The Trombonist - Winter 2011

www.britishtrombonesociety.org

An orchestral life for me

THE TROMBONIST WISHES ALL BTS MEMBERS A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Winter 2011 £2.50

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PRELUDE

CONTACTS British Trombone Society www.britishtrombonesociety.org Honorary Patron: Gordon Campbell Executive Board President

Editor’s Introduction by Joanna Cambray-Young

Brett Baker 01606 783869 president@britishtrombonesociety.org Vice-President Carol Jarvis vicepresident@britishtrombonesociety.org Chair Ben Bouzan eastanglia@britishtrombonesociety.org Secretary Geoff Wolmark 01377 202209 1-3 Church Street, Hutton, Driffield, Yorks, YO25 9PR

Hello again! This is the second issue of The Trombonist that I’ve edited and it’s packed with fascinating articles, as always, to keep you entertained and informed through

secretary@britishtrombonesociety.org

these cold winter months.

Treasurer David Carnac

After getting up-to-date with all the latest

treasurer@britishtrombonesociety.org Development Officer Stewart Drummond education@britishtrombonesociety.org Staff Membership Manager Lisa Penn 0844 4457931 membership@britishtrombonesociety.org

news from the BTS and the wider trombone world, you can read all about some of the BTS events that were held this Autumn.

Webmaster Edward Solomon 07903 152148

In fact, there have been so many events

webmaster@britishtrombonesociety.org

over the past few months that a few of the

Associate Webmaster Mike Saville webmaster2@britishtrombonesociety.org Please submit news items for the website to David Read: news@britishtrombonesociety.org The Trombonist Editor Joanna Cambray-Young 07901 733719 editor@britishtrombonesociety.org Publishing and Distribution British Bandsman Advertising Gregan Quick 01933 445474

write-ups will now feature in the Spring 2012 issue. Our Star-of-the-Future, Richard Leonard, shows that he is not just a great trombone player but also a keen writer - you can read his review of two trombone duet books on page 32.

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We always try to achieve a good balance of articles about different

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genres of trombone playing, and in this issue we have several items

The Trombonist is published quarterly.

Please send reviews to Ben Henderson

featuring jazz and swing players - such as Mark Nightingale’s tips on

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jazz improvisation and an interview with the legendary Bill Tole. On

Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 4AZ

the orchestral side, we find out more about Dudley Bright, spend a

Representatives Scotland Chris Stearn 01360 860220

week with Roger Cutts and discover what Phil Harrison is up to these

scotland@britishtrombonesociety.org

days.

Wales Arlene MacFarlane 07773 290975 wales@britishtrombonesociety.org North East & Yorkshire Paul Woodward 01924 823840 northeast@britishtrombonesociety.org North West Kerry Baldwin 07920 022395

As a special Christmas treat, we have a crossword for you to complete, so snuggle up in front of the fire with a cup of something warming and enjoy the rest of the magazine.

northwest@britishtrombonesociety.org Midlands Ben Henderson +44 (0)7841 755155 midlands@britishtrombonesociety.org Northern Ireland Stephen Cairns 02892 602646 northernireland@britishtrombonesociety.org South Chris Mackey 07758 451146 south@britishtrombonesociety.org South West Tony Evans 01752 263069

Lots of people are now beginning to send in their news and articles, which is great - keep them coming! To help you, please aim to get articles to me by the deadlines below. We may occasionally need to put an article in a later issue to balance out the content, so that’s

southwest@britishtrombonesociety.org

there’s always something for everyone, so don’t worry if your article

East Anglia Ben Bouzan 07970 502509

doesn’t appear, we haven’t forgotten about it.

eastanglia@britishtrombonesociety.org Wessex Bruce Harding 01202 880814 wessex@britishtrombonesociety.org Brass Band Paul Woodward 01924 823840 brassband@britishtrombonesociety.org Jazz Jeremy Price jazz@britishtrombonesociety.org Young People James Howard 07906 392992

Spring 2012 - Monday 20 January 2012 Summer 2012 - Monday 30 March 2012 Autumn 2012 - Monday 6 July 2012 Winter 2012 - Monday 12 October 2012

youngrep@britishtrombonesociety.org

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 3

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BONECOVER OF CONTENTION STORY

President’s Address

Winter 2011

Dear Membership, As we approach Christmas, and the end of my first year as President, I am really proud of what has been achieved in the last 12 months - a great looking magazine, a great website and an average of more than one event every month.

I’d like to thank all of the Executive Committee, the regional reps and hosts of the BTS events for all their hard work. The AGM was very up-beat and I am pleased that we are now seriously looking at charitable status and determining the strategy of the BTS over the next five years, as well as reviewing membership subscriptions for the long term. Following discussion at the AGM, and in the Executive Board, we have decided to increase subscriptions in all categories by £4.00 from October 2012. This will allow us to meet our current commitment to produce four magazines a year, to run an average of one event a month and expand activities in some areas. A full explanation of why this is needed and how we plan to spend the budget will follow, in the Spring 2012 issue of The Trombonist.

I am delighted that, in 2011, we have had lots of involvement and input from professional players such Matt Gee, Dan Jenkins, Dudley Bright, Andy Wood, Adrian Morris, Simon Johnson, Kevin Morgan, Mike Hext and Mark Nightingale, not only at events but also in their contribution to the quality of the magazine articles (sorry if I have missed someone!). I am also pleased that the regional reps are now much better at celebrating their events by sending in write-ups and photos of BTS days that take place. Please keep up the good work - readers of the magazine have reported back to me that they really like this.

This year, we have focused on events to encourage, mentor and motivate young trombone players, as well as having a general drive to increase membership of the BTS. Many members were unaware that their membership had expired and so we are now rectifying that situation.

We have also seen our first ever BTS Awards ceremony take place and can I congratulate the winners, who are all worthy recipients (see below for more details). The results were announced at the BTS AGM on 2 October 2011.

In September and early October there was a flurry of BTS activity, with events all around the country: Porth-ywaen, Wessex, Oundle, Beverley and Leeds. Although these events were very different they all had something in common (apart from trombone playing!) - they were well attended and everyone was extremely enthusiastic. It seems that giving more advance notice of events and advertising them well is working. I just need to ask you, the membership, to submit your requests for events to your regional reps so we can keep this level of activity going.

I hope you enjoy the winter issue of the Trombonist and wish you all a happy and prosperous 2012.

Brett Baker BTS President

Awards BTS Award winners for 2011 were:

Trombone Player: Mark Nightingale - Trombone Teacher: Jo Hirst - Young trombonist / Student trombonist: Simon Minshall Other outstanding contribution to the trombone: Denis Wick

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 5

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NEWS

Black Dyke

Brett finds solos

Arthur Wilson

Band launches

lost in the mists

Award

trombone

of time

apprentice scheme

In carrying out some research for his lecture recital next year, Brett Baker, President of the BTS and Black Dyke’s principal trombone player, has managed to unearth some forgotten solos that really should be more widely performed.

For instance, the first Sonata Quinta

by Dario Castello written in 1620 in Venice is a charming piece that Brett has rearranged from its original version for Sackbut, Violin and basso continuo to cornet, trombone, tuba and keyboard.

He has also found a Concertino by Novakosky, written in 1840, another Concertino by J.P. Muller and a third Concertino, this time by J.C. Kuhne. In New Jersey, Steve Dillon is engraving a piece written by Leo Zimmerman that has not been performed since being written 100 years ago, while in Washington DC, another arranger is looking to create a piano score from a wind band version of a piece called Phenomenal Polka by Frederick Innes. Born in London, Innes was a virtuoso trombone player who ended up playing in the Gilmore Band in the 1880s, before setting up his own band rivalling that of Sousa. Excerpts of these pieces will be played at the Northwest BTS Event in Salford on 12 February 2012.

The annual award of £2,000 will be made in memory of the late Arthur Wilson, former principal trombone of The Philharmonia and English Chamber orchestras and Professor of Trombone at the RCM from 1967 to 1999. The award will benefit a post-graduate trombone student on the orchestral pathway at the RCM and the first beneficiary is Katherine Hart, a 22 year-old trombone player from Lincolnshire.

Katherine began playing the trombone at the age of nine and appeared with the Lincolnshire Youth Symphonic Wind Band and Symphonic Orchestra as well as the Boston Youth Jazz Orchestra, before moving to London to take up a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD). While at the GSMD Katherine has performed with the Philharmonia Brass Quintet and began appearing with the Jersey Symphony Orchestra as a regular guest musician. She is a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the London Jazz Orchestra as well as being a founding member of Quintabile, a brass quintet formed at the GSMD in 2007. At the GSMD Katherine studied with Peter Gane and completed her BMus in July 2011. She will join the RCM in September to begin the Master of Performance.

Black Dyke Band has announced the formation of a trombone apprentice scheme and youth trombone quartet to give young trombone players experience at being involved with a brass band at the highest level.

As part of the scheme, young players will get to sit in on band rehearsals, gaining an insight into what happens in recordings and concerts, and perform at events such as the Black Dyke Festival as well as various British Trombone Society workshops up and down the country. The quartet will be mentored by members of the Black Dyke trombone section and players in the scheme will be invited to play solos at workshops and festivals, as well as being involved with the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band.

The quartet’s first engagement was at the BTS Event in Beverley on 1 October.

Principal trombone of Black Dyke, Brett Baker, commented: “I have been thinking about how it was such a shock for me back in the early ‘90s to have to process such a lot of new music and adjust to the intensity of rehearsals and busy concert diary as a young player. With this scheme, we hope to mentor many of tomorrow’s leading trombone soloists and give them a valuable experience in a supportive environment. We have many talented young players who do not get the opportunity to encounter the enjoyment of playing in the country’s finest venues and performing cutting-edge repertoire for concerts and recordings. I would be delighted if we could announce that we have an octet in place as part of the scheme by 2012!”

Leyland trombonist lifts Don Lusher Award Danny Brooks, principal trombone of Leyland Band, won the Don Lusher Trombone Award for best trombone at the annual Brass in Concert Championship, held at The Sage Gateshead on 20 November.

Rhiannon Keeping up with

Symonds makes

the Joneses

final of the

The Trombonist magazine has learnt that Christian Jones has been appointed as bass trombone at Opera North and Katy Jones has been appointed principal trombone of the Hallé Orchestra.

Early in 2012, Christian and Katy Jones will be leaving the London scene and moving ‘up North’ to take up prestigious new appointments. After nine years as the Philharmonia’s bass trombone, Christian is to join Opera North to play bass and contrabass trombone, and Katy is going from co-principal trombone at the LSO to principal trombone of the Hallé. Both are naturally very excited about the move and we hope to have an article about their new adventure in the spring 2012 issue.

Ambition AXA Awards Thanks to all of you who voted for star young trombonist Rhiannon Symonds, from Yorkley. She has made it through to the final in the Ambition AXA Awards in the Arts category, along with filmmaker, Alfie Barker, 15, and violinist Clare ReesZimmermann, also 15. The winner will win £40,000 towards developing their career.

Rhiannon is the current principal trombone of the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Wales and first trombone of the National Youth Brass Band of Wales.

She was also a member of the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain from 2006 to 2010.

news- neues-nieuws-nouvelles-news- neuesnieuws-nouvelles-news- neues-nieuws-nouvelles THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 7

ON THE HORIZON British Trombone Society Open Day (www.britishtrombonesociety.org) South East, 26 March 2012 Bromley Methodist Church, College Road, Bromley, BR1 3NS Please help the organisers by pre-registering your attendance by emailing Brett Baker at president@britishtrombonesociety.org Don’t forget to bring your trombone and join the ‘BTS Trombone Choir’ Entry: £10 non-members, or £5 to BTS Members Includes meal and tea/coffee £10 Evening Concert £10 to non-performers 9.30-10.00 9.45-10.30 10.30-11.00 11.00-11.30 11.30-12.30 12.30-1.30 1.00-2.15 2.15-3.00 3.00-3.30 3.30-4.10 4.15-5.00 5.00 6.30pm

Registration and coffee Warm-up and massed blow with Brett Baker Recital - TBA Coffee break Brett Baker lecture recital Lunch Bon-a-fide Quartet recital Master-class Dudley Bright Coffee break Massed blow Bass trombone workshop Rehearsal for band and soloists CONCERT

British Trombone Society Open Day (www.britishtrombonesociety.org) Northwest, 12 February 2012 Peel Hall (on Crescent), University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT Please help the organisers by pre-registering your attendance by emailing Brett Baker at president@britishtrombonesociety.org Entry: Free for BTS Members. £10 For Non-Members (it makes economic sense to visit the BTS website and join before attending the Open Day!).

Don’t forget to bring your trombone and join the ‘BTS Trombone Choir’ 9.30-10.00 10.00-10.45 10.45-11.30 11.30-12.30 12.30-1.30 1.30-2.45 2.45-3.00 3.00-4.10 4.00-4.30 4.30-5.30 6.30pm 8.00pm

Registration and coffee Massed Blow with Brett Baker Salford University recital students Davur Juul Magnussen Masterclass Lunch Lecture recital by Brett Baker and Fenella Haworth-Smith Coffee break Massed Blow No. 2 with Davur Juul Magnussen Stephen Lomas Recital Jiggs Wiggam Masterclass CONCERT Pub with jazz evening

British Trombone Society Open Day (www.britishtrombonesociety.org) Yorkshire and North East, 29 January 2012 School of Music, Humanities and Media, Creative Arts Building,The University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH Please help the organisers by pre-registering your attendance by emailing Brett Baker at president@britishtrombonesociety.org Entry: Free for BTS Members. £10 For Non-Members (It makes economic sense to visit the BTS website and join before attending the Open Day!).

Don’t forget to bring your trombone and join the ‘BTS Trombone Choir’ 9.00-9.30 9.30-10.00 10.00-11.00 11.00-11.30 11.30-12.00 12.00-12.30 12.30-1.30 1.30-2.00 2.00-2.30 2.30-3.10 3.10-3.30 3.30-4.30 4.30-5.00 5.00 6.30pm

Registration and coffee Massed Blow No. 1 and warm-up Brett Baker - History of Solo Music 1620-1915 Break Adrian Hirst Recital Band of the Yorkshire Regiment Quartet and chat with James Howard Lunch Quartet recital with David Carnac and Trombonanza (Black Dyke Hudds Quartet) The Leyland Band Duet Massed Blow No. 2 Break Davur Juul Magnussen Masterclass Q &A with Davur and Adrian Rehearsal for band and soloists CONCERT with Huddersfield Band and soloists, Yorkshire Regiment Quartet and Black Dyke Band Quartet. Soloists: Davur Juul Magnussen, Brett Baker, Stephen Lomas

British Trombone Society supports Blast Off (www.britishtrombonesociety.org) Gloucester, 29 January 2012 Admission: £5 for BTS Members, £8 for Non-Members, plus concessions.

Don’t forget to bring your trombone and some lunch!

With Bones Apart and Mark Templeton of the LPO (tbc).

For further details please contact Omar Khokher: o.khokher@mac.com

Give us one good reason not to be there!

British Trombone Society Open Day

British Trombone Society Open Day (www.britishtrombonesociety.org) Midlands, 25 February 2012 Leicester Grammar School, London Road, Great Glen, Leics, LE8 9FL Please help the organisers by pre-registering your attendance by emailing Brett Baker at president@britishtrombonesociety.org Entry: Free for BTS Members. £10 For Non-Members (it makes economic sense to visit the BTS website and join before attending the Open Day!). Don’t forget to bring your trombone and join the ‘BTS Trombone Choir’ 9.30-10.00 Registration and coffee 10.00-10.45 Massed Blow No. 1 with Chris Jeans 10.45-11.30 University recital students (Black Dyke Youth Quartet) / Trombonanaza 11.30-12.30 Matt Gee Masterclass 12.30-1.30 Lunch 1.30-2.30 Brett Baker masterclass on the History of Solo Music for trombone, 1620-1915

PAGE 8 | THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011

2.30-3.00 3.00-3.30 3.30-4.15 4.30-5.30 6.30pm

Stephen Lomas Recital with Danny Brooks Coffee break Massed Blow No. 2 with Dávur Juul Magnussen Royal Scottish National Orchestra Demonstration CONCERT

SLIDES

...and it’s a wrap!

On 27 July 2011, I arrived at Birmingham Conservatoire for what I was sure would be my first steps on the road to international trombone recording fame, hit records and mass adoration, for this was the day of the first ever BTS trombone choir and ensemble recording. A host of fabulous players (and me) gathered in the Adrian Boult Hall of the Conservatoire and waited for our moment of glory.

“Can we try to get the intonation together at letter C”, “...and... take 5, from letter C”, “can we do a patch for letter C, 2 bars before and stop at D”, “that’s fine for me”: voices from nowhere filled the hall after each take, is this how the pop stars do it too? Hope my wrong notes don’t show, maybe I should point at someone else and snigger quietly!

During the recording day, I was lucky enough to listen to some great playing on Still Small Voice arranged by Philip Wilby and played by three fine trombonists plus Fenella Haworth-Smith at the piano - Steven Verheist’s Capriccio for solo bass trombone and trombone septet, Frescobaldi’s Tocatta and the Bruckner Etude

by Enrique Crespo played by the septet, a Bach fugue arranged

by Ron Barron and played by the septet plus friends, the Gordon

What you can do to help the BTS raise more money to run more events and support more trombone activities: 1. Please make sure you are paying the right amount for your subscription: Current rates are £10 for under 16s, £18 for students and over 65s, £24 for regular members and £30 for overseas members who get the printed magazine.

2. Send us a large donation when you win the National Lottery or make a bequest in your will.

3. Go to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/bts.

Then click on the ‘Yes! Sign me up’ button in the green box. Then register as a BTS supporter - easy! Just sign in every time you want to shop online, and access a huge range of online shops as you would normally do. For every purchase made a percentage is donated to the BTS. Yes, it really is that simple, and it won’t cost you a penny more than if you went direct to that site. So tell all your family and friends and when you use any of the many online shops that are linked to this site, you will be helping the BTS. If you do not have a computer, you

Jacob Octet and James Kazik’s Mini Overture played by larger ensembles.

I joined in the choir music in Fanfare by Simon Hall, who was also the voice from the box for the day (and whose sharp ears picked up all the intonation issues at letter C, as well as several others), Flamethrowers and Galaxies by James McFadyen, Derrick Parker’s The Morley Suite from music by Thomas Morley and, finally, the excellent Tower Music by Vaclav Nelhybel.

And if you want to know who all these wonderful players were, you’ll just have to wait until you can buy your own copy, later this year or early in 2012. Full details of how to get a copy will be in The Trombonist and on the BTS website. However, I can tell you that it will cost BTS members a mere £7, whereas the rest of the world will have to pay £12.

Big thanks go to all those players who gave their time and expert playing free of charge, to Simon Hall for staying cheerful despite my blobs and to BTS President, Brett Baker, for organising the session, the music, conducting and playing solo pieces for the CD (oops, I’ve given away one of the players’ names!).

And sadly no-one said “..it’s a wrap”!

Geoff Wolmark

can still use the local library service, or ask your family to do it for you. You don’t have to do any extra buying, just make sure that when you visit, say Amazon or Asda, you do it through http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ bts and we will benefit. If all our members do this, we can run more events, increase the size of the magazine, buy student model trombones for youngsters to try and a host of other new ideas. So please help.

Finally, please make sure you let us know if you change address, we still get magazines returned and we don’t know where you have gone unless you tell us.

Thanks for your support Geoff Wolmark Secretary

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 9

SLIDES

BTS Wessex Day 18 September 2011

Trombonists from across the South gathered in Dorset in the autumn for the BTS’s annual music extravaganza. Thirty-six trombonists assembled in Pimperne to rehearse and play music especially written for the occasion. The first piece was written

by John Bickerton and aptly titled The Blandford Suite and the second, Three Moods for Trombone, was written by Kevin Morgan, principal trombone of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Brett Baker held a masterclass, superbly demonstrating many advanced features of trombone playing, which was followed

by Steven Sykes, former Principal Trombone of Tredegar

Band and emerging virtuoso, who gave a faultless 30-minute recital containing some of the most difficult music written for trombone.

The day’s resident conductor was John Pritchard, who spent many years in the trombone section of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and now lives in Blandford.

A fine rendition of 76 Trombones provided a magnificent finale to a truly inspirational day.

Bruce Harding British Trombone Society Wessex Representative

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 11

INTERVIEW

BILL TOLE Legendary trombonist and bandleader, Bill Tole, talks to Chris Mackey about his career, sharing the screen with De Niro and keeping the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra on the road Bill, let me start by thanking you on the behalf of the BTS. Before we talk about your career, can you tell the readers why the trombone? How did it start and who did you study with?

Chris, thank you for interviewing me for the BTS. I am honoured to be asked.

My first musical instrument was the piano. Both my Mom and Dad played the piano so they encouraged me to take piano lessons when I was about seven years old. A couple of years later, the school I attended was developing a band and needed brass and woodwind players. I was interested in a brass instrument, but the school only had a mellophone available, so that became my introduction to playing a brass instrument.

Dad was a high school band director and played piano professionally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One summer in the late ‘40s, I think 1949, he was hired to play piano with the Babe Rhodes Band for a summer engagement at Delevan Lake, Wisconsin. The band featured two pianos and had four saxophones, two trumpets and a trombone, plus rhythm section.

About mid-way through the summer, the trombone player had a family emergency and had to leave the band. Dad had played trombone in high school so they asked him to fill in on trombone for the rest of the engagement as the band could perform with one piano but needed the trombone part. He called a friend at the Holton Company in nearby Elkhorn, Wisconsin and bought a trombone to use. At the end of that summer when the engagement ended, Dad went back to teach at his high school in Pittsburgh. The trombone was stored in the closet at home.

I was curious enough to take the trombone out and try to play it. The radio was always playing at home and of course mostly big band music and the phonograph records we had were mostly of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. I would play along with the records and the radio on the trombone. I just didn’t have as much interest in playing the piano as I did in the trombone. When my parents realised I preferred playing trombone, they arranged for me to start taking trombone lessons instead of the piano. That was in 1950, one year before I entered high

PAGE 12 | THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011

Bill Tole, Liza Minnelli and Robert DeNiro New York, New York movie 1976

school.

My trombone teacher was Matty Shiner, well known for his freelance work at the Stanley Theater and in live radio in Pittsburgh. I studied with Matty for nine years, all through high school and then Duquesne University, where he was the trombone and lower brass instructor.

Matty’s brother, Eddie, was the trumpet instructor at the time.

You mentioned Tommy Dorsey and we will come on to the Dorseys a bit later, but you also played with the Airmen of Note. How did that come about?

I auditioned for the Airmen of Note in 1957 when I was in my second year at Duquesne University. One of Dad’s good friends in Pittsburgh was Sammy Nestico.

They had worked in many bands together before Sammy enlisted in the Air Force.

Sammy played trombone in the AON and for a period of time was the leader of the band, but by 1957 he was chief arranger for the band and had stopped playing trombone. The audition was set up for me with the band but unfortunately there were no openings in the trombone section so I stayed in school.

In the summer of 1959, I had a call to go on the road with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, directed by Warren Covington.

I stayed on with the Dorsey band for 15

months, travelling around the US. When I left the band I went back to Duquesne University to finish my Bachelor’s Degree.

At that time it was mandatory for all 18 year-old males to serve in the US Army for a minimum of two years, but as long as you were in school without interruption you were deferred until you finished your schooling. Since I had been on the road for so long I lost my draft deferment and in the spring of 1961 I received notice to report to the Army for a two-year hitch. It was a stroke of good luck that there was an opening in the trombone section for a lead player at that time with the Airmen of Note, so I enlisted in the Air Force and stayed until April 1965.

So what prompted you to swap life with the AON for New York?

During my four years with the AON, we recorded in the studio at the Air Force Base in Washington DC every few months.

They had a good recording studio, but during my fourth year we were sent to New York City to record in one of the studios there. I met George Romanus at this recording session when he came to visit with John Osiecki, the leader of the AON. George had been with the Air Force Band a few years earlier but was now very busy in New York writing and composing music for commercial spots and movies. After the

INTERVIEW How difficult is it to keep a big band on the road at present?

It is becoming more and more difficult to keep busy today travelling with a big band. Unfortunately most of the popular and the larger ballrooms have been torn down because the properties are so valuable that they are used for other construction. There just aren’t that many places for people to dance to a big band any more. We do play at country clubs and in hotel ballrooms for dances, but I estimate that at least 90 percent of our performances are in concerts at performing art centres.

Bill Tole and Sammy Nestico 2010 at USAF Airmen of Note 60th reunion

session, George told me that when I got out of the military to contact him if I decided to move to the City. Moving to New York City was my ultimate goal anyway, so I called him when I got my military discharge and George started hiring me for his sessions. In the two plus years I worked in New York, I had the opportunity to work with other great arrangers such as Billy Byers, Don Costa and Ralph Burns.

But one-by-one they all moved to Los Angeles. So in July of 1967 I too made the move to the West Coast.

Bill, one thing has been re-occurring in your career that I would like you to tell us more about, and that is, of course, the Dorsey effect!

After Tommy Dorsey died in November, 1956 Jimmy Dorsey took over the band for a short period of time until his death in June 1957. After Jimmy’s death, the Dorsey brothers’ books were split up to become two separate bands again.

On the morning of 9 June 1959, I had a phone call from Phil Marack, the manager of the Tommy Dorsey Band. The band was appearing at West View Park - Danceland near Pittsburgh that night and he said there was an opening in the band and asked if I would be interested in auditioning. Of course, I said yes! When I got there I met Phil and Warren Covington as the band was setting up. They said they would like me to play sometime in the third set. I still didn’t know what chair was going to be opening so when the time came for me to sit in, the lead player got up and motioned for me to sit there. I played the rest of the set and during the next intermission Warren told me the lead player wanted to leave that night and would I be free to leave on the bus the next morning. I said yes and immediately looked for a payphone and called home to tell my parents I was leaving in the morning.

I stayed with the band for about a yearand-a-half and had a great time travelling around the country. Warren was an excellent trombone player and a good leader and I learned a lot from working in the trombone section with him.

Now about the movie, New York, New York, this came along in 1976. A good friend and bandleader, Orrin Tucker, recommended me for the role of Tommy Dorsey in the film. I met with Martin Scorsese at MGM for an interview and was videotaped playing trombone and speaking a few lines from the script. They called me back to the studio the next day and told me I had the part. During this second meeting, Mr. Scorsese asked if some of the musicians from my band would be interested in being in the film as well. The only stipulation was everyone would have to get haircuts, etc. to fit the period of VJ Day. We agreed and became the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the film. We were in the first 12 or 13 minutes of the movie and it took about two weeks to shoot the scenes.

While in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to work not only in the studios but with many band leaders that either lived in LA or were in town to work at one of the venues like Disneyland or the Palladium, etc. One of these bands was the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Lee Castle was the first leader of the band after Jimmy Dorsey passed away and he led the band for over 30 years. The leadership was then passed on to Jim Miller. I worked for both Lee and Jim on many occasions when the band was on the West Coast.

Sometime in 1999 or 2000, Jim had a minor accident and couldn’t front the band for a short time. I was asked to fill in for him until he returned. Then a couple years later, in January 2002, Jim retired and I was asked to be the permanent leader of the band.

The BTS has a section called tips from the top, what tips would you give to aspiring players?

Years ago, a musician could specialise in a particular style of trombone playing whatever their interest was in, whether it is jazz or classical, etc. But today if you want to pursue a career in music as a professional you have to be able to play everything that is put in front of you.

With my students I stress the importance of practising all of the following in their daily routine: 1. Long tones 2. Flexibility exercises 3. Etudes from the Ruchut books for phrasing and breathing 4. I have them play exercises loud and soft 5. Major and minor scales including all jazz scales 6. Classical excerpts and interpretations 7. Practice jazz tunes with the Aebersold series.

There are many books available in every style of trombone playing on the market today. This is a partial list of some of the books I like to use: 1. Arban 2. Stacey Flexibility 3. Melodious Etudes for Trombone (3 books) 4. Jamie Aebersold 5. Vladislav Blazhevich Clef Studies for Trombone 6. Orchestra Passages for Trombone by Allen Ostrander And what equipment do you use?

Getzen 3508 tenor trombone 500 - 508 bore for jazz, big band, etc.

Warburton 11M - T4 mouthpiece King 5B single trigger .545 bore for classical and show work.

For more information on Bill’s itinerary or to find out more about the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra check out www.jimmydorseyorchestra.com © Chris Mackey 2011

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 13

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STARS OF THE FUTURE

STARS OF THE FUTURE Name: Age: Location: Instrument: Current positions:

Started playing: Teacher: Favourite pieces: Ambitions:

Richard Leonard 18 Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire Conn 88HO Principal trombone, East Riding Youth Orchestra 2nd trombone, Hull Philharmonic Orchestra 1st trombone, East Riding Youth Jazz Orchestra 1st trombone, East Riding Senior Wind Band 2nd trombone, National Youth Wind Orchestra cornet at age 7, trombone age 9 Peter Walker concert piece: Mahler symphonies solo piece: Grondahl Trombone Concerto to be a professional trombonist and musician

Playing history: This year, Richard performed the Grondahl Concerto with the East Riding Youth Orchestra in the splendid setting of the Spa, Bridlington, to much critical acclaim. He enjoys playing solos and takes every opportunity to play.

Competitions: East Coast Young Musician of the Year 2010, winner of intermediate class at Newark Brass Festival 2010 and brass semi-final of BBC Young Musician of the Year 2010.

He was also the winner of Moira Smith Bursary at Hull Music Festival and awarded a place on the fantastic European Youth Summer Music course. Other summer courses attended include Royal Philharmonic Resound, Mercia Brass Academy and jazz composition at Sound and Music course. “Courses are really fun, and these experiences helped me develop into a better musician. It’s great to be around other young musicians for a whole week at a time,” he commented.

This summer, Richard played in the National Youth Wind Orchestra - “A highlight of my life so far as a trombonist.” He also toured Croatia with both the East Riding Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Senior Wind Band.

He was awarded Distinction for his ABRSM Diploma exam - “A perfect way to end this chapter before starting music college.”

What’s next? The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (formerly Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) for four years with the ABRSM Undergraduate Scholarship (note: there is only one of these per institution and Richard got the RCS one) Richard comes from a classical music-loving family, all keen instrumentalists and concert-goers, and music was a major part of his life from a very early age.

Richard has wanted to play the trombone for as long as he can remember, as he always thought it looked like the most fun, with the slide and the loud noises. When just seven he was given a cornet to learn, much to his dismay, and was over the moon when he finally got the chance to play the trombone at the age of nine.

He continued: “I love listening to classical and jazz, and although I’ve never been a member of a brass band, I love the music and the sound they make. However, for me, nothing beats the sound of a symphony orchestra.”

Richard is very keen to acknowledge the tremendous help he has had from attending BTS trombone events, to be able to listen to star players and to be inspired to do better himself, to mix with other players and to pick up tips and advice on the instrument. He is sure that BTS events have helped him in his preparations so far along his path to becoming a professional player, building confidence and skills, and he strongly recommends young players to take advantage of the BTS trombone days.

Finally, Richard told me that he hopes to become the BTS student rep once he is settled in Glasgow and he looks forward to contributing to the magazine and to local BTS events. We all wish him the very best for the future.

Interviewed by Geoff Wolmark

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 15

EDUCATION FEATURE

Spreading the trombone word amongst the youth of Wales…

In September 2010, in my role as trombone teacher with Gwent Music Support Service in South Wales, I was given the task of running a whole-class trombone project with a 31-strong Year 4 class at Rogiet Primary School.

In England, whole-class instrumental projects are well-established across most music services under the title, Wider Opportunities. However, in Wales, wholeclass teaching is something that has not really been explored in any depth, and in fact I believe the whole-class project that I ran was amongst only a handful to have been carried out in Wales last year.

I remember clearly the image greeting me on the first day that I turned up at Rogiet School - it was quite a sight, I’d never seen anything like it. I walked through the school doors and 31 trombones were neatly stacked up against the wall nervously waiting to be deployed to these unsuspecting children. A very small boy (almost able to fit inside the trombone case) ran up to me as I started sifting through the mass of instruments and asked me if he was going to be playing the trombone. It was at that point I wondered what I let myself in for. How on earth am I single-handedly going to get 31 pint-sized children to even hold these full-size trombones, let alone play them?

As it turns out, I was met with relentless enthusiasm from the children and staff, who, after a few weeks of preparatory training on note-reading and lip buzzing exercises, were ready for their first trombone lesson.

Lesson Number 1: How to open the case! It was a slow-moving process and, as you can imagine with a class of that size, everything needed to be organised and explained in such a way so that no one got left behind. Everything from assembling the trombone to playing their first notes was carried out with military precision so that every child could enjoy the experience.

It was important to not lose sight of the purpose of the project. I was not there to turn these children into trombone child prodigies; it was my aim to give them a musical experience through the medium of the trombone. I could have gone there with any instrument, it did not matter, the most important thing was that they were learning about music and having

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fun. In addition, my initial fear of running the class alone soon dissipated as I soon realised that the trombone is probably the best instrument to do a whole class project alone, no sticky valves or broken strings to contend with, just 31 plain old slides which needed comparatively little maintenance, so I could concentrate on running the class efficiently.

By Christmas, the project was going better than I had expected. All 31 children were quite at ease with playing five notes on their trombones and after two successful debut performances of Jingle Bells and Good King Wenceslas, I had a million and one ideas of what to do with the children next - it was hard not to get carried away. As I had just completed a Master of Arts course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, I spoke about the project to Kevin Price, the Head of Brass. With the assistance of the College trombone choir we wondered about the possibilities of running a trombone day in conjunction with Rogiet School, especially seeing as the School was in such a good location for other young trombone players across South Wales and South England. Kevin was, as ever, massively supportive, and not only did he give me starting ideas about running the day, but put me in touch with Arlene Macfarlane (co-principal trombone of the BBC NOW and British Trombone Representative for Wales). Between us we meticulously devised an outline for a Tiddly Trombone Day, a day specifically

aimed at beginner trombone players and so, on 5 June 2011, and with the support of the British Trombone Society, the day came to fruition. What had started as a weekly hour-long whole class trombone project turned into something very special, an opportunity for those children at the very beginning of their musical journey to spend time with and listen to students and professional trombone players. After the Tiddly Trom day, every child I spoke to took away an experience that I believe made a long lasting impression on them.

It is too early to say whether, as a result of the whole class experience last year, we have any budding Christian Lindbergs or Brett Bakers to watch out for, but in my opinion two things outlined the success of my project: 1. A large number of the children in Rogiet Primary School have gone on to play other instruments, and my colleagues within Gwent Music Service have expressed their astonishment at how musically proficient the children who participated in the whole class project are.

2. For a second year running, the School is continuing the trombone project with a different class. I find it a huge compliment that the School is willing to continue the project, especially given the current financial climate. In addition to this, there will be a sequel to the Tiddly Trom day for the summer term in 2012.

Watch this space!

A WEEK IN THE LIFE

The performing week begins on a Sunday, with a 4.00pm performance of Don Giovanni at the Wales Millennium Centre.

Our first entry isn’t until two-and-a-half hours into the performance and although technically I could be at home during most of the first half, I tend to get to the theatre in good time and hang around rather than risking being late! We then play part of the finale of Act 2, which has some very exposed writing and has a big impact on the orchestral texture.

Monday has six hours of rehearsing Katya Kabanova (Janacek) with our Music Director, Lothar Koenigs. Lothar is a demanding conductor, rightly expecting that all the music is prepared before rehearsals begin. Today, Kate Wilson, a postgraduate student at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, is involved with the rehearsals, as a result of a successful audition for our placement scheme, organised with the very supportive RWCMD Head of Brass, Kevin Price. This morning Kate will watch the rehearsal and in the afternoon she will replace John Hendy in our section and play 2nd trombone. She will be involved for one year in at least four rehearsals of all the relevant operas we perform.

Tuesday sees another six hours of Katya

rehearsals, with the singers joining us.

This evening I drive to Manchester, ready for a day of teaching on Wednesday at the Royal Northern College of Music.

An early morning cancellation leaves an hour-and-a-half free first thing. A canteen breakfast chat with some third year students leads to an hour of warm-ups and excerpts with the three of us. Two more students follow before my group of second-study trombones arrive. This year, I will have seven or eight students who are euphonium players, but wisely opt to learn trombone to keep their options open for the future, whether for playing or teaching purposes.

Some of these players are as competent as the first study players, and John Miller, Head of Brass, is very keen to encourage their development. Some weeks we have individual lessons, others we spend playing quartets. Then follows the 200 miles back to Cardiff.

Thursday morning starts with five hours of teaching at the Royal Welsh College of Music, ranging from first years to postgraduates. At this early stage of the term, we always try to get students focussing on preparing for the year ahead, knowing when exams, recitals, and auditions are, as well as getting hold of excerpts well in advance and encouraging the listening side of preparations. I always try to find time for a chat with Kevin Price, updating progress on students, and maybe share a coffee break with him.

Then back to the Millenium Centre for a Katya rehearsal, this time in the theatre, complete with staging.

Friday there is a performance of Don Giovanni, so a 9:30pm start!

Saturday would normally be a morning of the Junior College at RWCMD, but due to past success all my students are now at senior colleges! I guess this proves how well the system works, as many previous Junior students have gone on to study at senior colleges, including RWCMD,

Royal Academy, and postgraduate courses at Royal College. Currently there are no junior trombone students, but I would recommend any prospective undergraduate to consider this course, as it really prepares students for their entrance auditions as well as providing a secure musical understanding.

Back to Sunday, and this week I have a rehearsal for a Tiddly Prom, an hour-long piece of musical theatre aimed at nursery children. This is really fun, working with a small but very talented group of musicians, led by the multi-talented composer Helen Woods. We perform this show, Bert’s Magical Musical Allotment, in theatres and schools around Wales and England, and it includes riding bicycles, vegetable competitions, and even a magic revolving shed! This rehearsal provides some light relief from the more serious work of my week, previously mentioned, as well as throwing a useful perspective on our role in this entertainment industry.

MON-TEU-WED-THU-FRI-SAT-SUN THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 17

COVER STORY and, before that, the old 78s of Maisie Ringham playing the Leidzen Concertino - that was the first music I rushed out to buy and never performed it for 30 years (‘til I thought I could play it properly).

PH: But, as I recall from my own Saturday mornings across at the Junior RCM, around the same time, the orchestral trombone sound was so different. How did you get switched on to that way of playing?

DB: I went to school in the Borough of Harrow, which was groundbreaking in its musical education - bringing the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to a local cinema every term. It was a revelation!

They, of course were on large bore Conns - John Iveson, Alan Hutt and Harry Spain - what a wonderful sound. It’s right there, embedded in my musical memory.

I suppose I was a bit mixed up because I loved the thrill of those band players, but at the same time was deeply influenced by the rich orchestral brass sound of the RPO then.

An orchestral life for me Dudley Bright looks back on his distinguished career in conversation with Paul Hindmarsh

In a professional career going back almost 40 years, Dudley Bright has occupied with distinction some of the hottest seats in the British orchestral scene. Having ‘cut his teeth’ (not literally I trust!) as principal trombone in the Hallé during the 1970s, he spent 21 years with the Philharmonia and, since 2000, he has been at the London Symphony Orchestra, having taken over from his former pupil, Ian Bousfield. Dudley had been ‘head hunted’ by the LSO when his own mentor, Denis Wick, retired, but as he remarked in our recent conversation, “there seemed little point, as I still didn’t think I was good enough!”

A curious remark from one of the most highly regarded trombonists in the country, but one which reflects his modesty and integrity both as man and musician. Dudley is a dedicated Salvationist and still plays with the Regent Hall Band when he can. It was in that historic Oxford Street SA hall where, as a very young boy in late 1950s, he first became aware of the trombone.

DB: My earliest musical memories were as a two or three year old being taken weekly to the Regent Hall where my father was in the solo cornet section

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of the band. It was a large band and impressive as it marched across Oxford Circus. I was, even then, attracted to the trombone. I had a toy one. In 1960, we went back to our local SA in Wealdstone when my dad took on the junior band, which I soon joined on tenor horn as that was what was needed, having made no meaningful impression on cornet.

PH: So how did the move to trombone happen?

DB: I was sent by my school to audition for a junior place at the Royal Academy of Music, on Saturday mornings, but they turned their noses up at my horn and ordered me to play French horn or trombone, which I jumped at. I had low pitch slides for Saturday and took them out for Sunday’s high pitch with the band. That didn’t last too long fortunately - bands went down!

PH: That was the time, as I remember in Croydon SA, when the medium bore trombones were just coming in.

DB: That’s the sound that went into my head. The SA’s International Staff Band was just coming out on LPs. It was the modern sound - Ian Hankey, Malcolm Carter, Cyril Brisley and Arthur Rolls

PH: What about your own orchestral ambitions then?

DB: I never had any! But I knew I would have to work in music as I wasn’t good at anything else. The image of the brass profession that came to me was far from positive and I was the sort of guy that had a migraine after concerts. I had, however, developed a taste for big orchestras, firstly through the NYO and in my college days with a bit of dep work in the LSO. It was at the NYO I learnt so much about orchestral playing by playing, but also by listening, especially to some of the older trombone players, such as Tom Clough and Eric Crees, who were having lessons from Denis Wick and Arthur Wilson (who also occasionally came and coached the section).

PH: How important a part did Denis play in your development?

DB: He was the man to admire at the time. When I arrived at Guildhall that was only my third or fourth actual trombone lesson. Denis referred to me as a second-hand pupil - these days we’d say ‘by proxy’. I think I even changed my embouchure by watching and listening.

An old film shows me with ‘smile chops’.

Denis was a marvellous teacher, of course - immaculate demonstrations and clear

COVER STORY precise expression of ideas, and he was always an inspiration. He was writing this trombone technique book at the time and when I read it, realised he’d been self-quoting a lot - consistent!

I went to study at Guidhall with Denis because I wanted great lessons and would have gone on to do teacher training as a postgraduate. Imperceptibly, my outlook changed, partly from doing a bit of dep work next to Denis in the LSO. I remember once I had to play 2nd trombone in Walton’s 70th Birthday Prom. The LSO attack was like a knife and I was petrified! I was at the end of my second year and changed my (lack of) ambition to the rather arrogant stance of entering the profession if I got a job! I had no wish to hang around waiting for something to turn up - I would otherwise go on to the teaching thing.

PH: Did anything turn up then?

DB: I took a couple of auditions: BBCSO 2nd, RPO 1st and then in the spring of 1974 auditioned, did a trial on Mahler 3 and was offered 1st in (R)SNO. I didn’t really want to go to Scotland but it was a proper job. I told Denis who, rather offhand, replied “there’s a job here if you want it”. I couldn’t believe my ears. Eric Crees had already replaced Peter Gane on 2nd and the LSO Board had agreed to Denis’ request for a utility player and that was me. The right place at the right time applies because people tended to stay put then and the right jobs came up at the right time. Well nearly. The Hallé job had been open for quite a time since Chris Mowat had taken the RPO job (incidentally he was another Salvationist in the Hallé succession) and by September I was quite unhappy in the LSO position for a number of reasons. I didn’t feel I was good enough. I listened to the blistering recordings and felt hugely inadequate.

PH: And then the Hallé came calling.

DB: That was in October 1974. I auditioned and four days later I was principal trombone of the Hallé.

Although I didn’t appreciate it, the Barbirolli era was quite recent, it seemed like the dim and distance past to me. The orchestra still was benefiting from JB’s huge popularity with regular sell-outs, although the playing was often quite approximate. I loved it. I was out of my inadequacy in the LSO and I had my own seat. I played all the repertoire and was in the right place at the right time when Arthur Wilson retired from the Philharmonia.

PH: How different did you find the

Philharmonia from the LSO? DB: It was very different. I did a trial in June 1979. That was when I realised what a great orchestra could do. I did all the even numbered Mahler symphonies with Maazel, which was quite something.

The section was Peter Bassano (known then as Peter Goodwin) and Ray Premru.

We played very loudly on occasions, but the approach was much broader than the LSO. Some of the conductors were wonderful. Guilini could change the entire sound by the unique way he moved. The LSO had been “this is the LSO, this is how we play”, while the Philharmonia were more like “How do you want it? We’ll do our absolute best to do it for you.” I was worried that I didn’t have Arthur’s sound, but with John Wallace on 1st trumpet we made our own sound. I have many memories of some great concerts with the likes of Muti, Marzel, Szetlanov, Ashkenazy and Kurt Sanderling. The young Rattle did some marvellously interesting series of concerts.

The LSO was a very bright, precise machine, which excelled at the music for which it was noted. The Philharmonia, on the other hand, was a warmer richer sound. An orchestra must have character!

PH: You sound as though you loved your 21 years with the Philharmonia. What was the attraction of the LSO? DB: I realised that I needed a fresh challenge. In 2000, I heard that Ian Bousfield was going to Vienna. I didn’t audition and we had difficulty getting the two orchestra’s diaries to interweave, but I managed to find something which included visiting Madrid for a Shostakovich 10 and a couple of weeks later did the same trip, same plane, same hotel, same music with the Philharmonia.

The LSO had a couple of kids’ concerts with Bolero in it which I thought might help to make up their mind. I practiced it every half an hour all the day before and then Bolero was cut short missing out the trombone solo!

PH: How different did you find the orchestra over 25 years later?

DB: It’s much more versatile than the old days. Not only can it switch from symphony to film to pop track or contemporary, I think it responds extremely well to conductors’ really diverse requests. In a way that is Gergiev’s influence. At rehearsal he’s not fixing up every aspect of performance to the ‘nth’ degree - he’s getting it prepared for whatever might crop up. His extraordinary gestures can be deliberately vague or very precise depending on the expression he’s after. The effect can be

electrifying and always different. He’s taught the LSO not to have set ideas about the music. Colin Davies is a beauty.

He knows how to let you play. He does enough, so we know how it all goes and then he gets on with making the music.

You just want to do your best for him. He has this marvellous way of never letting the music flag, even at his age.

And then there’s the film music. The daddy of them all has to be John Williams. I was privileged to play on the last two Stars Wars episodes. His writing is extremely professional - right first time and memorable. I’m fairly happy with how the trombones sound on those sound tracks. His attitude was, despite the high energy action going on, keep it contained and restrained. Most orchestras are very good these days but the LSO is special. There’s so much one can say, but...

PH: How has the sound of the section changed since the Denis Wick days do you think?

DB: I still play on almost identical equipment to Denis at that time, but I think the sound has changed to a certain extent. It used to be quite straight laced, lacking the singing quality that you get in the best brass band players. It was positively frowned on (orchestrally) to add a bit of vibrato. I think the changes have been due to the availability of trombone solo recordings, but they are not all positive. There is a danger of losing distinctive styles, both national and regional. I’d like to preserve something of the sound purity of the British classical brass sound. I had to change my playing when I joined the LSO but that’s right, and you always have to use your ears.

PH: Finally, Dudley, you had a major health problem a few years back. It doesn’t seem to have affected your playing or your capacity for hard work!

DB: I had to have a quadruple bypass five years ago. I’d had open-heart surgery before for a congenital defect. I wasn’t ill then. I thought I was quite a healthy person. It was quite a shock to need such major work done. The main thing was to get back in the saddle. I shared my first concert back with Lyndsay Shilling - a Prom. It’s not been plain sailing by any means. I ended back up on hospital for lung drain, and then had another week in hospital as precautionary. For a few years I was never free of the awareness.

Gradually the days without being aware of my heart have increased, and even now I’ll pull back a bit on the odd day.

You think nothing will ever be the same again but end up much as if nothing has happened.

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 19

EDUCATION

Why Not Give Improvising A Go?

by Mark Nightingale I remember being a bag of nerves the first time I attempted to improvise. I think it’s the same for everyone. I’d listened to the great players doing it with such panache and was nervous about my first go being a complete failure with everyone listening. I certainly didn’t recognise all the fancy scales and vocabulary they were using.

It turned out that with a few simple building blocks and a bit of practice, my confidence soon began to grow.

I started to enjoy the process of ‘instantaneous composition’ and got the bug!

In fact, all you need to get you going is a working knowledge of arpeggios and to be able to come up with a few interesting rhythms. In the grade exams you learn your major and minor arpeggios, which are in fact triads. Jazz chord symbols are just another way of writing an arpeggio and aren’t as scary as people sometimes think. The only difference is that they often add the dominant seventh or the major seventh to make a four-note arpeggio.

Thus the chord symbol C7 is simply a C major triad with the added dominant seventh (Bb), Cm7 is a C minor triad with the added dominant seventh, and Cmaj7 is a C major triad with the added major seventh (B). It is useful to include various sevenths when you practise your arpeggios.

I found a Duke Ellington play-along record ideal to begin practising with.

The chord symbols don’t change too rapidly (an average of one per bar) so your brain has time to keep up!

Using only the notes (or even just some of the notes) in the arpeggios implied by the chord symbols try to make an interesting rhythm, thus creating your own little (almost nursery rhyme-like) tune. You only need short phrases at first. There are thousands of possibilities and you can improve your rhythmic palette by listening

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to recordings and making a note of your favourite ones. After a while you should find that the process of seeing the written chord symbol and translating that into playing the four notes of the arpeggio becomes quicker.

The aim is for it to happen immediately each time the chord changes, even if that happens to be twice in a bar!

The next step is to occasionally join up some of the notes in the arpeggios with the notes in-between, or passing notes (I’d still suggest keeping the arpeggio notes to the strong beats of the bar at this stage). This will give you a lot more material with which to construct your solo. Of course, there are other elements you can also add to make it more musical, such as repeated notes, spaces, dynamics, scoops and fall-offs. Experiment and personalise your solo!

The other thing I remember noticing at around this stage of my own development was that some notes seemed to lead more naturally than others into notes in the next chord, making the transition smoother. I found out that in a progression such as Cm7-F7 this tended to be a seventh of the first chord falling to a third of the next. I used to do an exercise with the play-along record where I played one note per chord symbol and had to

find the smoothest lateral progression through the sequence, trying never to move more than a tone up or down.

It also brought to my attention the common progression known as a 2, 5, 1. In the key of C major this would represent the chords Dm7, G7, C and you’ll notice it cropping up in various keys all over the place in a standard chord sequence. Listening to the great players I recognised that they often had a few favourite ways of tackling a 2, 5, 1 and I used to try to copy them.

Including such classic ‘licks’ into your solos is a good way of expanding your jazz vocabulary. I used to transcribe them aurally, but many people prefer to write them down. Transcribing complete solos from your favourite players is an excellent way to improve your ear and learn some new phrases.

Always transcribe the chord sequence as well so that you can see where each phrase fits in harmonically.

With these simple building blocks, some regular practice and an inquisitive mind you’re well on your way to becoming a jazz improviser. The more you do, the less self-conscious you’ll feel about it and the more you’ll enjoy the challenge. It is a uniquely creative discipline within music and there’s much joy to be had by giving it a go. Good luck!

EDUCATION

We’ve all been through the same dilemma. It’s the evening, you’ve had a busy day at work, there’s been a plethora of things to do, you’re exhausted and you now have a decision to make.

Do you practise the trombone for an hour or do you sit on the sofa with a glass of wine and watch that film on TV? In my experience of observing trombone players over the years, I’ve noticed that although the significant majority are enthusiastic about their chosen instrument, some (and I place myself firmly in this category) are less than enthusiastic about the hours toiling away in the bedroom upsetting the neighbours.

So, having established that practising isn’t always as interesting as a good film, we are left with another dilemma. We know that in order to improve or even maintain our current standard of playing, we have to practise. So, how do we make it more interesting? Twenty minutes of long notes may never be the most stimulating thing you ever do in your life, but there are some measures you can adopt to help practising compete with that film.

I should preface any of my suggestions by pointing out that there are no quick-fix solutions to this one. If you want to be an accomplished player on any instrument then you will have to do some hard graft at some point. There is no substitute for that!

Try to make practising as varied as possible. Don’t feel that you have to do the same exercises every day of every week (especially if time is an issue.) Your playing isn’t going to go down the tubes because you didn’t do the entire Remington warm-up every day. To help vary your routine, read the journals, look at the new listings in the music shops and check out any new music or study books, anything that might provide some sort of stimulus. Personally, I find improvising an excellent way of making practice interesting because it makes me think less about technical aspects and more about the music. You could even copy our erstwhile colleagues from the trumpet and horn world and try transposing studies.

Don’t be obsessive about practising. An obsessive approach to playing is often self-defeating. It’s important if you are going to enjoy and improve your playing to have your head in gear as well as your body. For example, if a passage doesn’t go well during a performance, it won’t necessarily help to get the instrument out of the case the next day and play that passage over and over again in front of the mirror for an hour. I’ve seen players adopt that approach only to find they are so worked up when the passage comes up again that it ends up being even worse. Sometimes if you are having difficulty coming to grips with a study or a piece it helps to put it away and try again in a few days. A fresh approach is always good.

It’s also easy to forget when you’re wading through a swathe of lip flexibilities that the trombone is a musical instrument. When

you’re practising, try to consider the musical aspects of what you are producing. Even the most laborious studies can be made to sound like a piece of music (no offence to Messrs. Lafosse, Langey, Kopprasch et al.!)

Remember that you should be enjoying what you’re doing.

If you’re not enjoying it then you’re really doing something wrong. If that’s the case, consider taking a few days off and reappraise the way you’re approaching your practice routine.

I think it was the wonderful trumpet player and teacher Adolf Herseth who said that he disagreed with the old adage ‘practice makes perfect’. He thought it should be amended to ‘perfect practice makes perfect.’ A half an hour of constructive stimulating practice will be far more useful than five hours of aimless, face-aching, mentally draining exercises, particularly if you are struggling to find any motivation.

Nobody is saying it will be easy. It will be hard work sometimes but if you find a varied practice routine that works for you, then you will reap the benefits.

Now, where’s the corkscrew and the remote control…?

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 21

YOUTH FEATURE

The Trombonist speaks to the BTS Young Person’s Rep

Trombones in the TA

in and around their surrounding area, including many high-profile engagements such as regimental processions and Remembrance Sunday. The benefits to trombonists are tenfold. The versatility of the trombone lends itself to many of the groups within the band. As well as performing the usual regimental marches and concert band repertoire, a trombonist would be encouraged to participate in the big band, trombone quartet, brass quintet and in some cases more modern contemporary groups.

There are, of course, obvious concerns people may have about joining a military organisation. As a member of the Territorial Army you are never forced to go on active service in a warzone - it is optional. To enter, you need to have a basic standard of physical fitness, nothing the average person does not already possess. Also you are free to leave whenever you like if you find that you are not suited to the job and there is no contractual agreement ensuring you serve for a certain period of time.

The difference in lifestyle can be a learning curve to many people as it was to me. As a student who would regularly attend university in clothes chosen with the lights off, the experience of being handed an iron and told to make razor sharp creases in my combat fatigues (uniform) was certainly interesting!

Like many students approaching the summer holidays, I was desperately turning my attention to the prospects of finding some part-time work. Unfortunately, as we all know part-time work is not easy to come by, especially in the current economic climate.

I was struggling, until one of my friends from university suggested going down to the local Territorial Army Band (Band of the Yorkshire Regiment) for a blow.

Before I knew it, I was on a plane bound for its annual army camp in Germany, having been kitted out with various, military-looking uniforms and having successfully completed a two-day assessment, which consisted of running around a lot and lifting heavy items.

The TA suited me perfectly. I needed part-time work and my aspiration is to join the Corps of Army Music after university, so this seemed to be the perfect solution to my problem. Territorial Army bands are simply military bands made up of musicians who perform regular engagements

The experience of the marching properly for the first time is also quite a shock to the system. Like many young trombone players I had marched before with the odd wind band, as well as marching every year on Whit Friday with my local youth brass band. However, having to march with your trombone held at a constant right angle and doing complex manoeuvres while playing was indeed a challenge. But after the two-week camp in Germany I did feel a sense of achievement at completing marching exercises with the band, albeit feeling as if my trombone was a lead weight in my hands after a 20-minute display.

Overall, I have found the experience of joining a TA Band an exceptionally rewarding one. The camaraderie is the same as with any other band and you are paid for the privilege. Furthermore, the opportunities opened up for you are far greater and more varied than you would have as a ‘civvy’.

James Howard

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 23

IN HARMONY

Manger Musikklag Birgitte Bjørnsdatter Bruget: Principal trombone Birgitte Bjørnsdatter Bruget was born and raised in Brøttum, Norway. She began playing the trombone at the age of 12 and was tutored by Odd Edward Mikkelsen from 1997. Birgitte joined her school band, Brøttum Brass, and Lismarkens Musikkforening. Birgitte attended the Manger Folkehøgskule in 2002, and has since then played principal trombone for Radøy Brass and Kleppe Musikklag, before being approached to join the Championship Section Krohnengen Brass Band, where she enjoyed performing alongside her two sisters for three years.

As well as performing, Birgitte has a passion for teaching. At Bergen University College and the Grieg Academy she completed her teaching studies, with Music Education as her principal subject.

Birgitte has been mentored by Grethe Tonheim, principal trombone of Eikanger-Bjørsvik Musikklag since 2000.

Birgitte currently performs with Manger Musikklag as its principal trombone, a position she has maintained since 2007.

This has also been a successful period for the band and Birgitte has won many major titles with Manger, including Siddis Brass twice, Grenland International Brass Festival, the Norwegian National Brass Band Championships and in, May 2011, the band was crowned European Champion in Montreux, Switzerland.

This has been a highlight of her performing career to date and it was even more special that she could share this achievement with her sister, Sigrun.

From a young age, Birgitte has won many awards and soloist prizes and at the Norwegian National in 2010 she was delighted to be awarded the best soloist prize.

Birgitte is employed as a primary school teacher and also works for MOT, an organisation that works with young people both in schools and local communities. She also teaches emerging trombonists in and around Bergen.

Birgitte has taken every opportunity available to perform and develop her skills as a trombone soloist. She has attended many Norwegian summer schools organised by the Norwegian Band Federation, she was a member of the European Youth Brass Band in 2003 and attended the International Brass Band Summer School in 2011, where she received tuition from Brett Baker.

Birgitte was a guest player with Wallberg

PAGE 24 | THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011

Band, which recently finished second at the Swiss Open Championship. In 2012, she is looking forward to defending Manger’s European title in Rotterdam, where she will perform with some of the best brass bands in the world, as well as playing in the prestigious Gala Concert.

Christian Digranes Larsen: Co-principal trombone Christian Digranes Larsen was born and raised in Bergen in western Norway. He began playing the trombone at the age of nine, tutored by various teachers. From the age of 11 he started taking lessons with trombonist, Irene R. Graven.

Originally from an area dominated by wind bands, his interest for brass bands was awakened after a national brass band course under the direction of Dr. David King in 1999. In 2000, he successfully auditioned for a spot in Manger Musikklag (MML), and the same year he attended Manger Folkehøgskole’s Brass Band class, being taught by Grethe Tonheim.

During the following four years, he finished his teaching studies at Bergen University College, majoring in language, whilst still playing in MML. From 2002-2005 he was also a Norwegian representative in the Nordic Wind Band.

From 2005-2006, he worked as a music teacher and instructor in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of a project by the Norwegian Band Federation, the Field Band Foundation (South Africa) and the Norwegian Fredskorpset, before accepting a teaching position in Oslo, where he stayed for three years. In 2009, he rejoined MML as he returned to Bergen after accepting a teaching position there.

Birte Sofi Thomassen: 2nd trombone Birte Sofi Thomassen is 20 years old and was born in beautiful Bergen, the capital of the brass band movement in Norway. She started playing trombone in her local school band, Kleppestø Skolekorps, at the age of nine. Playing in the brass band was not very inspiring; she had decided to quit playing trombone, until the school band granted her free, weekly tutoring lessons with professional trombonist, Irene Graven. Graven was the sole reason that Birte Sofi continued playing trombone in the following years. Initially the trombone was not her main hobby and she found playing the violin or handball more enjoyable, but

thanks to Irene Graven’s clever pedagogy and endless enthusiasm, playing the trombone soon became her main activity.

Summers have always been busy with summer schools, and Birte Sofi has attended her local school band summer schools as well as the Norwegian Band Federation’s National Youth Brass Band summer course. A highlight amongst the summer schools was her attendance at the International Brass Band Summer School in 2007 and 2008, where Brett Baker was the trombone tutor.

In 2009, Birte Sofi received a scholarship of approximately £1,000, called ‘Drømmestipendet’ or ‘the dream scholarship’. It is donated by the Norwegian Council for Schools of Music and Performing Arts to young talents, awarding one in every municipality in Norway each year. The money was spent on a new trombone, her current Conn 88H. In 2008, Birte Sofi was a soloist with the Military Wind Band of Western Norway, Forsvarets Musikkorps Vestlandet, in the foyer of the Grieg Hall in Bergen. This was an eye-opening experience outside the brass band movement. In the summer of that year, at the age of 17, Birte Sofi auditioned for Manger Musikklag.

Playing with Manger has led to numerous experiences - from winning contests like the Norwegian entertainment competition, Siddis Brass, and the Norwegian Brass Band Championship, to working with talented directors like Peter Sebastian Szilvay, Bjørn Sagstad and Garry Cutt.

Other than playing trombone in Manger Musikklag, Birte Sofi is a full-time 2nd year law student at the University of Bergen. She also works as a tutor in a school band, and as a kitchen assistant at Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital, making her days quite hectic.

Birte Sofi is looking forward to the upcoming year with Manger Musikklag, especially the European Brass Band Championship in Rotterdam in 2012, after being sick with chickenpox (!) during the contest in Montreux. The band has promised her that it will win so that she can be a part of it too this time!

Camilla Tveit: Bass trombone Camilla was born in 1977 in Meland, just north of Bergen, where she’s now the Head Teacher of the borough’s Music and Performing Arts Service. She lives with her baritone playing lawyer boyfriend, Kjetil,

IN HARMONY a three-minute walk from her parents, her brother and his wife and countless cousins, uncles and aunts from both the Søderstrøm and Tveit families.

She fell in love with the bass trombone at an early age (probably because the conductor of the local wind band, which her parents still are members of, played bass trombone in the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Or just for the simple reason that it’s an incredibly fascinating and cool instrument!). She played the bass trombone with several local bands climbing the banding ladder towards joining Manger Musikklag in 1994, aged only 17. As a teenager she contributed to three consecutive wins in the Norwegian National Championships, in 1995, 1996 and 1997 under the baton of David King. During this time she was also a member of the National Youth Brass Band.

She studied the bass trombone with Kim Lofthouse at the Langhaugen Music 6th Form College, and auditioned to only one conservatoire - the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

The ‘Manchester-years’ were an incredibly eventful five-year period! She studied with Chris Houlding, Adrian (Benny) Morris and Les Storey and freelanced with all the professional orchestras in the North West (including the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool and Opera North). She played for several

brass bands in shorter periods - but after the founding of the Bones Apart trombone quartet with Carol, Becky and Becca in 1999, this fantastic project took up much of her time. The four friends practised every day at 8.00am, toured extensively, won the Harry Mortimer Award and were awarded the coveted Chamber Music Prize by the Royal OverSeas League, which lead to appearances at music events such as the Edinburgh International Festival. They appeared on Good Morning with Richard and Judy and Songs of Praise, as well as several BTS days and International Trombone Festivals. To list all the achievements of the quartet during Camilla’s years with them will take up too much space here but their performance of Stars and Stripes Forever at the ITF in Texas in 2002 has now nearly 1.5 million hits on YouTube.

By 2002, Camilla knew she wanted to live closer to her family and had made the tough decision to leave Manchester, Bones Apart and her friends behind. She took her time making her decision, and even though incredibly sad she never regretted it. It was a wonderful time, but she never thought she could live the rest of her life in a foreign country. She still keeps in touch with many of her friends in the UK. After returning to Norway she thought of herself as a retired musician, as she knew there would be absolutely no work. She got a job as a Head Teacher (a strenuous task for a 25 year-old who had never

taught in this educational system), built a house (or contractors did) close to her family and enjoyed not having to practise the trombone every day anymore. But by 2005 she realised she needed a hobby where she saw other adults who she wasn’t the boss of! Her old band, Manger Musikklag, needed a bass trombonist and her playing career had gone full circle.

As a member of Manger Musikklag, she has been awarded the Best Soloist Award at the Norwegian National Championships twice (2006 and 2011) the only player to do so. The brass band website, 4barsrest, has included her on bass trombone in its Band of the Year three times - in 2006, 2007 and 2010.

She now freelances with several professional ensembles such as the Armed Forces’ Band West and Bergen Big Band.

Manger Musikklag commissions several pieces each year (like Martin Winter’s pieces for Siddis Brass), and these tend to have surprisingly demanding bass trombone parts - which are a lot of fun to play!

She still can’t subdivide to save her life, struggles to memorise even short phrases of music and never can figure out whether glasses or contacts is the better choice for seeing both the conductor and the music. She enjoys the company of her banding friends in Manger Musikklag (her boyfriend being one of them) immensely and thinks playing the bass trombone is the coolest thing on the planet.

Christian, Birgitte, Birte Sofi and Camilla

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 25

New BTS CD available in the New Year

COMPOSER’S CORNER

Writing for the trombone

by Mark Freeh

There is a rich heritage in the trombone. Trombone stars like Arthur Pryor, Jack Teagarden and Tommy Dorsey paved the way and showed that the trombone had virtuosity in all styles and genres.

I suppose I am a bit biased since I play the trombone, but truthfully the trombone has everything you want and need in all areas. With its rich, beautiful sound and unique bag of tricks and effects it makes it a very desirable instrument to write for.

When writing a trombone solo, it helps to have a particular player in mind and know ‘who’ you are writing for. Be aware of the player’s weaknesses and strengths. Don’t be shy or afraid to consult with your soloist about his or her range, technique and consistency. When writing, always make your soloist look good and it’s very important to always connect with the audience.

This article is about writing for the trombone but it is as much or more about listening.

Before writing, always listen to all you can. Become familiar with the trombone solo repertoire. Here are two wonderful solos to listen to: Richard Peaslee’s Arrows of Time written for Joseph Alessi and Andrew Duncan’s Concerto for Trombone written for and recorded on Harlequin Records by Andrew Berryman.

I had the pleasure of producing a CD featuring the artistry of Joe Alessi called Bone-A-Fide Brass for the Summit recording label. It doesn’t get any better than that experience.

The music on the disc covers the full range of solo material utilising everything from jazz to classical. This recording is well worth listening to just for repertoire alone.

For the new writer, select an already written solo you like and use it as a guide or template. If I were to

choose a perfect example it would be Morceau Symphonique, by Felix Guilmant, for the simple reason that it incorporates everything a good solo offers. It’s overplayed and popular, but there’s a good reason for that!

On the jazz side of things, my favourite jazz trombonists are Urbie Green for beauty and Frank Rosolino for sheer excitement.

When learning to write for multiple trombones, it’s best to listen to the many excellent recorded groups. In fact, when learning anything, always listen. Study scores of good arrangers and see what they do. Choose an arrangement or composition you like and use it as your guide. Put some players together to play what you have written. Experienced players can be a great help to the new writer. Trombone ensembles have a very special sound. I prefer trombone groups of five to give more flexibility. Urbie Green stacked four sections of five to create a backing

on two albums called Twenty One Trombones and Tutti Camarata recorded a famous album called Tutti’s Trombones for ten trombones.

Many of these arrangements are published in the UK. Pete Rugolo did the same with Like Ten Trombones & Two Pianos, as did Lloyd Elliot (Lloyd Ulyate) overdubbing all the parts himself. Two excellent fourbone groups to listen to are The Kai Winding Septet and Bart Van Lier’s Bart’s Bones.

The ‘granddaddy’ of all trombone group recordings is The Trombones Inc. featuring a New York studio group and a Los Angeles group.

These have all been re-released on CDs. Whether you are writing for one or one hundred trombones (yes, there is a CD called 100 Trombones Concert produced in Japan), you will be happy with the results, but first listen, listen, and then listen some more.

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 27

INTONATIONS

Audition tips by Adrian Morris relaxed, but if you don’t prepare well, this is less likely. We can’t cover everything about auditions in this article, but here are a few tips that might help. Okay, let’s get started.

Firstly, you must know your pieces inside out. That seems obvious, but it doesn’t always happen. When you know the piece really well, you will not be worrying about the notes, and can be musical in your performance. Unlike some parts of the audition, the pieces are in your control. You don’t know what else the panel are going to ask you, but you will have to play the pieces, that’s for sure.

When you are nervous, you can lose up to 20 percent of the standard you are capable of, but if you prepare thoroughly you are more likely to represent your true standard. Know the style and tempi and treat the pieces like a test-piece. If you don’t know all the Italian terms in the piece, you should look them up. It wouldn’t feel good if the panel asked you what Allegro maestoso means and you didn’t know. What about the composer?

Is he/she French/German/English? Alive or dead? I’m not suggesting that you know everything about the composers of your music, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some knowledge.

When you apply for a place at music college, you are knocking on the door to the next chapter of your life. To ensure that the door opens for you, you should plan well and give your preparation some serious thought.

I know it’s difficult these days with so many distractions: PlayStations, computers and the Internet (which wasn’t invented when I did my auditions!) are all hard to resist. Then, of course, there’s school too. To cope with all these demands on your time you really need to plan your audition preparation like a military operation. After all “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!”

You may be lucky and the audition may go well, and you feel in control and

PAGE 28 | THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011

Back to the playing, make sure that you play all the dynamics intended by the composer. It’s possible the panel will hear the same piece five or six times in a day. You want them to remember your performance as the one with lots of dynamic contrast.

If there is a difficult high (or low) section with an ‘Ossia’, play the high (or low) notes and only opt for the ‘easier’ option if you absolutely have to. Remember, you are competing against good players, and ask yourself if they are they going to take the easy option.

Last, but certainly not least, play musically, and enjoy yourself! The people on the panel are not there to criticise you, and in my experience look forward

to every performance. They too are enthusiastic brass players. So, think about the music, and not the panel.

One thing you could consider, if it’s possible, is to have a lesson or two from a professional player before your audition. If you live anywhere near a city with an Orchestra or Conservatoire, this should be fairly easy to arrange. Many colleges offer a consultation lesson or something similar. I know it’s more tricky if you live away from a major city, but it could well be worth your while to get a good idea of what’s involved. Not only could you get some encouragement for your preparation, but there may be a few things you could learn about sound, note lengths and style that will help you prepare for the audition. They will also give you advice on the sort of music that’s suitable for auditions.

If this isn’t possible, then try to seek out a lesson from a teacher who has had students win a place at college and get some tips from them. A life in performance isn’t for everybody, so you may also get some advice that will steer you in a different direction. Your choice of music is important. Some colleges have set pieces that you must play, and some allow you to choose your own. Make sure that you know what pieces/editions are required well in advance.

If your audition is ‘own choice’, then choose music that suits you and shows off your talent well while ensuring the piece is of sufficient difficulty for this level. Pieces we hear a lot that show the right sort of sound and style are those by David, Saint-Saëns, Hindemith, Guilmant, and Jacob, whilst on bass trombone there are those by Lebedev, Semler-Collery, Koetsier, Bozza, Ewazen and Bach’s Cello Suites It is quite likely that you will get some sight-reading in your audition, so be prepared for this too. Why not practise your sight-reading? People often neglect this. You can do this without your instrument. Do it on the bus or the train; just read through lots of pieces. Practise

INTONATIONS with any piece you can get your hands on. It doesn’t need to be for trombone.

When it comes to the sight-reading in your audition, take your time and have a good look through the music. There’s no need to rush. If there’s a change in tempo from allegro to largo (or similar), make sure you do it, and always keep your eye open for syncopation. Be careful to note any clef changes and, as always, the more you observe the dynamics the better.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that you might be asked to play a scale or two.

Practising scales is a lifelong occupation for any trombonist. Without the need for any music you can work at articulation, intonation, high/low register, breathing, slide technique and so on. The point I’m making is that scales do not stop at grade 8 and it is entirely possible your panel will ask you to play one, so be prepared.

Earlier, I mentioned knowing something about the pieces and the composer of the music you are playing. What about your general trombone knowledge? If you are not already a Trombone geek, now could be the time to become one. Increase your knowledge of trombonists and repertoire by listening to some recordings of good players. Not only will this broaden your knowledge of the subject that may be your living soon and give you some good musical ideas, but it could help you in your audition. Knowing of a few fine players and hearing their recordings

could help in your interview. It shows that you have initiative and are actually interested and a genuine student of the trombone. Once again the Internet has a role to play here. You don’t need go to a library anymore to hear great recordings of Ian Bousfield, Joseph Alessi or Ben van Dijk. I listen to them all the time on my ‘portable music library and hi-fi system’, more commonly known as a mobile phone.

Something else that could help in your interview is having some knowledge of the symphonic repertoire, if you are applying for an orchestral course.

Knowing which composers write well for trombone is a must for budding young professionals. Why not listen to the marvellous trombone writing in symphonies by Mahler, the large brass sound in Bruckner, and the operas of Wagner and also the beautiful trombone chorales in the Brahms and Schumann symphonies.

It wouldn’t do you any harm to listen to some of our fine British jazz trombonists either. Mark Nightingale, Gordon Campbell, Richard Edwards and Andy Wood are all names for you to listen out for. Use the months leading up to your audition to strengthen what you already know and to add to your musical knowledge, especially pertaining to your chosen subject, the trombone. Other

things to think about for your interview include knowing why you’re applying for College.

What’s your end game?

To play in an orchestra? West End musicals? Or is it to be a soloist?

Why do you want to go to THAT college?

Is it because of the great teachers? If so, you need to back up what you say and know a few names of the staff, and maybe where they play or played. Is it the facilities that inspire you? Ensemble activities? History, track record? If you are interested in that conservatoire, be sure to let them know why, in a coherent way, and don’t mumble. Speak clearly and try to relax as much as possible. The panel is going to be interested to hear you. They will be friendly and hearing what you say is important.

So, I guess to summarise all of the above, you need to prepare well, practise like mad and develop as broad a knowledge of the trombone and music generally as possible. Don’t worry if your performance isn’t perfect; just do your best to show your potential.

Music is a great business to be in.

Whether you wish to become a teacher, or player, I wish you the very best of luck.

Adrian Morris is Senior Tutor in Trombone at the RNCM and principal bass trombone of The Hallé Orchestra.

DESERT ISLAND DISCS Alwyn Green Alwyn Green was born in Norwich and learnt to play, and did all his early playing, in the Norwich Citadel SA Band.

He later went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, with Denis Wick as his first study teacher on trombone and euphonium. As well as a degree, Alwyn also gained two professional diplomas - LRAM on trombone and LTCL on euphonium.

Alwyn played for 15 years in the Bournemouth Symphony and 23 years in the CBSO, plus freelance work with almost all the British orchestras on either bass trombone or euphonium. He is now ‘retired’, but still does quite a bit of freelance playing, brass band conducting and arranging.

Some trombone performances which were very memorable and influential: 1. The RPO playing Night on a Bare Mountain in Norwich when I was about

14. The trombones were Evan Watkin, Alan Hutt and Harry Spain (bass). This was the first professional orchestra I had heard live and I hadn’t realised that trombone playing of that quality was possible. It made a huge impression on me.

2. Hearing Denis Wick play the RimskyKorskoff Concerto, the year before I went to Guildhall. Simply amazing.

3. Hearing John Cobb (formerly principal trombone at the Royal Opera House) play Ray Steadman-Allen’s trombone solo, The Eternal Quest, with the SA International Staff Band.

4. Hearing Masie Wiggins play Erik Leidzen’s Concerto for Band and Trombone when I was still a schoolboy euphonium player.

5. The first time I did a gig with Johnny Edwards (Ted Heath’s lead trombone).

6. Playing at the RAH in the Berlioz Requiem with the Philharmonia - the four brass sections were from the

Philharmonia, LPO, RPO and Bournemouth. The conductor was John Pritchard.

7. Doing a gig of Haydn’s The Creation in 1969 where I was annoyed, at first, to have to play second as there was an old guy there with a ‘G’ trombone. He was, in fact, the 80-year old retired BBC Symphony bass trombone Bill Coleman and he played all those big tunes as well as I have ever heard them what a lesson! (Including a perfect top G in Achieved the Glorious Work).

8. Listening to Urbie Green and Roy Williams duetting on All the Things You Are at a BTS day in 1988.

So many more - I haven’t even had space to mention Derek James, Ray Premru and Dudley Bright!

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 29

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

by Phil Harrison Why leave a good job with a great orchestra like the CBSO? This might seem like an odd decision, but over the years, my career has often taken a different path to the norm. So, why did I do it? I did think long and hard before I took the step, but it was the lure of broader horizons that beckoned. I had great times with the guys in the band and look back with pleasure on many great musical moments with Simon Rattle and Sakari Oramo. There were also many happy and hilarious moments after hours too, but my life was all music and nothing much else. It was time to do something about it.

feel very strongly that these kids should

pick up the trombone for about two

get as many opportunities as possible.

years. So, when I got my first call for a

This is my bid to really put something

gig, after those two years, I thought I

worthwhile back into the system, at

might be a bit rusty, but in the event,

a time when the playing of music is

it took no time at all to get match fit

struggling to maintain its place in

and within a couple of weeks I was

education.

back in the swing of it, playing just as if I’d never left off. I have never really

When I’m not teaching kids I am

been out of work since. Tours with the

So, what have I been up to since then?

churning out a few tunes. I always had

LSO and the Philharmonia have been

Well, the answer is all sorts.

an interest in arranging and composing

particularly enjoyable.

At the moment I am teaching in

but lately it has taken off much more. I

Coventry for a performing arts service,

seem to be experiencing a new surge of

They do say that if you want something

which is great fun. I have some really

creativity in that direction. My A Simple

doing ask a busy man to do it and I am

talented youngsters and it’s extremely

Severn Symphony, for trombone octet,

certainly busy with my very diverse array

rewarding to teach these kids from

is getting an airing just now and I also

of activities. Whilst music still holds a

square one. I thought that, with my

have a number of brass and wind band

high place for me, I do enjoy a very

experience, they might get off to a

pieces in the pipeline.

much more expanded life now. A few

good start and who knows where they

And when I’m not doing that, I do quite

of my friends expressed surprise when

may land up? Certainly some of them

a hefty schedule of voluntary work at

I arrived back in the UK again after

have enough raw talent to make it as

my church. I am a spiritual counsellor

my training in the States, saying: “We

pros (if they work at it). After having

and a trainer of other counsellors. This

didn’t hear from you and thought you’d

taught at college level it seemed to me

is what I took time out for; to follow my

emigrated!” Well, I haven’t and I’m

just as important - if not even more

spiritual path.

back in Birmingham working hard and

so - to get it right at the beginning of a young person’s musical education. I

enjoying life more than ever. You can’t Whilst on training in the USA, I did not

get rid of me that easily!

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 31

SLIDE RULE

Gershwin Duets and One, Two, Three for You German publishers Uetz Music have recently released two books of fun trombone duets as part of their Music for Brass series.

Gershwin Duets, arranged by Klaus Dietrich for two trombones or euphoniums, contains 11 short arrangements of well-known Gershwin tunes.

These are quite easy, although perhaps best suited to intermediate players rather than beginners. In terms of range, the first part stays below high G, whilst the second part is all written between low F and middle C. The rhythms are quite simple, but work as a good introduction to swing for any players new to it, especially as they will probably be familiar with many of the songs.

The two parts mostly work well together with plenty of movement. However, it often feels like a third part is needed to fully bring out the jazzy harmonies inherent in Gershwin’s music.

One, Two, Three for You is a book of 15 original pieces written by Leslie Searle, for two trombones and optional accompaniment (the chord symbols are included for guitar or piano). This book is a better choice for more accomplished intermediate players looking for some challenges, such as harder rhythms and intervals, and within a slightly larger range than were found in the Gershwin duets. A variety of styles is represented here, including swing, light classical and dances.

These pieces are well-written and fun to play. They sound good and would be ideal for school concerts. They’d also be good to play in lessons, getting students to think about the style and ensemble.

Previews of the music in both of these books are available on the Uetz Music website.

Richard Leonard

SHEHERAZADE – the Princess, the Pirate and the Baboon!

This is an unusual disc to review for The Trombonist because it doesn’t feature the trombone at all unless you count the short 2nd trombone solo, but it is a major new project that has been put together by trombonist and former BTS Treasurer, Matt Parry. It is a CD of Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestral piece, Sheherazade, which most of you will know, but with a big twist - the music is the backdrop for a story-telling CD aimed at children of primary school age as an educational introduction to orchestral music. The reason it is a major project is because not only does it involve a medium-sized symphony orchestra of professional musicians, but also some household names playing the acting roles, so it must have been very expensive to complete! Matt must be hoping for great sales to cover costs so he will need to make a big impression amongst relatives and friends of children this age, as well as make a big splash in the market for music teaching resources at primary school level.

Matt has written a new script based mainly on the Arabian Nights tales of Sinbad the Sailor, magical stories bound to fire the imagination of young children. The stories are engagingly written for the age group, with lots of word-play and humour, and the mood and style of the story writing often cleverly mirrors that of the music. The acting is generally of a high standard - Rory Bremner as Sinbad is excellent, and he can sing a bit! Brian Blessed as the Sultan plays this larger-than-life role with all his typical panache. And of course we musicians will be listening closely to the orchestra: there is lots of very fine playing here, with polish and refinement, including a top-notch rendition of the 2nd trombone solo by Simon Baker. This has all been beautifully captured in a well-produced CD by Tom Watson of Prozone Music Recordings, with an excellent balance between warmth and clarity - you will feel you are sitting right

PAGE 32 | THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011

in the orchestra. As a bonus there is a 2nd CD in the pack, with a recording of the music alone, though not the whole piece in order. I suppose the idea was to reproduce exactly the music of the first CD for educational reasons, but I think it’s a shame to have nearly, but not quite, the whole piece. The musicians are all credited on the associated website but there’s not even an orchestra name on the CD package. From a musician’s point of view I think that’s a shame and I hope Matt will give the orchestra a name if he continues with the further planned CDs in this project.As for the target audience, many children will find it diverting and amusing and will love it, and it could well spark a real interest in serious music with some. I wonder whether it would always hold the attention of a whole class of children, especially the younger Key Stage 1 audience, as the narrative moves fast and any distractions would cause children to lose the thread. However, the CD does break down into three shorter story-sized chunks of about 10-15 minutes each. I am sure from the lack of in-house musical expertise I’ve observed in some primary schools that many teachers would require extra resources to develop class work with this CD. Some carefully thought out sleeve notes could be interesting for children to read, but also useful as a teaching resource for teachers, and sleeve notes would create an opportunity to provide more background information as you can’t rely on everyone to visit the website.

On balance, I think this is a very interesting and imaginative project with great potential. As a starting place for introducing children to orchestral music it has excellent qualities. I recommend that you visit the website www.grandmadingley. com to find out more about the whole thing, as well as some excerpts from the recording. Tony Howe

FESTIVE TREAT

Wennerström Larsson Explicity: Tussilago Produced by Wela Records WELACD 003 The bass trombone in the forefront of jazz is something of a rare occurrence. Tussilago certainly has that live atmosphere of a jazz club, providing a range of styles, from the ultimate self-indulgence of free form, through to more structured jazz.

The CD is not exactly easy listening, but after a few hearings there are certain tracks that stand out, such as Sincerely Yours and Second Opening, displaying great rhythm and sympathetic interaction between the quartet of players (Sven Larsson, Cecilia Wennerström, Filip Augustson and Henrik Wartel). Other tracks, in particular Impellent and Implicity, display Sven Larsson’s excellent technique, range and skill, including multiphonics and circular breathing.

An hour of the same quartet could become monotonous. However, the use of multiple instruments does help to vary the timbre and mood, for example with the use of didgeridoos and Wennerstrom’s excellent flute playing in Wind Song.

Tussilago shows what music can be - a pure tonal and rhythmical conversation between a group of musicians; a dialogue that is not dictated and prescribed, but fully interactive and dynamic.

Sven Larsson plays bass trombone and didgeridoo, Cecilia Wennerström plays tenor sax and alto flute, Filip Augustson plays double bass and Henrik Wartel plays drums and didgeridoo, and the track listing in order is: Tussilago Impellent Kaleidoscope Second Opening Immersion Implicity Wind Song Please tell me about it Snacks Sincerely Yours Stephen Lomax

Easy ACROSS 1. Name of this magazine, The (10) 6. Porgy and ---- (4) 9. President of the BTS (5,5) 10. 70’s Swedish pop group (4) 11. Harrison, Orwell, Formby, Chisholm, Frederick Handel (6) 12. Composer of Orfeo (5) 15. Group of musicians, trombones at the back (9) 17. Leonard -----, Canadian singer (5) 18. Oliver, who asked for more (5) 19. Mr. Da Vinci (8) 20. Iron (5) 21. Hoover (6) 25. English National Theatre (1,1,1) 26. Where the Proms are held (6,4) 27. ----Fitzgerald, jazz singer (4) 28. Less quickly (Italian) (4,6) DOWN 1. Lowest brass instrument (4) 2. Not muted (4) 3. The instruction given before a brass band starts marching (2,3,4) 4. Atmosphere on the moon (2,3) 5. Presenter of the quiz My Music (5,4) 7. Brass player’s lips when playing (French) (10) 8. 50’s Big Band leader (4,6) 13. Vital accessory, comes in a pouch (10) 14. A sharp or flat, when not in the key signature (10) 16. Doh ray mi fa soh la – (2) 17. Stands in front of 15. Across (9) 21. An F attachment (5) 22. A movement of the Latin Mass, means ‘I Believe’ (5) 23. Low trombone or clef (4) 24. High trombone or clef (4)

Compiled by ‘Urticaria’

Cryptic ACROSS 1. Reader of this magazine is in strange torn tomb (10) 6. Porgy’s mate can exist on a ship (4) 9. This President can make better turnover! (5,5) 10. Swedish supergroup takes the form of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (4) 11. Mad king takes drugs in the valley (6) 12. Composer of good fortune (5) 15. Many musicians roar excitedly about where the treasure is kept (9) 17. Singer Leonard lives with chickens?! (5) 18. Oliver does a dance (5) 19. Da Vinci code confuses Noel and Dora (8) 20. Iron the newspapers (5) 21. Hoover in space (6) 25. Tolkien tree at the South Bank (3 or 1,1,1) 26. Everyone surrounds Bertha and a student in the Royal concert venue! (6,4) 27. Note, everyone returns to hear her (4) 28. Not so fast! In Italy, no poem is created without everyone else (4,6) DOWN 1. Instrument that sounds like a potato (4) 2. Honest, it’s not muted! (4) 3. Heard instruction to purchase the port? No, start marching (2,3,4) 4. The reason you can’t play the trombone on the moon. Sounds like Henry VIII’s problem! (2,3) 5. TV presenter Eve traces badly (5,4) 7. The brass players’ lips have Emma shouting “Boo”, certainly (10) 8. This band leader has no come back after S.E. England is covered in flying ants (4,6) 13. Part of the instrument the lips touch, or a tooth (10) 14. Sharps and flats, not by design (10) 16. It turns up as a leading note (2) 17. Maestro on the bus (9) 21. Piston in medieval vestibule (5) 22. Mass movement causes embarrassment in Company (5) 23. Fishy singer (4) 24. Start and finish of dialtone cuts off for singer (4)

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 33

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DIARY DATES

Diary of Events 2012 Sunday 29 January 2012: 9.30am Registration North East Trombone Day Huddersfield University Featuring: Trombonanza, Dávur Juul Magnussen (principal trombone of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), Stephen Lomas, Adrian Hirst, the Band of the Yorkshire Regiment Trombone Quartet and Brett Baker School of Music, Humanities and Media Creative Arts Building University of Huddersfield Queensgate Huddersfield HD1 3DH Contact: president@britishtrombonesociety.org Sunday 29 January 2012 The BTS will be sharing the venue with Gloucestershire Music and the Gloucestershire Brass Band Association, which will be holding its BLAST OFF event for young brass and percussion players of all standards. The day will provide opportunities to work alongside visiting professional trombonists, including Bones Apart, Mark Templeton (LPO, tbc) as well as a massed trombone choir, workshops on orchestral sectional playing and small ensemble coaching leading to an informal concert in the afternoon.

The event will run from 9:30-16:30 To register your interest phone Gloucestershire Music on 01452 330300 or email steve.legge@gloucestershire.gov. uk or contact Omar Khokher (o.khokher@me.com / 07515 647493). Please leave your name, contact email address and telephone number. Please inform us if you prefer to play from bass or treble clef. Fee - £5 for students and BTS Members / £8 for Non-members. Please bring fee on day of event.

Saturday 4 February 2012: 9.30am Registration South West Trombone Day Bristol Easton Corp of the Salvation Army Featuring Brett Baker Bristol Easton Brass Band Hassell Drive Bristol, BS2 0AN Contact: president@britishtrombonesociety.org Sunday 12 February 2012: 9.30am Registration N. Ireland BTS Day Featuring Dávur Juul Magnussen Bann House, Portadown Contact: Stephen Cairns northernireland@ britishtrombonesociety.org Sunday 12 February 2012: 9.30am Registration North West Trombone Day Featuring Soloist Jiggs Whigham Peel Hall University of Salford Salford M5 4WT Contact: Kerry Baldwin northwest@britishtrombonesociety.org

Saturday 25 February 2012 Midlands Trombone Day Leicester Grammar School London Road Great Glen, Leicester LE8 9FL Featuring Matt Gee (principal trombone of the Philharmonic Orchestra), Chris Jeans and Brett Baker.

Contact: Ben Henderson midlands@britishtrombonesociety.org Saturday 24 March 2012 BTS Bromley Trombone Day Featuring Dudley Bright (principal trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra), Brett Baker, Bone-a-fide Quartet and Black Dyke Quartet.

Bromley Methodist Church College Road Bromley BR1 3NS Contact: Richard Debonnaire rich.debonnaire@me.com and Chris Mackey south@britishtrombonesociety.org Sunday 20 May 2012 North East Trombone Focus Black Dyke Band Festival Featuring the Black Dyke Band Trombone Quartet Leeds Town Hall The Headrow Leeds LS1 3AD Contact: Paul Woodward northeast@ britishtrombonesociety.org Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May 2012 BTS National Event, featuring special guests from the USA, trombone sections from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera, plus the RWCMD trombone choir.

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Castle Grounds Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3ER Contact: Colin Barrett colby@hotmail.co.uk Brett Baker president@britishtrombonesociety.org Kevin Price Kevin.Price@rwcmd.ac.uk; Monday 28 to Wednesday 30 May 2012 Christian Lindberg at the RWCMD Cardiff Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Castle Grounds Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3ER Contact: Kevin Price Kevin.Price@rwcmd.ac.uk

THE TROMBONIST | WINTER 2011 | PAGE 35

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