rather an incredible skill to have. Adrian took us through the history of the trombone and its repertoire before leading us through some Equali composed by the gloriously monikered Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried from 1834/7 (written in Vienna) and Wenzel Gottlieb Lambel from 1844 (written in Linz). We also found out the rather incredible fact that Beethoven and Bruckner both wrote their Equali/Aequale in the same house in Linz, just 35 years apart. We managed rather well with some help from the pros and finished with Sue taking us through a version of Holst’s Fantasia on the Dargason. This is where all of those pea-shooters and G trombones came in handy as they were handed out for us to use. Luckily, I was at the end of the queue and missed out so had to play my own instrument which prevented any G trombone related embarrassment. Well, we made it to the end is the best I can say but it was fun getting there. The evening concert itself was well attended (allowing for some social distancing) and began with
CONCERT REVIEW
L -R MIGUEL TANTOS, SUE ADDISON , EMILY WHITE, JAMES BUC KLE, TOM BERRY, ROBERT MACDONALD, ADRIAN FRANCE, MATTHEW LEWIS, EMMA BASSETT. PHOTO CREDIT: JANET BUC KLE.
Beethoven’s Equali: the CTQ played the first movement from the entrance to the church before St5 played the second movement from the opposite transept. Finally, the CTQ moved to face the other group and played the last movement as a double quartet. Turning your head from one to the other gave a fantastic demonstration of the different sound quality of the sackbuts on the left and the modern instruments on the right. They finished with Hymne an die Nacht with Robert MacDonald singing the words hurriedly added for Beethoven’s own funeral. The concert continued with the groups taking it in turns: St5 played Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, an excerpt from Wagner’s Die Walkure, Che gelida manina from La Boheme by Puccini and Evening Prayer from Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel. The CTQ played Canzonato fur vier posaunen by von Braun and Schütz’s Fili Mi Absalon, before the two groups combined and played an absolutely beautiful version of Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ Variation. Much rummaging in car boots had taken place as a variety of instruments old and new were used. The second half of the concert saw St5 attempting to drag our ears into the 20th Century with Eric Ewazen’s
Myths and Legends, Bourgeois’ Quartet and Brian Lynn’s Four for Four before the CTQ kept dragging us happily back a century with Molloy’s Love’s Old Sweet Song, Balfe’s Come into the Garden Maud, Bruckner’s Aequale One, Mendelssohn’s Tarantella, and Gruber’s Domine Deus with Robert’s voice once again complimenting the quartet very well. St5 finished with jazz standards: Sherwin’s A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square and Carmichael’s Georgia on My Mind. Derek Bourgeois, who died in 2017, lived locally and the concert was dedicated to his memory. The playing throughout was superb and very polished. Each member of the groups got to introduce one or more of the items and it was very clear that all of the players were genuinely excited to be performing again after a year of covid and cancelled concerts. On a personal level it was fantastic to see one of my old students playing so incredibly well. The concert closed with all hands-on deck and an incredible version of Dance Macabre by Saint-Saens, arranged by Alan Gout which nicely brought things full circle as he was one of my first teachers many years ago. To read Adrian France’s programme notes from the concert please follow this link. ◆ 35
CHAMPIONSHIPS
RETURN The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain Finals were held across September and October for the first time in two years, after the cancellation of the 2020 event due to the pandemic. The BTS congratulates the winning trombone sections.
CHAMPIONSHIP SECTION – FODEN’S BAND
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PRINCIPAL – JOHN BARBER
2ND – NICK BIRCH
BASS – SHAUN FARRINGTON
– COURTOIS AC440 LEGEND, WICK 5AL
– COURTOIS AC440 LEGEND, WICK 5AL
– YAMAHA YBL613H, SCHILKE 59
CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN
1ST SECTION – KINGDOM BRASS PRINCIPAL – ALEX PHILIP – YAMAHA XENO CUSTOM YSL -882GO. WIC K 4AL. 2ND – COLIN ORMISTON – YAMAHA XENO YSL -881. PETER SULLIVAN REPLICA SERIES. BASS – BILL SANDELL – EDWARDS B454 BASS TROMBONE. MARCINKIEWICZ 107.
3RD SECTION – TEWIT SILVER BAND
PRINCIPAL – DAVID MURRAY
2ND – VICTOR WAIN
– YAMAHA XENO 882GO, DOUG ELLIOT
– CONN 88H, BACH 5G.
XT103 RIM, XT G+ CUP, G+ SHANK.
BASS – ROB WIGGINS – YAMAHA YBL613G, UNLACQUERED BELL, WICK 1G.
4TH SECTION – NAILSWORTH SILVER BAND
PRINCIPAL – RYAN MORGAN
2ND – MAY HARPER
– RATH R4F
– JP TENOR
BASS – MARTIN BLAND – YAMAHA XENO 830, DOUG YEO SIGNATURE
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The Filling in the Sandwich BY JIM MAYNARD AND ROB BURTENSHAW
In the last few months not only did Rob Burtenshaw retire from the Orchestra of Opera North but Jim Maynard also stepped down from his long-held position playing Second Trombone with the London Symphony Orchestra. With over 65 years of experience between them this seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask them to shine a light on the role of the second trombonist in the orchestra. What do you view as the role of the second trombonist in the orchestral section? What are you trying to achieve in relation to the rest of the section? JM: I see the second trombonist as part diplomat, part ‘sandwich filling’, and should really be the ‘ears’ of the section in musical terms. This is more a ‘craft’ than creative (although both are possible!). As a teamplayer, rather than the leader in the section, you rely heavily on your ears and instincts (what is often referred to as ‘radar’) to copy, imitate and adapt your sound to support the first trombone, along with bridging the sound between first and bass. When the second player is doing the job properly, the first trombone should find their job easier, and in judging the balance correctly, the section sound should ‘ring’ … The diplomatic skills can come into play in many scenarios. For instance, some first trombonists might be very forthcoming regarding musical issues, or some may say very little … the skill is gauging when to facilitate more discussion and when to keep quiet! (not sure how well I did with that!?) RB: I see the role of the second trombone as unifying the section. To link the bass and first trombone obviously, by filling out the section with having the right sound. That is something you have, or you develop – to be the meat in the sandwich (vegan options are available). Being diplomatic does come into it, in fact 38
the section gave me an Olive Tree for my 50th birthday! Sometimes you have to choose when to go with the flow e.g. when there is an unheralded accelerando, or when not to have so much fun. To do this you have to be super reactive, have great listening skills and exemplary tuning. You need to be at one with the first trombone; but don’t come in early! It can help to watch their slide here. Enjoy making a solid foundation with the bass trombone to make the first trombone’s job easier. Tuning and ensemble are easy in a good section, and I have had great times at Opera North, the RPO, and back in the Nineties, sitting between Ian Bousfield and Bob Hughes, it seemed like the easiest job in the world. Can you share some of your highlights sitting in the second chair, favourite second trombone parts or corners to watch out for? JM: My orchestral initiation began ’sandwiched’ between Ian Bousfield and Bob Hughes (not a bad start!) and surrounded by many of the musical heroes I frequently listened to as a student in London (such as Eric Cress, Patrick Harrild, Maurice Murphy …) Ever since those formative orchestral experiences, I have been lucky enough to sit in between so many fantastic players, all of whom bring something different to the musical experience, along with many challenges as a second player; trying to match Dudley Bright’s sound in a Mahler Symphony, adapting to Katy Jones’ ‘chameleonic’ style and sound changes, keeping up with Peter Moore’s facility (and lung capacity!) and trying to create a sound to match the projection of Paul Milner’s low register! Of course, there have also been such a vast number of non-LSO musicians who I have been privileged to work with (too many to mention!) There have been many highlights – here are a few,
THE FILLING IN THE SANDWICH
which also encompass some of my favourite second trombone parts. – Star Wars soundtracks with John Williams. – Debussy’s La Mer conducted by Valery Gergiev. – Berg’s Three Pieces conducted by Pierre Boulez, with both Ian Bousfield & Joe Alessi playing first. – Mahler’s Sixth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta. – Backing Laura Mvula – Brahms’ Second Symphony with Bernard Haitink. – Playing with my musical hero, Wynton Marsalis. – Berlioz Operas conducted by Sir Colin Davis. – Backing Deep Purple – Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet with the Lithuanian Ballet and Mstislav Rostropovich. – Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner. – Bernstein’s On the Town conducted by John Wilson at the 2018 Proms, sitting between Peter Moore & Andy Wood! Rather than parts or passages to watch out for, I would suggest that the two most important things to focus on are: • trying hard not to lose your facility as a second player, which can happen easily when stuck in quite a specific register in the orchestra. • always remaining alert as the ‘radar operator’ of the section and adapting to what you hear – always using your ears first! RB: Some of my favourite moments have included Mozart’s Requiem with Gary Howarth and Bartok’s Danse Suite and Miraculous Mandarin: there’s an excellent fast linked section with the first trombone in the latter. From the opera repertoire Britten’s Billy Budd and Peter Grimes, and Prokofiev’s For The Love of Three Oranges. Strauss’ Salome has a sudden technical flourish a bit like an extended version of that outburst in Elgar’s Froissart. Second players seem to hold their seats much longer than principal or bass trombonists; do you think there is a reason for this? JM: I wouldn’t for a second suggest that second players are lacking in ambition but might say that playing second does require quite a specific skill and sound quality. People that do this really well often devote a career to it. Perhaps in realising they are well suited to the position (and enjoying the buzz of being a ‘harmony instrument’), they become less likely to look elsewhere for different challenges(?) As individuals we are all suited to different things, and there are certainly first trombonists who are not suited to playing second (and vice versa)!
RB: I’m not sure why that is, or how often that is true. Is it the lack of stress? You have to play simple things really well, and that requires much practice in the bank and appropriate warm-ups and tactics. Having a good section is essential, but then you have to continue to be an expressive musician, and practise beyond the current requirements. A final question for Jim. After 23 years you recently left the LSO, what motivated that decision and what are your future plans? JM: Deciding to leave a great orchestra such as the LSO is always a huge decision. A number of factors brought me to that point – a mixture of suffering with tinnitus, struggling with playing and then the Covid pandemic. When I took some time out to try to address these issues, the pandemic had already decimated the music industry. In my six months off I was involved in a number of creative education projects in the community with young people, adults and those with learning difficulties. This was a wonderful experience for me, full of joy and humanity (and the reward of immediate ‘feedback’ as a musician, whilst enjoying playing in a very different way). It also clarified some things I already knew at heart: • • •
I wasn’t really happy as an orchestral musician anymore I was searching to be more creative (and had been for several years) I should have made this move (on creative grounds) a number of years earlier.
I will always feel hugely grateful and privileged for the amazing musical experiences I have had over the last 25 years, travelling the world to so many different countries and cultures, but I realised I didn’t want that life anymore (23 years is a long time to stay anywhere!). It became apparent how important creativity is to me. I had time to devote to something else I have always loved doing, writing music. Having been commissioned to write various works over the years, I now have time to concentrate properly on this and have begun publishing my own pieces, available from jimmaynardmusic.com and hope to do more of this, alongside my teaching, coaching and creative community projects. My most recent commission is a piece for Isobel Daws for Trombone & Piano which will be recorded (on the World of Brass label) and published in January 2022. Although it might sound strange, I feel lucky that I have had these issues with tinnitus and playing, as they have been the catalysts for me moving in a different, more creative, direction. As a result, I am a much happier person. ◆
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Reflecting Beethoven BY AL AN SWAIN
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hat a strange and unsettling 18 months it has been for everybody. At last concerts are happening with live audiences again. I reflect on the events of recent times as I begin the long drive from my house in Gloucestershire all the way down the M4, tracing the South coast of Wales to Pembrokeshire. 2020 was to be a big year for Beethoven, being 250 years since his birth. I wonder just how many concerts were cancelled last year? How have musicians around the world been coping with no income? Will we ever ‘get back to normal?’ Was the rupture so big that live music has changed forever? It’s 27 August 2021 and I’m driving to do a concert in St Davids Cathedral which features us playing two trombone quartets. Back in February, Welsh National Opera (WNO) broadcast a concert on Radio 3 from the excellent Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff. It was a Beethoven programme – a hangover from the previous year’s programming. The trombones played the Beethoven Drei Equali for four trombones. Roger Cutts, WNO principal trombone, had an idea of how we could use this broadcast to create a competition and increase the trombone quartet repertoire at the same time. He suggested to the student composers at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama that they compose a companion piece for the Beethoven Equali. We had six very different entries and the winner was chosen. Congratulations to Tomos Owen Jones for the winning
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entry, Three Equals for Trombone Quartet. And now I was on my way to St David’s, at the end of August, to perform the world première as part of a concert in the Fishguard Festival given by the Orchestra of WNO. Driving along I remember thinking about poor Beethoven. He wrote the trombone quartets in 1812. This means that if he wasn’t completely deaf by this point his hearing was certainly impaired. This must have been awful for him! Nowadays, especially with the help of things like the Paralympics, we have a deeper understanding of what it’s like being disabled. For Beethoven? Being a famous composer losing his hearing? And all at the beginning of the 19th century. No hearing aids, no occupational health, no insurance. It’s all a great contrast to today. As I continued past Cardiff on the M4 I started to think about other contrasts between then and now. We had been rehearsing Tomos’ piece that week and I started to compare his use of harmony with Beethoven’s. The modern one, as you might expect, was using much more dissonance. In addition, Tomos used a much wider dynamic range. There was a lovely fruity low B natural for me on the bass trombone. This note wasn’t even possible to reach on the trombones around in Beethoven’s time. I was looking forward to hearing that ringing around the cathedral. There were similarities too. Tomos carefully used similar voicing to the
THE FILLING IN THE SANDWICH
OUTSIDE ST. DAVIDS CATHEDRAL, ST DAVIDS. L -R THOMAS KILBY, DAFFYD THOMAS, TOMOS OWEN JONES, AL AN SWAIN , ROGER CUTTS. PHOTO CREDIT MATT DOWNES.
Beethoven at times before opening it out. The highest trombone is an alto in both cases. The lowest trombone could be played on a tenor for the Beethoven. Not so for the more modern piece because of the low range. Who did Beethoven have in mind when he wrote it? Was it local players? What kind of instruments did they have? Did Beethoven know these players well? Maybe he was already thinking of putting trombones in his next symphony. The 5th has two tenors and a bass. The 6th just two tenors. Nothing in 7 or 8. Back to three in the section for the great 9th. I grew quite poetic passing Port Talbot. In my mind the modern towers of the steel works spewing polluting smoke and noise into the air contrasted so romantically with the achingly beautiful South Welsh rolling hills and coastline. Just how the Beethoven contrasts with the piece written by Tomos Jones, the winning entry of the competition. We are again able to perform to a large audience after the enforced silence of the last 18 months. Music is alive and it touches us from across the centuries as we bring to life marks put on a piece of paper by one of the greatest composers to have ever lived. And we, the trombone section of Welsh National Opera, get the chance to play together again - something which we have all been wanting to do for so long. And then the
usual happened! I got stuck in heavy traffic at Swansea! Pop! There goes my reverie. The banality of modern life came back, and I started to do the maths concerning the rest of my journey. Panicking for the next fifty miles I began thinking that, like every musician I know, even though I had left with two hours to spare for just such a thing happening – I was going to be late! Argghh! Arriving with only a few moments to spare, the concert went really well. Tomos’ piece, on its world première, was very well received. I hope we get a chance to perform both pieces together again. I wonder if musicians will have traffic worries in 200 years from now? A workshop performance of Tomos Owen Jones’ Three Equals for Trombone Quartet, along with all the other entries to the WNO/RWCMD competition, can be found on the WNO YouTube channel Alan Swain is Principal Bass Trombone with Welsh National Opera, he also hosts a radio show every Saturday morning at 11am on www.edge.radio. ◆
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BY FIONA SMITH
MUSICIANS' HEALTH
The Pursuit of Happiness A story of how one individual’s positive mental attitude allowed them to follow their passions in life.
Sitting bored and uncomfortably cross-legged in the school assembly hall, something had finally caught my attention – a brass ensemble. At 9 years old, I was mesmerised by these shiny instruments making lots of interesting noises! Turns out, the people playing these instruments were from our local music centre and they had come to our school to give us a demonstration to find potential students for the next academic year! At 3.30pm, Mum came to pick me up from school, and I was still buzzing (pun intended!) from the excitement of that day. All the way home I would just not stop talking about this brass group. As soon as I got home, I opened my bag and thrust all the information sheets I had been given (along with the application form, of course) at my parents and begged them to read it, fill it in and post it as soon as humanly possible! I must admit however, I still did not have a clue what half the instruments were … but for some reason, they excited me very much! Although Mum and Dad tried their best to sound delighted, they had reservations … An interesting start to life … So, when Mum was pregnant, they noticed she was not putting on the usual weight, yet after having scans, other than me being slightly smaller than average, they had no immediate concerns. After a relatively quick birth, a 4lb 15oz me was brought into the world. Again, there were no concerns. Five weeks later however … the Health Visitor came to see me after my parents had expressed worries over my lack of feeding and my constant crying. It was at this visit where the Health Visitor also noticed my breathing was laboured; thus, an X-ray was ordered by my Paediatrician. 42
Sitting in the Doctor’s office, Mum and Dad were told my X-ray had shown up an ‘abnormal shaped lung’ and although they were told not to worry just yet, I would have to be sent to a specialist unit for more tests. At just over two months old, my parents were given the news no parent wants to hear, ‘Your child has a rare lung condition (Scimitar Syndrome) which means she effectively has one functioning lung. She also has two holes in the heart and some other complex issues that will require surgery. Without it, her chance of survival is 30 percent’. Although hard, my parents knew there was no choice, and so by the age of two and a half years old, I had undergone three corrective surgeries. Small child, big world … Growing up was difficult, I was only the size of an ant, and was always ill with numerous chest infections. I also spent most of my infant and junior school years on antibiotics, in addition to three years on growth hormone because of being shorter than my peers – being jabbed every evening by Mum was not something that thrilled me it must be said, but if I wanted a height boost, it had to be done; albeit I’m still the size of a half-pint now at only 4 feet 9 inches. Regardless of my shortcomings in life, I was never one to shy away from anything, and my parents knew this. But was playing a brass instrument really going to help me along the way? Testing out the metal … It was the new academic year, and I had been given my first Bb cornet. Although my cardiologists had given my parents the green light, they were still uncertain whether I would be able to cope. They were the first to admit they
MUSICIAN'S HEALTH
For general information on heart, lung or respiratory conditions please see: British Heart Foundation British Lung Foundation About the Author: Fiona Smith graduated in 2009 from the University of Huddersfield with a degree in music performance and, in 2020, was awarded a Masters by Research at the same institution for her work, which focused on performance anxiety and coping strategies in brass band players. Fiona has over 25 years of playing experience, is a part-time brass teacher, and is currently undertaking her doctorate (University of Huddersfield). ◆
A degree of confidence … In November 2009, I stood proud. I had done it. A Bachelor of Music degree with honours, majoring in performance. I think back to that little girl I once was, having to take breaths every bar and going red in the face doing so. I had nothing to prove, but I can’t say I wasn’t proud of this moment. Although it hasn’t been easy at times, with time, practise, and patience I sincerely believe playing a brass instrument has done wonders for my health, particularly as I have got older, from better heart function and lung capacity, fewer chest infections, and the absence of Set challenges to suit the medication to treat my conditions.
individual. Because heart, lung and respirator y conditions can fluctuate and change overtime, you may need to be more patient and considerate of this.
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A learning curve for all As a brass teacher, I have met many individuals over the years with varying abilities and/or personal health challenges, such as permanent lung damage and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and know only too well the physical benefits that brass playing can have on an individual through my own experience and by teaching others. However, for me, playing can also have a massive impact on mental health too, from lowering anxiety and depression, and improving emotional and social well-being, things which in the last few years, researchers have
Somone with a hear t or lung condition may not neccessarily have the same lung capacit y or stamina as other students, so tr y to be patient and accomodating
Make sure your student understands they should never compare themselves with anyone else.
Of ten those with limiting health conditions will struggle more, will feel dif ferent to their peers, and subsequently may get frustrated. It's impor tant as their teacher to therefore create a positive environment at all times and encourage your student to reflect on their playing at regular inter vals
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Sometimes people with hear t, lung or respirator y conditions tire more easily, tr y to consider this when teaching. i.e. Of fer shor ter lessons and if they student feels able, increase it slowly
If you gain a new student with a heart, lung or other respirator y condition, always make sure their doctor/consultant has said they are OK to play before teaching them.
◀
A decade on … I’m sat in the cardiologist’s room awaiting my results from my yearly check-up, the consultant turns to me and asks: ‘You do athletics, right?’. I look puzzled and answer honestly ‘Erm, no’. ‘Rigorous exercise then?’. ‘Definitely not, I don’t like exercise at all’. By this point I’m getting worried, Mum also. The consultant then explains that my heart pressures, which have always been higher, have been progressively lowering to almost normal levels for a few years now and they couldn’t quite put their finger on how and why. It was only after this I chirrup up about playing the soprano cornet. Now there was food for thought for my cardiologist.
been keen to highlight, particularly within the wider brass-playing community. Over my 25-year playing career I have had many challenges to overcome because of my heart and lung conditions, and so as a teacher I have a considerable amount of understanding and respect for any individual who wants to learn to play, particularly when they have additional barriers to overcome. Borne out of my own experience as a performer and teacher, here is some practical advice and top tips for teachers who may have students who have heart, lung, or respiratory conditions.◆
◀
had no experience of a child with CHD/SS playing a brass instrument and so it was new territory for all; I was given a term to see how I handled it! A full term in, I have practised religiously each day for 10 minutes, but how was I doing? According to my teacher, ‘Fiona may not have the breath control of most students, but regardless of what she does not have, she definitely makes up for in spirit and can certainly blast out a tune!’.
Warming up with some gentle breathing exercises is an excellent way of opening your air ways, but remember if a student has got a hear t or lung condition there is an increased chance of feeling faint/dizziness. Be mindful of this, and if this does happen, get your student to sit down and rest
◀
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BY JEREMY PRICE
JAZZ BY JEREMY POP TROMBONE; NOT A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS.
What place does the trombone have in the popular consciousness of the nation? Is to examine “popular trombone” to examine an oxymoron?! Let’s admit it, our BTS membership is pretty much a niche within a niche.
Within this particular bubble, metaphorical or virtual twitter bubble, we have the reassurance of our peers similarly enthusing with evangelical zeal about the trombone. But outside of that, most people aren’t really sure what a trombone is. When asked “what’s in the case mate?” by a fellow traveller, have you ever found yourself saying “no, no, you’re thinking of a trumpet. I mean the slidey one.” And you then proceed to mime and vocalise a glissando in the hope that your perplexed companion may finally get it. I remember going through this routine once at an airport check-in. The usual hand-luggage debacle of “What’s in the case?” got a very perplexed face when I thought I had said “trombone” very clearly. “You know, musical instrument.” To be super-clear I kept saying “trom” and “bone” in separate syllables, smiling and doing the slidey-mimey thing. It wasn’t working. The orange perma-tanned assistant eventually handed me a luggage label saying, “Drum Bone.” Now that would be great instrument. Please send in your designs for the drumbone to the BTS and we’ll get Mick Rath to make one! But onto this issue’s transcription and a quick guided tour through popular trombone. I want to give you something you can sing and mime to strangers when they ask what a trombone is, and I want them to know what you mean! Now you can say “Groove Armada, At the River” and sing them the very hip line that absolutely everybody knows. Here’s a YouTube link.
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Thank you Andy Cato, founder member of Groove Armada, for launching the trombone so successfully into the public consciousness. It’s been fun researching this song. I’ve found out that Andy Cato is from Barnsley, brought up steeped in the brass band tradition and was in the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Couldn’t have scripted that. Somebody score a brass band version quick! He co-wrote this track with Tom Findlay by sampling a Patti Page record from the 1950’s called Old Cape Cod. This opening vocal line is completely dropped in verbatim, but slowed down which moves it from Bb to Ab. Therein lies the genius moment as the trombone solo in Ab lies beautifully under the slide. If they hadn’t slowed it down, I wonder if they’d have found such an easy-going bluesey line that defines this iconic chill-out track we now all know, without having to try. As for the actual trombone solo, I love that they kept in the “burst” notes on the second time of the theme and didn’t retake for a cleaner sound. The top C down to the bluesy b5 D natural is really fun to play, along with the Cb being a lazy reach that sounds better the sloppier you are with the slide position. Ultimate chillout trombone playing on the ultimate chillout record. Here’s a live version to watch messianic level trombone worship from the masses. Incredible. So, what else might Joe Punter know of the trombone? Little Sis Nora “blows that big trombone” at a staggering sixteen million YouTube hits although there’s not much trombone playing to report. But firmly in the
JAZZ BY JEREMY
public consciousness is the great Rico Rodriguez through the Ska and Reggae scene. You will all know A Message to You Rudy and Ghost Town by The Specials for the trombone riffs. Going further back than that, perhaps everybody has heard the trombone from Sinatra’s I’ve got You Under my Skin and the numerous versions of Mad About the Boy from Dinah Washington, Eartha Kitt and more recently Caro Emerald with Jools Holland. But otherwise, there’s plenty of room for more pop trombone but you’ll have to go far to beat the popstadium roar and recognition that Andy Cato gets in Groove Armada. Get Super-stylin’ your trombone everybody! ◆
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LINK: ROB EGERTON JAZZ TRANSCRIPTIONS
Trombone
Andy Cato's Solo On...
At The River Groove Armada
q = 66
œœ ? bb b 44 ‰ù b
A¨ œ
3
4
? bb b b
D¨‹ œ
E¨‹ D7 D¨ . œ œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ œ œ n œ ™ ùJ œ œ ù ù œ œ. œ Œ ‰ùœJ Œ Œ ‰ A¨ œ E¨‹ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ D7 ™ b œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ ù ù œ. Œ Œ ‰ J
œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
D¨ 7
? bb b b 9
? bb b b
<b> œ œ œ
‰™
¿ œ R
D¨‹ œ
œ ‰
. ùb œ ∫ œ œ™™ œ œ bœ
A¨
˙
Ó
Copyright © Rob Egerton Jazz Transcriptions 46
LINK: ROB EGERTON JAZZ TRANSCRIPTIONS
Bb Treble Clef
Andy Cato's Solo On...
At The River Groove Armada
q = 66
b 4 ‰ùœ œ b & 4
œ
B¨
3
œ œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ ™ bœ œ. œ œ . œ Œ Œ ‰ ùJ œ œ ù ù œ œ Œ ‰ ùJ F‹
E7
E¨
E¨‹ B¨ F‹ E7 . . œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ b œ œ ™ # œ # œ œ œ œ œ Œ Œ ‰ œ œ b J ù ù & œ
4
7
E¨
b & b <b> œ b˙ b &
9
B¨
œ
œ
‰™
¿ œ R
E¨‹ œ
œ
‰
. ùb œ
bœ œ™™
œ
œ
nœ
Ó
Copyright © Rob Egerton Jazz Transcriptions
47
I ST EN IN
The listening lounge BY AL ASTAIR WARREN
In this edition of The Listening Lounge BTS Award winner Carol Jarvis, and BTS Committee members Simon Minshall, Tom Lees and Jon Stokes nominate a favourite track each to delight the ears and stimulate further exploration. 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.
AIRMEN OF NOTE
RIC HARD STRAUSS
TED HEATH
LES SACBOUTIERS
– BONE VOYAGE
– AN ALPINE SYMPHONY
– I’LL CLOSE MY EYES
DE TOULOUSE
Dave Steinmeyer’s trombone playing on And We Will Love Again from the 1984 album Bone Voyage is to die for, and across the whole album to be honest. Ballad playing is some of the hardest trombone playing to really do well, and Steinmeyer isn’t a trombonist of ten spoken about amongst a list of ’the greats’, but he’s absolutely on that list for me: the super Bb on this track is the best super Bb you’ll ever hear! And his final long note is just perfection.
I never tire of hearing this work! Richard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony involves upwards of 120 musicians and truly is, in my opinion, one of the most life -af firming and magical pieces of music ever written. This excerpt is Dangerous Moments-On the Summit. As part of the 4 strong trombone section on stage, we get to play the most beautiful chorales to the ear splitting crashes of thunder. Strauss' music really does showcase the brass. This recording by the London Symphony Orchestra is one of my favourites and reminds me of the true magic of amazing brass section playing.
Don Lusher and the Ted Heath Band playing I’ll Close My Eyes. Beautiful tune. Great arrangement. Expertly played. This particular recording is part of a series in which Ted Heath gives advice on orchestration and arrangement, so be sure to listen right to the end….. As a bonus, check out this video of the United House of Prayer band. The energy and passion are electric. I love the gentle hum of the backings, the unmoving rhythm and exuberant sousaphone coupled with a powerful delivery of the melody. Thank you Daddy!
– DIEGO ORTIZ
Carol Jarvis – BTS Sheila Tracey Award Winner 2021.
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Simon Minshall – BTS President.
Jon Stokes – BTS Vice -President.
Spanish viol virtuoso and composer Diego Ortiz‘ Trattado de Glosas (1553) is a treatise on ornamentation, ranked as one of the most influential theoretical works on performance of the Renaissance. This live performance by Daniel Lassalle of Recercada segunda sobre tenores italianos is given an extra kick by the additional percussion and rattled of f with ease!. Tom Lees – BTS Chairman.
Winter 2021 crossword CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS CROSSWORD 1
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For your chance to win a copy of Jim Anderson's Book Travels with My Tuba, email a copy of the completed crossword to editor@britishtrombonesociety.org by 13 January 2022. 49
From the Stage to the Pit … While the caution continues for us all, doing this edition’s symphonic picks was really quite difficult. Not for lack of choices, quite the opposite! If performances remain possible then the upcoming concerts in the UK orchestral scene are absolutely mouth-watering. Here are just a few of the best and most interesting programmes I came across, but please do have a look yourselves as there’s undoubtedly something for everyone coming up in the very near future! Also worth noting at the time of going to press, most of the BBC Orchestras and the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland are yet to release their 2022 seasons, so you may want to check them out when they’re announced.
BY JOSH CIRTINA // PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE IN THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORC HESTRA
SYMPHONIC HIGHLIGHTS LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – UNSUK CHIN,
BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY AND ROYAL SCOTTISH
SIBELIUS & BARTOK
NATIONAL ORCHESTRAS – HARMONIELEHRE
7.00pm, Thursday, 6 January Barbican, London Here’s one to really get the new year off to a great start. Sir Simon Rattle leads his orchestra through a thrilling programme featuring a world premiere of Unsuk Chin’s new Violin Concerto with the astounding talents of Leonidas Kavakos, followed by Sibelius’ glorious Seventh Symphony and concluding with one of (in my opinion) the greatest works of the 20th Century – Bartok’s simply scintillating Miraculous Mandarin.
7.30pm, Wednesday, 9 February Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow A rare event! The BBC Scottish Symphony and the Royal Scottish National Orchestras, conducted by Kevin John Edusei, join forces for what is sure to be a thrilling evening featuring a UK premiere from Carlijn Metselaar, Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto, performed by Maria Dueñas, and Adam’s absolutely colossal Harmonielehre.
BBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – TOTAL IMMERSION: FRANK ZAPPA LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – POEMS OF ECSTASY
7.00pm, Saturday, 22 January Royal Festival Hall, London You should be ECSTATIC about this one…Karina Canellakis commands the forces of the LPO in Scriabin’s positively effervescing and abundantly colourful Fourth Symphony (The Poem of Ecstasy), but before this we can enjoy Cédric Tiberghien performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Boulanger’s dreamy D’un sour triste and Wagner’s stunning Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde.
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From 11.00am, Saturday, 19 March Barbican, London Arguably one of the greatest 20th Century influences on music, Frank Zappa is the focus of the BBC Symphony’s March ‘Total Immersion’ day. Zappa’s music is famed for its huge variety of influences from classical modernism and rock and roll to free improvisation and cultural satire. Worth a listen!
FROM THE STAGE …
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
– WALTON FIRST SYMPHONY
– SIBELIUS VIOLIN CONCERTO & PROKOFIEV
7.30pm, Wednesday, 23 March Royal Festival Hall, London Britten’s timeless The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra opens this concert in style featuring each section of the RPO. Pablo Ferrandez then joins the orchestra for what is considered to be one of the most challenging works for the cello, Shostakovich’s First Concerto. Conductor Vasily Petrenko then takes us back to the tumultuous 1930’s with Walton’s First Symphony, written when he was just 33 (and rather well known for its pretty thrilling brass writing).
FIFTH SYMPHONY
7.30pm, Thursday, 31 March Philharmonic Hall The RPLO’s website states: ‘Forged in the crucible of war and premiered to the sound of gunfire, Prokofiev's massive Fifth Symphony is dedicated to “the greatness of the human spirit”.’ If that’s not enough to make you go along then what is? Contrasting with Sibelius’ epic Violin Concerto, performed by Maria Dueñas, and Nielsen’s Overture, Pan and Syrinx this is a seriously great programme, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan.
BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA – SOVIET HERITAGE
7.30pm, Thursday, 31 March Lighthouse, Poole This rather interestingly curated programme features Kirill Petrenko conducting Karayev’s rarely heard ballet The Seven Beauties inspired by Azerbaijani folk music, a world première from Franghiz Ali-Zadeh called Cosmology (also infusing Azerbaijani musical traditions) and Shostakovich’s most violent Twelfth Symphony.
BY BEC KY SMITH // PRINCIPAL TROMBONE AT THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA
OPERA PICKS If you have never been to an opera, I urge you to take the leap and have a night out! There is such a wide variety being performed over the coming months throughout the UK, there is surely something to suit every taste. Puccini is a great place to start, and probably no better way than to watch Madam Butterfly. The score is glorious with a powerful story. Welsh National Opera is performing this from 30 November through to 14 May, at venues across the country. The Royal Opera House in London is performing Tosca (my favourite Puccini opera, you have to go just to hear the opening few bars!) and that runs from 5 December until 22 February. English National Opera is putting on its classic Jonathan Miller production of La Bohème, another one full of beautiful music, running from 31 January until 27 February. If you like Verdi (think the Grand March from Aida, the Drinking Song ‘Brindisi’ from La Traviata, the tune from Jean de Florette taken from La Forza del Destino, also used in a Stella Artois ad!), then you have a couple of options to choose from. The Royal Opera House is performing Nabucco, which includes the famous Chorus
of the Hebrew Slaves, from 20 December through to 23 January. Opera North is putting on Rigoletto from 22 January through to 1 April at venues throughout the North of England. If Mozart is more your choice then you could go to the comic opera The Marriage of Figaro, at the Royal Opera House from 9 January until 27 January. Welsh National Opera is performing Don Giovanni, another comic opera of Mozart’s in which the trombones only appear near the end, though not in comedy style but in the Cemetery scene representing a supernatural force! You can see this opera from 18 February through to 13 May at venues across the UK. A few more highlights of lesser-known operas, but with really fantastic music, that I would strongly recommend are Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten at the Royal Opera House from 17 to 31 March, Cunning Little Vixen by Janàček at English National Opera from 18 February until 1 March, and finally another Britten work, A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by Scottish Opera in Glasgow and Edinburgh from 22 February until 5 March. Totally worth making a weekend of! ◆ 51
What’s
on
By Alastair Warren 2021
2022
OLD DIRTY BRASSTARDS The Big Brassy Xmas Party 7.00pm, Wednesday, 15 December XOYO, London
HANNABIELL SANDERS African American Jamaican bass trombonist Dr Hannabiell Sanders is a Sage Gateshead 2021–22 Artist in Residence Dates across 2022 Sage, Gateshead
Big Brassy Xmas Bash 7.00pm, Saturday, 18 December Arts Club, Liverpool SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA A Christmas Festival of Jazz 7.30pm, Sunday, 19 December Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh JINGLE BELL BRASS A Stan Kenton Christmas Spectacular 1.00pm, Friday, 17 December Regent’s Hall, London
LP SWING ORCHESTRA Touring January to April Venues across the Southeast THE NICK ROSS ORCHESTRA Touring January to April Venues across the North and Midlands OLD DIRTY BRASSTARDS Old Dirty Brasstards perform Beyoncé’s Greatest Hits 7.00pm, Saturday, 22 January Omeara, London ROSIE TURTON 8.00pm, Tuesday, 25 January Windmill, Brixton
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BRITISH OPEN BRASS BAND CHAMPIONSHIP 10.30am, Sunday, 23 January Symphony Hall, Birmingham
HACKNEY COLLIERY BAND Various times, Tuesday, 8 to Saturday, 12 March Wilton’s Music Hall, London
THE BRASS FUNKEYS 7pm, Friday, 28 January Junction 2, Cambridge
ELLENA NEWTON Rimsky-Korsakov Trombone Concerto with Westmorland Orchestra 7.30pm, Saturday, 26 March Westmorland Hall, Kendal
ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC BRASS BAND FESTIVAL Including performances on 29 January by Peter Moore of Simon Dobson’s Shift and by Brett Baker of Philip Wilby’s Light Fantastic Friday, 28 to Sunday, 30 January Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
BRETT BAKER Benjamin Ellin Pandora – Concerto for Trombone with Southampton Concert Wind Band 7.30pm, Saturday, 26 March Turner Sims, University of Southampton
DAT BRASS The 9 piece Hip Hop Brass Band supports Huey Morgan’s NYC Bloc Party 9.00pm, Saturday, 29 January The Globe, Cardiff 9.00pm, Friday, 4 February Sub 89, Reading 9.00pm, Saturday, 12 March The Mill, Birmingham 9.00pm, Saturday, 26 March The Warehouse, Leeds BRASS BAND LEAGUE NORTHERN IRELAND Solos and Ensembles 9.00am, Saturday, 12 February Malone Presbyterian Church Halls, Belfast Brass in Concert Friday, 4 and Saturday, 5 March The Valley Hotel, Fivemiletown Spring Festival 1.00pm, Saturday, 9 April The Strule Arts Theatre, Omagh SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA POP! ROCK! SOUL 7.30pm, Thursday, 24 February Gardyne Theatre, Dundee 7.30pm, Friday, 25 February Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh 7.30pm, Saturday, 26 February Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
ENGLISH CORNETT AND SACKBUTT ENSEMBLE Super Excellent with I Fagiolini 7.30pm, Thursday, 10 March St Martin-in-the-Fields, London Brumel Mass with members of ECSE Brighton Early Music Festival Sunday, 20 March Venue tbc, Brighton The Glories of Venice with Levens Choir 7.30pm, Saturday, 9 April Lancaster Priory Church, Lancaster 7.30pm, Sunday, 10 April Parish Church of St. George, Kendal LONDON SINFONIETTA Tapestries – World première of works by George Lewis and Alex Paxton 7.30pm, Thursday, 31 March Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London NATIONAL YOUTH BRASS BAND NYBB are joined by guest soloist, Norwegian trombonist Grethe Tonheim 7.30pm, Saturday, 16 April Town Hall, Huddersfield
Do you know of an event that should feature in our next publication? LET US KNOW
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