There are still 1 or 2 trombone openings for the BYU Summerfest. Ages 14-18. Daily master classes, orchestra, band, jazz, choir, theory. Scholarships for all-state trombonists!
Utah Trombone Authority Clip
May 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Utah Trombone Authority, a quartet with 2 members of the Utah Symphony and 2 members of the BYU faculty, played a concert for the Deseret Chamber Music Series on May 15th. BYU-TV did a short review of the concert on “BYU Weekly,” a sort of week-in-review news spot. Not a bad little piece of publicity. Here’s a link to the archive.
Note from Lyon Conservatoire
May 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Just got a nice note about the trombone history timeline from Sandie Griot, a master’s student studying early music at the National Conservatoire, Lyon, France. Sandie was also interested in information about any available facsimile editions of Tuma’s Inno per il Festo di Saint Teresia (1741). I recommended gleaning info from the published performance edition (Modern Editions), as well as contacting Stephen C. Anderson, editor of the edition, for more details. If anyone out there has additional info, let me know, and I will be happy to relay it!
A Wilson Gail-A
April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment
On March 27, 2009, I was fortunate to be part of a retirement concert in honor of Gail Wilson, professor of trombone at Arizona State University for 37 years, instructor at the Brevard Music Center for 20 summers, and principal trombonist with the Phoenix Symphony for 18 years. Gail was my trombone professor and advisor during my doctorate at Arizona State University, and his meticulous, caring style left an indelible mark on my own teaching and playing.
The concert, called “A Wilson Gail-A,” was an involved, carefully-planned affair organized by Gail’s son, Brian. The program included former and present students who gathered from all over the country. It featured two separate quartets, soloists representing each era of Gail’s teaching at ASU, a wind ensemble, a newly-commissioned work by Douglas Akey for Charlie Vernon (for alto & bass trombones and wind ensemble), the ASU Jazz Repertory Band (directed by Sam Pilafian), a small trombone ensemble, and a mass trombone ensemble of 50-plus players. It was a fitting tribute to a great musician, teacher, and person. A nice review of the concert by Derek Reaban can be found here at trumpetherald.com. There’s also a a very complete “photo journal” of the evening here.
Quartet with Charlie Vernon, Mark Hartman, Will Kimball, and Bob Lindahl
Mass trombone choir
Gail Wilson, trusted teacher, advisor, and friend
Note from Conservator at Germanisches Nationalmuseum
January 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Just got a kind email about the site from Markus Raquet, Conservator of Musical Instruments at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and maker of historical brass instruments. The Germanisches Nationalmuseum holds an extensive collection of early trombones (see, for example, the “holders” of the many early alto trombones in my post on extant altos). I also added an entry in the Trombone History Timeline (16th century) based on a recent Historic Brass Society Journal article that Mr. Raquet authored about a newly-rediscovered 1576 trombone. The instrument, a tenor trombone made by Schnitzer of Nuremberg, was initially discovered in 1903 in an organ case being dismantled in a church in Altötting, Germany (southern Bavaria). The trombone was then displayed in the church’s Schatzkammer (treasure chamber), but has since been moved and is on display in Altötting’s Wallfahrt- und Heimatmuseum (Museum of Pilgrimage and Local History), located near the church. According to Mr. Raquet, this Altötting trombone is probably the oldest dated instrument by Schnitzer and the third-earliest signed trombone in existence.
ABQ Residency photos
January 6, 2009 By 1 Comment
American Brass Quintet held a mini-residency at the Brigham Young University School of Music in November, 2008, made possible through a BYU Laycock Foundation Grant and the National Endowment for the Arts. It was a fantastic experience for students, faculty, and community. BYU’s brass and chamber music areas in particular benefited greatly from ABQ’s world-class instruction and performances. Events included a chamber music masterclass, open rehearsal, formal concert, individual lessons, historical performance session, business of music class, and “informance.” Below are a few photos from the residency.
ABQ Chamber Music Masterclass
Raymond Mase of ABQ working with BYU Honors Brass Quintet
John Rojak of ABQ working with BYU Honors Brass Quintet
Kevin Cobb of ABQ working with BYU Honors Brass Quintet
ABQ Business of Music Class
ABQ Informance
ABQ Informance
Calendar Updates
December 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Updated Calendar to reflect upcoming performances with fellow trombonist Bill Mathis at Eastern Trombone Workshop and Bowling Green New Music Festival of work being composed by Steven Ricks. The work is for 2 trombones and electronics. Steven Ricks is an award-winning composer, BYU composition faculty member, and a former trombonist. I knew Steve as a trombone player, back in our undergraduate days, and he was always a great musician and particularly strong jazz player. I’m looking forward to his piece!
News Item
November 21, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Got a nice note about the website from David Zimet, owner of Hickey’s Music, one of the best sources out there for trombone music. Hickey’s also carries a lot of the breathing toys that I discuss in the “Respiratory Training” article on this site. David and his team were very, very helpful, by the way, when I was working on my doctoral project 9 or 10 years ago, trying to track down 168 published alto trombone solos (many of which were pretty obscure). They can find almost anything!
$20,000 Trombone Composition Competition
November 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University has announced that it will be celebrating its 25th anniversary by sponsoring a $20,000 prize for a new trombone concerto. The new work will be premiered by Joseph Alessi with the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011. For more information visit http://barlow.byu.edu.
American Brass Quintet at BYU
August 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The world-renowned American Brass Quintet will be holding a mini-residency at Brigham Young University November 11-13, 2008. For a YouTube promotional video of the group, visit here. All events are open to the public. The full residency schedule is as follows:
•November 11, 12-1:30pm: Chamber Music Master Class (C130–DeJong Green Room)
•November 11, 8-9:30pm: Historical Performance Master Class (DeJong Concert Hall)
•November 12, 7:30pm: Formal Concert (DeJong Concert Hall). For tickets, visit www.byuarts.com.
•November 13, 12-1:30pm: Business of Music Class (DeJong Concert Hall)
•November 13, 3-4:30pm: “Informance”–Informational/Informal Performance (DeJong Concert Hall)