BY BARNEY MEDL AND
THE NEWS British Trombone Festival 2022 The BTS has recently announced the exciting news that over the weekend of 29 and 30 October 2022 the British Trombone Festival will take place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The Festival promises to be a wonderful celebration of all things trombone, comprising performances, masterclasses, competitions, massed blows, group warm-ups, and trade stands. Competitions taking place over the two days will include the BTS Inter-collegiate Trombone Choir Competition, the BTS Trombone Quartet Competition, the BTS Bob Hughes Bass Trombone Competition, and the inaugural BTS Sackbut Competition, in association with Egger Instruments. An array of world-class artists has been confirmed for the festival, including Ian Bousfield, Katy Jones, Callum Au, Isobel Daws, Emily White, Chris Thomas, Tony Boorer, Chris Augustine, and Slide Action. For all the latest updates about the Festival, you can visit the BTS’s dedicated Festival webpage.
Composers' Competition The BTS Trombone Composers’ Competition 2022 has been announced. Composers are invited to enter trombone quartets of no more than 15 minutes in length. Entries will be judged by an exciting line-up of judges including Mark Nightingale, Callum Au, and Dani Howard. The winning piece will be recorded and published by Bones Apart, while two runners-up will each receive an hour-long composition lesson with a judge. For more details and the entry form, visit the BTS’s website.
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Slide Action recently recorded the 2020 winning entry, Andy Wareham’s Fanfare and Three Poems. Check out their fantastic performance here, and purchase a copy of the sheet music from Bones Apart Publishing. The 2021 winning entry, Bright Call by Salvatore Sciarratta, is available now from Warwick Music.
Kate Rockett new General Director at Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century The Netherlands-based Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has announced Kate Rockett as their new General Director. Kate started her career as a trombonist, specialising in historical performance. She performed with leading historical ensembles around the world, such as The Gabrieli Consort and Freiburger Barockorcheser, before making the career switch to cultural management. On her appointment Kate said: ‘Since its founding over forty years ago by Frans Brüggen, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has been a highly respected key player in the historically informed performance movement and has inspired many other ensembles, both in the Netherlands and worldwide. Sieuwert Verster has been at the helm for all this time, a quite exceptional track record and a difficult act to follow. The Orchestra is a remarkable international collective of passionate and committed musicians; I am delighted to have the opportunity to shape the next chapter of the organisation’s history.’
