The Trombonist Summer 2010

british trombone society

The Trombonist Trombonis Summer 2010

www.britishtrombonesociety.org

2 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

NEWS British Trombone Society www.britishtrombonesociety.org Honorary Patron: Gordon Campbell Executive Board President Bob Hughes 01494 433722 (until 1st October), Brett Baker 01606 783869 (from 1st Oct) president@britishtrombonesociety.org Vice-President and Chair Brett Baker (until 1st Oct) / Carol Jarvis (from 1st Oct) chair@britishtrombonesociety.org Vice-Chair Ben Bouzan eastanglia@britishtrombonesociety.org Secretary Geoff Wolmark 01377 202209, 1-3 Church Street, Hutton, Driffield, Yorks, YO25 9PR secretary@britishtrombonesociety.org Treasurer David Carnac treasurer@britishtrombonesociety.org Education Liaison Stewart Drummond education@britishtrombonesociety.org

Staff Membership Manager Lisa Penn 0844 4457931 membership@britishtrombonesociety.org Webmaster Edward Solomon 07903 152148 webmaster@britishtrombonesociety.org Associate Webmaster Mike Saville webmaster2@britishtrombonesociety.org

The Trombonist Editor David Read 07812 080933 64A Dunlace Road, London, E5 0NE editor@britishtrombonesociety.org Advertising Chris Gill 07790 260140 advertising@britishtrombonesociety.org Designer David Read The Trombonist is published in Spring, Summer and Autumn. Please send any material for review to the editor.

Representatives Scotland Chris Stearn 01360 860220 scotland@britishtrombonesociety.org Wales Arlene MacFarlane 07773 290975 wales@britishtrombonesociety.org North East & Yorkshire Paul Woodward 01924 823840 northeast@britishtrombonesociety.org North West Gareth Westwood 07756 105524 northwest@britishtrombonesociety.org Midlands vacant Northern Ireland Stephen Cairns 02892 602646 northernireland@britishtrombonesociety.org South Chris Mackey 07758 451146 south@britishtrombonesociety.org South West Tony Evans 01752 263069 southwest@britishtrombonesociety.org East Anglia Ben Bouzan 07970 502509 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 youngrep@britishtrombonesociety.org

Brett Baker to lead the BTS The well-known solo trombonist of Black Dyke Band becomes the President of the British Trombone Society on 1st October. Brett Baker has been increasingly active in the BTS in the past few years, demonstrating a strong commitment to promoting the trombone.

Brett Baker responded: “It will be a great honour – I have some big shoes to fill as Bob Hughes has been an inspiration and huge motivational force to the society. I will do my best to continue and hopefully enhance the great work he has done these past four years.

I am also looking forward to Carol coming on board as Vice President and the society as a result having a new perspective. My first task will be to encourage a younger membership base and support our budding students in the various conservatoires up and down the country and will have meetings with trombone professors to examine how the BTS can support our young players.”

Bob Hughes stepping down Brett will take over from Bob Hughes, who has completed a four year tenure. Bob’s work commenced in the wake of the highly motivating

International Trombone Festival in Birmingham, and at the time said: “I see the role of the BTS as a vehicle for players of all abilities and styles to share their love of music and the trombone and to promote the development of trombone playing and its teaching. Also to explore and generate new repertoire for the instrument.”

Since then, Bob has been instrumental in the organisation of a bumper crop of BTS events. Bob’s first big hit was the splendid day with his former LSO colleagues at LSO St. Lukes in 2007 as a lead-up to Ian Bousfield’s concerto performance. Since then he’s been pushing for more events and better events, travelling to nearly every event to help out and often leading the massed blows. Another highlight was when the BTS ran a day with the Vienna Philharmonic Trombone Quartet at the Royal Academy of Music. Bob’s work was capped this May with another highly professional event he organised with the Birmingham Conservatoire, featuring a large number of professional jazz and orchestral performers and another Don Lusher Competition final, once again putting younger players in the spotlight.

The BTS magazine needed rekindling after Tony Parsons’ excellent work had finally come to an end a couple of years before, and various efforts to get it going again had not been sustained. Bob helped coax a new team to plan, edit, bring in advertising and get it printed and delivered. An 18 month plan to take it gradually from the 4 page leaflet, rushed out by the Executive themselves, to the 28 page magazine it is today, was carefully engineered and Bob was a great help in supporting the team members personally when it was most needed.

Carol Jarvis becomes Vice-President Bringing fresh blood into the BTS Exec comes Carol Jarvis.

She’s agreed to take the role of Vice-President which lines her up to become President in the future.

Particularly well-known to members for leading Bones Apart for many years, and writing in this and other brass publications, Carol Jarvis is a successful orchestral and jazz trombonist and has in recent years been playing pop tours with Sting and Seal. She is also a visiting Professor at Trinity College of Music and coaches on a number of music courses.

Cover image: (L-R) Adam Woolf, Miguel Tantos and Steve Saunders with His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts. See Monteverdi Vespers performances, page 6. This rehearsal was for Christmas Vespers, Southwark Cathedral with the Merbecke Choir, December 2009 (Photo © bridgetsaunders.co.uk)

Kneller Hall BTS Day hotting up Kneller Hall in London is throwing its doors open to trombonists for a very grand BTS day. The 17th century stately home based in Twickenham is now home to the Royal Military School of Music, but on 17 October, trombonists are invited to battle it out in the BTS Quartet Competition and to hear an evening concert by the Army Big Band, compered by Sheila Tracey and featuring soloists Gordon

Campbell and Stephen Sykes (BTS Don Lusher competition winner).

During the day will be a performance by James Stretton (multimulti-instrumentalist!), masterclasses by Malcolm Earle-Smith and Roger Argente, Massed Blow with Bob Hughes and trade stands, etc.

17 October 2010, 10am Kneller Hall, Twickenham,

London, TW2 7DU Free for BTS members and service personnel, £10 otherwise Trombone Quartet competition The competition, featuring Hoddinott’s Four Bagatelles and own choices is open to all, but please return the entry form in advance. Full details at: www.britishtrombonesociety. org/competitions The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 3

NEWS

Rochdale BTS Day

Oundle BTS Day & AGM

Sunday 12th September 2010

Sunday 3rd October 2010

Rochdale Music Service Fieldhouse School, Greenbank Road, Rochdale, OL12 0HZ Gary MacPhee, Adrian (Benny) Morris, Ian Nelson, Carol Jarvis, John Barber, Brett Baker, Kerry Baldwin, Simon Minshall, Stephen Lomas (BTS Northwest Solo winner), Black Dyke Trombones, Leyland Band Trombones, Rochdale Youth Big Band, Rochdale Brass Band Soloist performances, masterclasses, massed blow and chamber music for all are the focus for this trombone day.

Registration is 9.30-10.00 and the day’s activities are packed in until the final session 5.00-5.30, when participants perform solos and ensemble pieces, ready for the evening concert.

The 7pm concert features all participants performing as the BTS Trombone Choir and jointly with the Rochdale Youth Big Band, solos from Brett Baker, Carol Jarvis, Gary MacPhee and Kerry Baldwin, as well as the Dem Bones Trombone Quartet, Carol Jarvis and the BTS ‘All-Stars’ Jazz Quartet performing Lush Life, Simon Minshall (young ex-Fodens bass trombone star) and the Rochdale Youth Brass Band.

Refreshments can be bought nearby or bring your own.

Organised by James Howard: youngrep@britishtrombonesociety.org

Message about this magazine I’m sorry to report that this issue of the Trombonist has been delayed from the anticipated publication in early Summer. This has been due to circumstances beyond our control.

Additionally, the editor of the magazine, David Read has informed the Executive Board that he will be stepping down from his post once this issue is printed.

This is a very sad situation for us, as I am sure you will agree, David has produced a number of magnificent publications, of which we can be justly proud.

The BTS Executive Board members are considering a number of options relating to production of the Trombonist, use of the Internet and alternative forms of communication with members, and will inform you

when any final decisions are reached.

We would very much value your thoughts and suggestions on suitable people to take on the editing of the magazine or developing alternatives. This may be a good opportunity to reconsider the way we operate as a Society and the services we offer to you as a member.

Can I, therefore, ask you to email me any suggestions you may have at your earliest convenience. I appreciate that the holiday season is currently upon us, but I am hopeful that members will take the time to put their good ideas into words and email me at: secretary@britishtrombonesociety.org With best wishes, Geoff Wolmark, BTS Secretary 27 July 2010

Ben Bouzan’s popular event at Oundle School in Northamptonshire is shaping for another exciting day, packed with massed blows, professional performances, BTS Annual General Meeting, trade stands etc. with the main artist to be announced on the website nearer the time.

East Yorkshire BTS Day Saturday 2nd October 2010 Black Dyke trombone quartet will lead workshops and massed blowing. Venue TBC in Hull/Beverley. All ages and abilities welcome to this first East Yorkshire BTS event.

Members free, others £10. Check the BTS website for updates.

Act now or this magazine could stop!

The BTS is asking members to adjust their bank’s Standing Order to the new membership rates, announced last issue.

The amounts can’t be changed by the BTS – members need to do this themselves.

It’s the first time we’ve increased the rates for several years, decided with support from members at the AGM, but it does need members to act quickly, or risk losing their magazines through underpayment.

A small proportion of members instead pay by PayPal or credit card on-line. These particular members will be offered the new rate when they renew.

IMPORTANT: If you do not update your Standing Order, you will lose the benefits of BTS membership and will miss out on future issues of this magazine! So don’t delay!

Updating standing orders There are two simple ways to change your standing order amount: 1. Those that bank on-line or by telephone can usually adjust the amount this way.

2. Or you can complete another standing order mandate and send it to the BTS. The form enclosed with this magazine (or downloaded here: www.britishtrombonesociety. org/application_form.pdf ) works for both new members and existing ones changing details.

BTS Membership rates (since April 2010) Regular £24 Student £18 Over 65 £18 Under 16 £10 International £30 Lisa Penn (BTS Membership Manager) 0844 4457931 membership@britishtrombonesociety.org

The low brass of the BBC Symphony Orchestra swelled for a performance of Mahler 8 at the First Night of the Proms 2010. The conductor doubled the stage-band to 6 trombones in addition to the 4 in the orchestra. (L-R) Paul Lambert, Duncan Wilson, Rob Workman, Blair Sinclair, Ruth Molins, Jayne Murrill, Mike Lloyd, Sam Elliott (tuba), Helen Vollam, Dan Jenkins, Rob O’Neill © Nikos Zarb

4 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

NEWS

Bournemouth Symphony players lead BTS Day The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s trombone section is taking the lead with an exciting BTS trombone day in Dorset on 19th September 2010.

The BSO’s Principal Trombone Kevin Morgan will take us through a series of warm ups and massed blows spaced out through the day. This year the music will include some new arrangements with a swing band flavour. In the afternoon Robb Tooley, recently appointed to the BSO, will perform Dan Jenkins’ Trombone Concerto accompanied by the St. Aldhelms Orchestra conducted by his colleague Kevin Smith.

There will be several trade stands for all to ‘browse and buy’ from during the day.

The Royal Marines have also been invited to provide a stand as they are currently recruiting trombonists.

The venue is a spacious concert hall at Lytchett Minster School, Post Green Lane Poole Dorset BH16 6JD, about 5 miles west of Poole in the lovely Dorset countryside.

The day is open to any BTS member AND non members, but we need to charge to cover the cost of hall hire as follows: BTS Members - £10 Non-members - £12 Under 16yrs old and seniors over 60 years old (members and non-members) - £8 Registration on the day will be from 09:30 for a 10:00 start. The day will finish at approximately 16:30. There are no catering facilities at the school but free tea and coffee will be available throughout the day. Please bring a packed lunch as it is a drive to the nearest pub or restaurant (although these may be of use afterwards!)

Those wishing to attend should register with the BTS Wessex Representative: Bruce Harding – 73 Sopwith Cresc, Merley, Wimborne Dorset BH21 1SW (Tel 01202 880814), enclosing the appropriate value cheque before 10th September suppling the following contact information: name, address, contact number.

Cheques payable to ‘BTS Wessex Region’.

BTS Don Lusher Competition winner Stephen Sykes performed as guest soloist with the Lithuanian Army Band at the Gala Concert of the National Brass Band Championships in Panavesis in April.

He performed the Rimsky Korsakov concerto and Basta by Folke Rabe.

Stephen also recently performed as guest soloist in the Kettering Citadel with the Virtuosi GUS band in a charity concert to raise much needed funds for the charity Brass Band Aid. Amongst his solo items Stephen featured Don Lusher solos as his personal tribute to the great trombonist.

Maisie Ringham and Harry Brown were recently honoured by the Royal Academy of Music for their “notable contributions to the music profession”.

Maisie was principal trombone with the Halle Orchestra in the 1950’s and became HonARAM – ‘Hon’ as

she didn’t study at the RAM. Harry Brown was awarded an ARAM, having started professionally aged 16 with the Jazz Warriors, spent 1997-2000 studying classical and jazz trombone at the RAM and is much in demand as a pop/R&B/soul/jazz and session trombonist.

Dennis Rollins writes: “Just had a great tour of Japan with Maceo. The Blue Note Tokyo shows were joined

by Dutch saxophonist, Candy Dulfer. Billed as ‘My Funky Valentine’ the music took on diverse extremes of ‘raw’ funk and soothing ballads. (..more funk though!) Playing 2 shows a night, it gave the ‘chops’ a real workout, and allowed me to get to know my new ‘super-bling’d’ superstar bell Rath Trombone (R3) ...LOVE JAPAN!!!!!”

Artist Andrew Matthews produced this beautifully detailed bell engraving, another example of the new customisation service being offered by Rath

The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 5

NEWS Diary Dates 5 Sept 12 Sept 16 Sept 19 Sept 22 Sept 2 Oct 2 Oct 3 Oct 9 Oct 14 Oct 15 Oct 17 Oct 23 Oct 29-31 Oct 11 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 21 Nov 8 Dec 8 Dec 10 Dec

Prime Brass BTS Day His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts BTS Day Fine Arts Brass Dennis Rollins’ Velocity Trio BTS Day BTS Day & AGM Jiggs Wigham & RNCM Trombone Choir RNCM Brass Ensemble Fine Arts Brass BTS Day & Quartet Competition Fine Arts Brass RNCM Wind and Brass Weekend RCM Brass & Choir Onyx Brass English Sackbut & Cornett Ens. Prime Brass workshop Matt Gee Masterclass Fine Arts Brass Mark Nightingale & Bone Supremecy

Eric Crees and Nigel Black direct the Royal College of Muisc Brass and choir in a celebration of Warlock’s 116th birthday on 11th November.

Cambridge-based Prime Brass are leading a brass ensemble workshop day on 21st November. The 10-piece group invites players of all ages and standards to “explore their musical talent and passion” under their expert coaching. The day costs £45 and takes place at Sawston Village College 9.30-5.30.

Monteverdi Vespers Cambridgeshire 5.15 Ely Cathedral Manchester area Rochdale. See page 4 Suffolk Ipswich School Dorset Poole. See page 5 Scotland 7.30 Howden Park Centre, Livingston Norfolk Norwich Playhouse East Yorkshire Hull / Beverley. See p. 4 Northants Oundle School. See page 4 Manchester 6.30, RNCM Lord Rhodes room, free, see below Manchester 1.15pm, RNCM Concert Hall, free Kent 7.30, Kemsley Village Hall (Sittingbourne MusSoc) London Kneller Hall. See page 3 Cheshire 8.00 Holmes Chapel Leisure Centre (HC MusSoc) Manchester See below and www.rncm.ac.uk London 7.30 RCM, see below London 7.30 Alleyn’s School London 7.30 St James Piccadilly, see below Cambridgeshire See below London 10am RCM Recital Hall, free tickets Northumberland St Andrew’s Church, Corbridge East Sussex Under Ground Theatre, Eastbourne

Apply by 2nd November at : www.acefoundation.org.uk/courses Jiggs Whigham directs a programme of jazz and light music with the Royal Northern School of Music Trombone Choir on 9th October.

The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble are working with strings and choir in a programme of Monteverdi and Schütz. The concert in central London takes place on 12th November.

10 Sept 2 Oct 5 Oct 9 Oct 16 Oct 17 Oct 28 Oct 30 Oct 20 Nov 14 Nov 20 Nov 2 Dec

HMSC HMSC HMSC ECSE HMSC HMSC HMSC HMSC HMSC Quintessential Quintessential ECSE

London Oxford Durham London London Birmingham Worcestershire Brighton London Norfolk Essex Warwick

7.30 Royal Albert Hall Sheldonian Theatre Durham Cathedral 7.30 Clerkenwell Cadogan Hall Town Hall Malvern Theatre St Bartholomew’s Hampstead King’s Lynn Chelmsford Cathedral St. Mary’s Church

The Monteverdi Vespers 1610 anniversary performances continue for the rest of the year. Hear the wonderous sound of sackbut and cornetts courtest of professional groups: His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble and Quintessential Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble.

The Royal Northern College of Music is having a ‘Wind and Brass Weekend’ at the end of October. Besides bring a top event for wind bands, there are plenty of brass workshops on the Saturday and particular events for trombonists on the Sunday. Halle Orchestra bass trombonist Adrian Morris is giving a master class on Sunday morning, followed

by BBC Young Musician 2008 star Peter Moore, who will be performing the Buxton Orr Trombone Concerto. Full details

of the weekend here: http://bit.ly/adw4ti Saturday 30th October: 11-1pm Brass performance clinic – with John Miller, RNCM Director of Brass Studies; 3-5pm Lower brass workshop (Trombone, Eb Horn, Euph, Tuba) • Sunday 31st October: 1030-1230 Trombone Masterclass with Adrian Morris; 1.15pm Lunchtime concert, RNCM Wind Collective, Buxton Orr Trombone Concerto, with soloist Peter Moore (2008 BBC Young Musician of the Year)

Phil Parker Ltd The Brass Musical Instrument Specialists 106a Crawford Street, London. W1H 2HZ 020 7486 8206 sales@philparker.co.uk www.philparker.co.uk 6 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

FEATURES

Arthur Wilson FRCM A Personal Reminiscence by Peter Bassano

© GERALD DRUCKER

With the passing of Arthur Wilson (21 June 1927 – 10 July 2010) after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, the music profession has lost one of its finest symphonic trombone players and teachers. Arthur’s career spanned more than 50 years. His loss will be deeply felt by hundreds of friends, colleagues and exstudents.

A

rthur Wilson was a Londoner born and bred, a third generation professional trombonist whose father, Stanley, was a busy player in dance bands (Harry Davison’s in particular), radio broadcasts and theatres between the wars. His family, which consisted of 5 boys lived in Battersea and when he was 16 his father lent him his spare instrument, a good quality medium-bore Courtois to learn on. By today’s norm Arthur was a late starter but within a short time he made good progress, his stylistic ambitions along the lines of Tommy Dorsey, whose popular recordings had been a strong influence on his father’s playing. Only a matter of months after Arthur had taken up the trombone

his father took back Arthur’s instrument.

Since money was short there was no hope of a replacement instrument of the same quality, and so visits to the local junk shops procured a bell in one, a slide in another and a mouthpiece in yet another – early evidence of the determination that was to be such a feature of Arthur’s character.

Despite having a professional player as a father, Arthur remained self-taught mainly because his father was out until late in the evening; often later than he might reasonably have been expected home. Here are his own words on this period from a speech he gave when he retired from the RCM: ”It will probably come as no surprise to you to learn that I had no formal tuition.

My Dad was a trombone player and a very good one. But he was too busy, or something to teach me. He always maintained that it was because of his bad experiences as a youngster. His father, who was a big time trombone player in the military band world, would arrive home in the early hours much the worse for wear and would drag him out of bed and demand to hear some scales. My scales may not be great but I got lots of uninterrupted sleep... The best my Dad could do was to send me to a string bass player who doubled a bit on the G [bass trombone]. He was the father of Adrian and Ian Beers [principal bass of the ECO and 2nd horn of the Philharmonia]. Their father’s name was Wish Beers. I never did discover what the Wish The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 7

FAR LEFT: © COLIN BUSBY, LEFT: © 1977 COLIN REYNIER

FEATURES

stood for but I had some ideas... He told me that he didn’t know much about the trombone but would show me how to fake the notes. I didn’t think the trombone was the ideal instrument to try to fake anything on.”

Arthur told a wonderful story about waking up one morning to find a decrepit cart horse standing in the front hall way of their terraced house. It seems his father – whose habit it was to walk to and from work – had in the early hours of the morning chanced upon a gypsy taking this particular beast on its final journey to the ‘Knackers Yard’. Stanley Wilson, after several pints of beer, felt great sympathy for the animal but without giving the provision for stabling further thought, offered to relieve the owner of his burden for an undisclosed sum.

Compulsory conscription was still on the statute books in the UK until some 15 years after the end of the war, and so most young men were obliged to enlist into the armed forces. Anyone with musical talent tried to opt for a military band rather than the often brutal and spartan regime of everyday ‘squaddy’ life. Because of a tragedy, when, towards the end of the war some members of the Coldstream Guards Band were killed in an air-raid on the Guard’s Chapel, there was a vacancy for a trombonist, and Arthur was fortunate enough to be appointed. Although throughout his life, Arthur was suave and debonnaire – polished shoes, collar and tie, the norm – army life and the insensitivity of the RSM and other non-commissioned officers didn’t make him happy; his natural temperament was much more 8 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

officer class, than private. Even so, life in a guard’s band, was much less arduous than you might imagine, morning rehearsals which finished most days by 12 o’clock.

Periodically, there was a month’s recruiting campaign in the North of England when the Band would march through the high streets of various industrial towns, hoping to attract young out-of-work players already musically trained by their local brass band. One such campaign resulted in only one recruit, who lasted six weeks in the regiment, at which time his father ‘bought’ him out.

Embracing orchestral music Student wind and brass players were in short supply in London in the late 1940s and so the Royal College of Music offered exhibitions to military bandsmen, like Arthur, in return for playing with the college orchestra. Part of the deal was that they received a weekly instrumental lesson. This was a turning point for Arthur, in as much as for the first time he was exposed to mainstream orchestral repertoire, and had the benefit of a trombone teacher, Morris Smith who was also Orchestral Manager at the Royal Opera House. Morris was to become a great friend and confident of the General Director of the Royal Opera House, Sir David Webster – he that made the famous “you will tell your grand-children about this” Callas/ Tosca speech – and so became very influential in orchestral appointments in the profession.

More than anyone else though, it was Arthur’s meeting at the RCM with Evan Watkin, who was a fellow student and was destined to become an iconic orchestral

trombone player that exerted the most musical influence. Although Evan was a Welshman, he was, paradoxically, a member of the Scots Guards Band. Evan’s playing was outstanding; he was renowned for a wonderfully full, rich, free sound that was the most thrilling in ff and beguiling in pp.

When Evan left the RCM, Morris appointed him at Covent Garden where he stayed for five years before becoming principal trombone with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held for more than thirty years. You can hear his playing on the RPO’s Berlioz recordings with Beecham. Experiencing Evan’s playing first hand made Arthur realize that he had a great deal of work to do if he was to catch up – and work and catch up he did.

Regeneration for the decade after the war, meant there were always enough opportunities around – dance halls, music halls, theatres and circuses – to keep any reasonable player regularly in work. Whilst Arthur was still in the Guards Band, he took on a season in a variety theatre in Poplar in Docklands, long before the area became the commercial centre that it is today. The shows were twice nightly and three on Saturday, with just six players in the orchestra: two violins, trumpet, trombone, piano and drums, so a hard blow. By this stage Evan’s influence hadn’t yet fully taken effect because there was barracking from the audience that the trombone player should “blow louder”, and to emphasize their point members of the audience would throw orange peel and apple cores at Arthur: a nice welcome to the music profession! His predecessor had moved ‘up-market’ to a

FEATURES job in a circus band, widely regarded as a better gig than the variety theatre!

During this period the Philharmonia Orchestra, with which Arthur Wilson’s name was destined to become synonymous, was establishing itself as London’s foremost orchestra. Founded by the autocratic record producer, Walter Legge, who had the vision to revive symphonic recording just as the technology was changing (78 RPM, to 45 RPM and later to 33RPM), the Philharmonia became the virtual house orchestra of EMI, undertaking at least 300 recording sessions a year. Beecham, supported by a handful of British conductors, had conducted the Philharmonia’s early concerts, this was economically underpinned by the revitalised Denham film studios who nurtured the orchestra through its first few years. In time and in the spirit of reconciliation, the German artists, who had been absent throughout the war were invited back to England; these included Schnabel, Hotter, Schwarzkopf, Seefried, Karajan, Joseph Krips and most significantly, the octagenerian, Richard Strauss. Poignantly, Strauss didn’t live long enough to hear Kirsten Flagstad sing the world premiere in London of his Four Last Songs accompanied by the Philharmonia with Furtwängler conducting in May 1950.

This extraordinary musical renaissance, sparked by Legge’s vision and ambition inspired a number of ambitious young musicians to seek employment in symphony orchestras.

A stint with the LSO The first chance to become an orchestral player arrived for Arthur in 1950 when Geoff Lyndon, the second trombone in the London Symphony Orchestra contracted tuberculosis, almost unknown in this country now, but then a highly infectious and dangerous disease that was acknowledged to take over a year to cure. Six trombonists auditioned – how many would apply for the same job today? Arthur spent a year with the LSO until the 2nd Trombone position in the Philharmonia became vacant and they engaged him; it isn’t clear whether or not he auditioned, but it was an appointment he held for 12 years, so it must have been a good decision. The principal brass players when Arthur joined were Dennis Brain, horn, Harold Jackson, trumpet and Stan Brown, principal trombone, all of them star performers. The bass trombone player at this time having great difficulties with his playing and so he left shortly after Arthur joined to be replaced by Fred Mansfield who transferred from the LSO. Stan Brown was a fine player but after some time he too went through a bad patch with his playing – not good news in an orchestra whose raison d’etre is recording – and so he was eventually obliged to leave. Alf Flaszynski, the Polish musician – who, as a hostage to fortune, fought for opposing armies during

the progress of the War – joined the Philharmonia from the Scottish National.

The artistic differences between the Philharmonia and the Poplar Variety Theatre couldn’t have been greater. The two main conductors that worked regularly with the orchestra at this time were Karajan and Cantelli, performing repertoire that was unfamiliar to London orchestral players: the Strauss and Debussy tone poems, Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra and the Rite of Spring which the orchestra recorded with Markevich; these works must have come as a big shock for an orchestra with many of its instrumentalists playing them for the first time.

A softer approach It was Karajan’s wish to have brass playing, without any kind of attack to the sound production, and so all of the players found a method of achieving this. This seems to have been a common demand of German conductors, which in certain cases led to brass sections playing slightly behind the beat. This phonemenon was observable in the RPO when the highly esteemed Rudolph Kempe was its Music Director. In Arthur’s case, he coped with Karajan’s desire by simply not using his tongue for certain repertoire: the chorales in the Brahms and Schumann symphonies, for example. It was to become a permanent feature of his playing and was one of the characteristics which was to make his contribution so unique and distinctive.

Karajan toured Europe with the Philharmonia in 1951, in a twelve city tour which included Turin and Milan. Legge saw this as an opportunity to persuade Toscanini, that the Philharmonia was just the kind of elite orchestra and that the 84 year old maestro should agree to conduct. In the autumn of 1952 he conducted two Brahms programmes at the newly opened Royal Festival Hall.

By 1957 a couple of years after the death of his arch-rival Furtwängler, Karajan was gradually enticed away from London to Berlin and Salzburg and a new era for the Philharmonia began with the appointment of Klemperer as his successor. Guest conductors in this period included Giulini (who Legge saw as Cantelli’s natural successor), Barbirolli, Böhm, Boult, Frühbeck de Burgos, Maazel, Silvestri, Serafin, Horenstein, Pritchard, Sawallisch, Schippers and Kurtz. At the end of August the Philharmonia returned to the Edinburgh Festival after a three year absence. Klemperer conducted the first two concerts, and the third on Saturday which included Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony was conducted by Eugene Ormandy. The following Monday the orchestra were to begin recording Strauss’s Capriccio with Sawallisch at Kingsway Hall. For those that hadn’t already heard, the tragic news that Dennis Brain, had been killed – at the age of 36 – in a car

crash was simply devastating and was to ignite emotional repercussions that were to affect the orchestra for years.

In 1958 Fred Mansfield’s position was filled by Ray Premru, the legendary American bass trombone player, whose sound quality – in my view – still remains unsurpassed. A couple of years after Ray’s appointment, Alf Flaszyinski injured his upper lip in an accident, whilst playing with one of his children, which meant he needed to readjust his embouchure.

Although this was eventually successful, during the process his playing became uncertain, which affected his confidence and made his attendance unreliable and he would sometimes decide at the last minute that he was unable to perform at a concert or recording. This meant that on a number of occasions Arthur found himself, with little warning sitting in the principal trombone seat, more often than not in tricky repertoire. This caused some personal difficulties between the two players.

Since he had played principal on occasions, Arthur was asked if he would consider moving sideways; he reluctantly agreed with the proviso that he could revert to the 2nd trombone position if it didn’t work out. It worked out, Ray Brown (the son of Stan Brown) was appointed as 2nd trombone and the section remained stable for the next ten years. Arthur continued as principal trombone until 1979 and the Philharmonia trombone section under his leadership retained its reputation for being one of the best symphonic trombone sections in the world.

Because of its recording commitments, the Philharmonia gave fewer concerts than other London orchestras and therefore its well-planned Festival Hall appearances became important occasions in the capital’s musical life. Klemperer, Giulini, Maazel and Frühbeck de Burgos were very popular with Londoners. In addition important composers were invited to conduct their own music too; Walton conducted his Belshazzar’s Feast and Stravinsky Baiser de la fee and his final London concert, The Firebird, which I can recommend watching on YouTube.

Philharmonia suspended It was shortly after Arthur’s promotion that Legge’s autocratic regime was about to come to a self-imposed end. EMI’s management decided that they could no longer allow Legge the financial freedom to record as extensively or with such expensive artists – even though it had been hugely successful artistically – as he had for nearly two decades. Legge’s response was a press release dated 10th March 1964 with his unilateral decision announcing suspension of the Philharmonia at the end of its current season. The news made the front pages of the daily newspapers and the following morning, when the Philharmonia began The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 9

FEATURES well blended, some might criticise the lack of clarity in the delivery of the words.

Wilhelm Pitz the chorus master of the Bayreuth Festival was brought in by Legge to train the chorus in a more Germanic tradition than that enjoyed by the other London choruses. I heard wonderful performances of the Verdi Requiem and Four Sacred Pieces with Giulini, who had the ability to make an orchestra sound fabulous. Other conductors that I know Arthur admired are Klemperer, Maazel (although their relationship was occasionally turbulent), Muti, Davis and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos.

Distinctive playing The London orchestras in the 1960s all had very distinctive and diverse playing characteristics. On a radio broadcast it was quite possible to immediately identify each orchestra by its timpanist, principal trumpet, or principal flute. It’s not so easy these days after decades of conservatoire standardized conveyor-belt production. The other London orchestral trombone players in the mid 1960s were Alfred Flaszyinski (BBC SO), Derek James (LPO), Harold Nash (Covent Garden), Denis Wick (LSO) and Evan Watkin (RPO). All had differing musical personalities and the diversity of style showed in their playing. Of these, only a couple might consider themselves ‘soloists’, occasionally stepping outside of their respective sections – most simply regarded themselves as orchestral specialists. The most easily recognisable of the six was Arthur Wilson; his style of playing was highly individual.

Although conforming with the others on the Conn 8H (88H) convention, he played on a smaller mouthpiece (a Vincent Bach 6 1/2) than his contemporaries and specialised in a cantabile approach to playing and impressive extremes of dynamic. His concern was for an homogeneous trombone

© CHRIS CHRISTODOULOU

recording Messiah with Klemperer. Klemperer was furious that Legge had tried to kill off the orchestra in this way, with no consultation with either himself or the players.

The players met and decided to form a co-operative and rename the orchestra, the New Philharmonia for legal reasons.

A committee, chaired by Bernard Walton was elected from the players and Arthur found himself heavily involved in trying to salvage the Philharmonia’s future. In this, three conductors – all of whom, notwithstanding that they had Legge to thank for the progress of their careers – came to the aid of the orchestra; Klemperer, Giulini and Boult who spoke passionately to the audience at the next Philharmonia concert on 23rd March, urging the audience to back the orchestral players in their intention to stay in business. Unlike many orchestral players, who regard conductors as their natural enemy, Arthur was always very appreciative of the good ones, and they of him, and it may well have been this powerful support from conductors when the orchestra was under threat, that shaped his view.

I first heard the Philharmonia – more correctly the New Philharmonia – live, about this time. I had frequently listened to their recordings and broadcasts. What struck me was the distinctive brass section sound quality – by this time Philip Jones was principal trumpet and Alan Civil, principal horn. It was the Philharmonia’s warm cantabile approach to the playing of repertoire that best suited it – Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Schubert, Sibelius, Verdi – that I found most attractive. They did, of course work a lot with singers, both in opera and oratorio and I think that influenced the instrumental playing. Like the orchestra, the Philharmonia Chorus also had a highly distinctive sound, warm and

Arthur Wilson in good company receiving a Fellowship of the Royal College of Music in 1995. (L-R) Arthur Wilson, Moura Lympany (pianist), Nicola LeFanu (composer), Paul McCartney (singer/songwriter) and Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor) (unfortunately caught blinking). Only two years earlier Salonen started conducting the Philharmonia and is now their Principal Conductor.

10 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

section sound where the aim was towards perfection of blend, balance, intonation and a unity of style; much of his energy was spent in an effort to achieve this goal.

He was the first London player to use the alto trombone, a controversial decision since elsewhere the playing of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and the Beethoven and Schumann Symphonies and other alto trombone parts were played in machismo fashion on the tenor. This often led to choral conductors feeling forced to tacet whole swathes of trombone passages in the works of Mozart and Schubert. Arthur bought an Eb instrument from Lätzsch in Bremen but because of his ‘downstream’ embouchure and subsequent trombone hold he could only get mouthpiece to lips after a ‘dogleg’ modification to the bell section joint. You can hear this instrument to good effect in the Britten/ECO recording of Schumann’s Faust, the Klemperer and Giulini Brahms Cycles, and the Schumann Symphonies with Muti. Arthur’s distinctive tenor ‘voice’ is clearly heard in the Klemperer’s Mahler 2 recording, as well as Mahler 5 with Barbirolli, Ivan the Terrible and the Verdi overtures with Muti, the complete Daphnis & Chloë and Carmina Burana with Frübeck de Burgos.

A gentleman to meet I first met Arthur in 1967 at Covent Garden when Arthur, Ernest Benton and I had been engaged to play one of the three stierhorn parts in Wagner’s Götterdämmurung with Georg Solti conducting. Since I had been something of a fan of Arthur’s for some years I was looking forward to meeting him and enthusiastic about making a good impression. Morris Smith was still Professor of Trombone at the RCM as well as Covent Garden’s Orchestral Manager; it was he who introduced me to Arthur and Ernie when we were given our Opera House owned stierhorns an hour or so before we were due play. Stierhorns are monotone instruments, similar in principal to the vuvuzelas, that irritating and persistent accompaniment to the 2010 World Cup. Our respective warm ups when trying out these instruments, were quite different; Arthur hardly seemed to blow his instrument at all, just a gentle purring. We were taken up to the stage. Standing at the side we could see Hagen preparing to mime the sounding of his horn to rally the Gibichung clan (his call is answered by two additional horns sounding a dissonant semitone apart) Arthur was first in, what he delivered was a colossal sound and very impressive, I’ll never forget it.

In 1967 when Morris Smith died quite unexpectedly, the College appointed Arthur in his place. The RCM had a long established tradition of professorial appointments from past alumni; this was in an effort to retain some kind of stylistic continuity. A good example of this is that of the trumpet department; Thomas Harper

FEATURES was the first professor of trumpet at the RCM employed from the end of the C19, his seven successors were all students of their predecessor. In 1967 Arthur was not just principal trombone of the New Philharmonia, he had been a founder member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and also principal of the English Chamber Orchestra and was offered numerous commercial freelance engagements making him one of the busiest studio players in London. As a player with the ECO he would work quite regularly with Barenboim and Britten.

Arthur inherited a group of eight trombone students (myself included) all of whom were to succeed in the music profession. Of course, in the late sixties the competition was nowhere near as fierce as it is these days, but none-the-less for each of us to find a place in the profession can largely be claimed because of Arthur’s influence. His teaching method was informed by his own playing criteria, so there was a great deal of emphasis on sectional playing and learning the orchestral repertoire with a strong leaning towards different styles for different composers.

The trombone solo repertoire – concertos and sonatas – was to assume importance for teachers like Arthur only when final recital requirements and orchestral audition procedures were to place ‘solo playing’ above ‘sectional playing’ in the profession’s orchestral hierarchy.

Shortly after his RCM appointment Arthur was to become the trombone coach of the National Youth Orchestra and although some of the NYO players from those days weren’t his personal students, without exception they all acknowledge the beneficial influence his advice had on their playing.

A pillar of support When I left the RCM I began a freelance professional life that was to last for more than five years. Arthur was particularly encouraging, inviting me to play as a regular extra with the New Philharmonia on the numerous occasions when Ray Brown was tied up with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, and recommending me to commercial fixers like Sid Margo – who managed John Barry’s James Bond film sessions – and Pat Halling who was well connected in TV circles. It was Arthur who suggested that the ECO book me to play the alto trombone in a Prom performance of the Mozart Requiem with Barenboim whilst he played the tenor part in the all important Tuba Mirum solo, which he played magnificently.

Ray Brown was married to the highly successful operatic soprano, Elizabeth Vaughan. In 1973 he took the decision to resign from the orchestra in order to manage his wife’s singing career. Arthur telephoned me to ask if I was interested in replacing him and of course, I was. It was my great privilege to sit between him and

Ray Premru, along with the impressive and warm tuba sound of John Jenkins. Some landmark performances that I remember from those days include Berg’s op.6 with Abbado in Luzern – where the solo high pp Eb was perfectly achieved, Bruckner 8 with Giulini in Edinburgh, Mahler 1 with Barbirolli, Brahms 4 with Klemperer, Verdi Requiem with Muti, Sibelius 5 with Rattle and Tchaikovsky 6 with Svetlanov all at the RFH. On tour with Arthur Touring with Arthur, and other members of the Philharmonia brass section during the 1970s was absolutely wonderful. A highly cultured man, steeped in film, literature, theatre and opera, he was also interested in exploring local ethnic performance – I would unexpectedly find myself further educated in jazz clubs, flamenco and fado venues. He delighted in good food – although making sense of the menus in dimly lit restaurants sometimes frustrated him – good wine, stimulating conversation, attracted and attractive to members of the opposite sex; an evening in his company always ended in fun and laughter. He was the most generous of gentlemen, it was always impossible to buy the first round of drinks – and often the second and third round too – this generosity of spirit was observable in his willingness to devote his time and advice too. It was during a trip to Barcelona – a regular port of call for the Philharmonia – that Arthur began his relationship with the Philharmonia’s Administrator, Fiona Grant, his loving and devoted partner, wife, and in recent years patient and indefatigable carer.

In recent weeks Fiona has received around a hundred messages which all highlight Arthur’s spirit of generosity, along with the fact that so many in the profession today see him as such a seminal influence both in their music and in their lives.

When John Iveson moved away from London in 1978 Arthur was influential in having me join him as a professor at the RCM; fifteen years later I became Head of Brass there. It is likely that none of these appointments would have happened without Arthur’s support. Over time future generations of Arthur’s students were to become as equally successful as my contemporaries.

Arthur resigned from the Philharmonia in 1979 joining the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House as co-principal trombone.

A number of the conductors that he had worked with in the Philharmonia – Muti, Maazel and Giulini in particular – were delighted to see him at the opera house and greeted him warmly.

It is conventional for UK conservatoire professors to retire at age 65; Arthur remained a professor of trombone at the RCM until he was 72. This was entirely because it was easy for me to persuade Dame Janet Ritterman, the Director, on an

annual basis that he was “irreplaceable”.

The reason that it wasn’t difficult to persuade Dame Janet, was that she, like me, knew “irreplaceable” was true.

When Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos first started working with the Philharmonia in 1964 for an indisposed Otto Klemperer, he established an immediate rapport with the orchestra which within a couple of years led to two iconic recordings; Carmina Burana and the complete Daphnis and Chloe. I remember in 1968, John Iveson newly appointed principal trombone of the BBC Symphony Orchestra marvelling that such an impressive recording could have been completed in just three sessions.

I knew that Frühbeck and many of the conductors that he had worked with, who were still alive, would be saddened by his passing, so I wrote to them. Although he was away from home on holiday within a few days I received the following e-mail, which I know will echo the thoughts of everyone whose priviledge it has been to know Arthur Wilson: “When I came to conduct in the sixties the Philharmonia, the great recording orchestra of that time, Arthur Wilson was the solo trombone player. He was not only an outstanding musician but also an excellent person.

On all my recordings and a huge number of concerts I had the pleasure to do with the orchestra he was the professional always performing superbly. As a young conductor I was very thankful not only for a splendid collaboration but also for how much I could learn from them. My condolences to Fiona and all the Philharmonia family.”

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos As a student at the RCM in the early 1960’s I first met Arthur somewhere out of town when we both turned up on an “amateur date”. Of course I knew who he was, and that he was a truly great player, for many years in the Philharmonia and very busy and much in demand. Also Arthur was above all a model professional who would never say an unkind word about any of his many colleagues. Those who knew him will know what I mean. I remember asking him why he would bother playing in a less than first class date like the one we were engaged in then and there and his answer was so good. He said: “They’ve got the money, and you’ve got the trombone, and that’s all you need to know!”

Later on then I was in the LPO I played with Arthur in all sorts of circumstances, and to do was the most beneficial professional experience a young player could hope for. I never felt that Arthur, who was so self-effacing and modest, realized the respect and affection in which he was held by his colleagues and friends. He was a great man.

John G Pritchard The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 11

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www.warwickmusic.com 12 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

FEATURES

Wind of change at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra The trombone section of the BSO has a reputation for both excellence and stability having had only a handful of changes in the last three decades.

However, in late 2008 the 2nd trombone seat became vacant when Donal Bannister secured the position of Principal Trombone with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

After much auditioning and trialling Robb Tooley was appointed as the new 2nd trombonist to play alongside Principal Kevin Morgan and bass trombonist Kevin Smith.

Robb had a head start in music, trombone playing in particular, as both his father and grandfather were enthusiastic amateur trombonists.

His playing started at school at the age of 11 in his home town of Colchester, and Robb soon found himself a member of the Colchester Junior Band.

His first thoughts of playing professionally however came when he was 14 years old whilst playing at the Colchester Institute under the tutorship of Dave Cole. At this time he was also playing in the local youth orchestra under ex-LSO musician George Reynolds and it was George that suggested Robb should take lessons from Denis Wick. This was duly arranged and soon Robb progressed to the Junior Guildhall where coaching continued under Andy Waddicor.

At the age of 17 he was playing with the National Youth Brass Band and a year later with the National Youth Orchestra. There followed an audition with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Robb spent the next 4 years studying there, the latter 3 of which he was playing with the European Union Youth Orchestra. His main tutors were Simon Wills and Eric Crees.

Robb Graduated from the Guildhall in 2001 aged 23 having won the prestigeous Brass prize in his final year.

His professional trombone career started with freelancing, mainly with the RPO, LPO, the Philharmonia, London Brass and English Brass Ensemble and during this period he enjoyed travelling to places such as Russia, Brazil, Cyprus, Mumbai, China and the Far East with these fine groups.

Robb joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in November 2009 and his current instrument is a Conn 88H, which seems a popular choice at the moment.

He, his wife Hannah and son Oliver (Oliver will have his second birthday this year) have already settled into the Poole area within convenient commuting distance to the BSO’s home at the Poole Arts Centre, now known as the Lighthouse.

The BTS wishes Robb and his family every success in the coming years.

Bruce Harding BTS Wessex Representative

Above: Robb Tooley today Below: Robb previously appeared in this magazine playing with an East Anglia group with his father Eric in the Spring 1992 issue

The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 13

FEATURES

The Birmingham Conservatoire hosted their trombone day on Sunday 9th May in the spacious Adrian Boult Hall, starting with a massed blow under the direction of BTS President, Bob Hughes.

This was followed at midday by the 2010 Don Lusher Solo Trombone Competition for Young Trombonists. The four finalists, Zebedee Tonkin, Stephen Sykes, Callum Au and Faye Treacy each gave performances of Bill Geldard’s arrangement of Gershwin’s I loves you Porgy, as well as the more up-tempo DL Blues. In all of the performances the finalists were backed up by a trio of jazz students from the Conservatoire forming a rhythm section. The adjudicators: Gordon Campbell, David Purser and Bob Hughes unanimously declared Stephen Sykes the winner, who was presented with a top-of-the-range Yahama Xeno trombone and the Don Lusher Trophy, presented by Diana Lusher. Second place was awarded to Faye Treacy who went away with a Yamaha Silent Brass System and Zebedee Tonkin and Callum Au were placed in joint third, each receiving Yahama Accessory Packs. Particular thanks go to Yamaha for supporting this competition which allows us to celebrate Don Lusher’s memorable playing.

After luncha and trade stands we were treated to a performance by the London Trombone Quartet, made up of Pete Beachill, Jeremy Price, Ashley Horton and David Stewart. Featuring works by Stan Sulzman and Kenny Wheeler as well as some of Beachill’s original compositions, the quartet were also joined by a small band of students, in what was a extremely exciting performance.

The day’s Celebrity Recital was by Simon Johnson, principal trombone of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He showcased his boundless musicality and technical prowess with renditions of works including Milhaud’s Concertino d’Hiver and Castérède’s Sonatine. Simon invited questions from the audience during the recital, giving the audience an insight to his approach to trombone playing and music making in general.

The recital was followed by a session with the CBSO low brass section, Edward Jones, Anthony Howe, David Vines and Graham Sibley. In the workshop, they looked at a variety of orchestral excerpts, in particular ones which rely heavily on good ensemble playing within the section. They explored some of the obstacles that you have to overcome when approaching the music, as well as inviting three conservatoire trombone students to take turns in replacing one of the section members, experiencing what it feels like to play which a section of such high quality.

Third year student Martyn Sanderson said, “it was a great experience getting to play with players of that caliber”. This very informative session provided invaluable guidance for any aspiring orchestral musician, highlighting different ways to approach playing together as a section within the context of an orchestra.

Following a brief tea break, the Conservatoire’s trombone choir were showcased under the direction of both David Purser and Bob Hughes, before the BTS members came together once more to give a performance of the music seen at the start of the day.

At 6:30pm the Conservatoire Brass Band took to the stage with conductor Ian Porthouse, performing a broad range of repertoire, with one piece even featuring a violin soloist! As it was a BTS day the band accompanied a number trombone solos throughout the concert. Firstly, Stephen Sykes returned with his prizewinning I loves you Porgy. The band’s bass trombonist, Murphy McCaleb, was then featured in a fun, upbeat arrangement of Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King. Finally, Simon Johnson give a stunning performance of Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust. With Johan de Meij’s Extreme Make-over the Conservatoire Brass Band rounded off what had been a very enjoyable and wide-ranging day of music making.

Matthew Horne (Birmingham Conservatoire student) 14 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

© GEOFF WOLMARK

Birmingham BTS Day

FEATURES

© WILL MCLEAN AND PAUL WILSON

Northern Ireland

Sunday 21st March 2010 saw the 7th annual Northern Ireland BTS Day. For the first time we found ourselves in the excellent surroundings of Portadown Town Hall, having been moved from Bann House (our normal venue) to accommodate a flute workshop day!

The Town Hall proved to be an excellent venue with tiered seating which gave the audience an superb view of the stage area.

We were once again indebted to the Southern Music Service for providing both the venue and refreshments.

Our special guest for the event was BTS Vice President Brett Baker, principal trombone of the Black Dyke Band. The morning got off to the perfect start when Brett walked off his flight at Belfast International right on time. But, there was just one small problem – his trombone was not on the flight with him! It transpired that it had not even been put on the aircraft at Gatwick. The enquiries and form filling which followed resulted in us being delayed in arriving in Portadown. Fortunately, Will McLean had got proceedings off to a good start by reading through some of the items for the massed choir. We were thrilled that this year seemed to attract more players of all standards and ages than before, with forty plus trombonists in attendance.

While Brett regained his breath, the 1st Old Boys Quartet (Jimmy Kitchen, Stephen Cairns, John Egan and Will McLean) presented the Three Equale (Beethoven) and Four Pieces for Four Trombones (Gareth Wood). Brett was due to borrow my trombone since his had not arrived, but during the Equale my trigger seized solid and I had to borrow another instrument to complete our programme, while Brett then needed to borrow yet another!

Brett followed this with his first session, which was a very interesting look at excerpts from a wide range of solo pieces, expertly accompanied by Danny O’Neill. Brett helpfully gave an insight into each piece and let us know how they could be obtained, if anyone should be interested in giving them a try.

The session following lunch opened with a massed blow, directed by Brett.

This was followed by The Laganvale Band trombone section (Clive McBride, Amanda Cooke and David Johnston) who were put through their paces by Brett in Philip Sparke’s classic test piece The Year of the Dragon. His insight and approach to brass band section playing proved to be very useful to both players and audience alike.

There then followed a master class session for two young and very impressive players. Andrew McCoy is a fifth form pupil at Methodist College, Belfast and pupil of Eric Crees and Chris Houlding. He gave a very accomplished reading of extracts from the Bozza Ballade, while John Gamble, a third form pupil at The Royal School, Armagh and a pupil of Will McLean really impressed the audience with his approach to the Saint-Saëns Cavatine. Not only did Brett make helpful suggestions regarding the music, but he also gave each player useful tips on presentation and approaching a solo performance.

The event ended in traditional fashion with a blow through some of the large choir pieces rehearsed earlier.

All involved agreed that it was a great day and many thanks are due to Brett for retaining his good humour and professionalism despite the best efforts of airport baggage handlers to thwart his participation.

Stephen Cairns

The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 15

FEATURES

Bromley SA/BTS trombone day Bromley Temple Salvation Army hosted a Trombone Focus Day, in association with The British Trombone Society on Saturday 20th March, at Bromley Methodist Church, which was open to all trombone players, regardless of age or ability. The aim of the day was to inspire, motivate and encourage all trombonists in the Salvation Army London South East Division and beyond.

The massed blow kicked things off with Immanuel’s Tide, Wonders begin when the Lord comes in by Ray Steadman-Allen and a lovely arrangement of Scottish tune O waly waly by Olaf Ritman.

The Black Dyke Trombone Quartet followed this with a tremendous recital, opening with Derek Bishop’s thrilling arrangement of Les Condon’s festival march, Celebration. As Brett later commented, “Don’t try this at home!”

Brett Baker led performance workshops after lunch, interspersed with his Annie Laurie (Pryor) and Paul Woodward and Adrian Hirst in Trombone Institute of Technology (Davis).

The Bromley Temple Band joined us for a great evening concert, opened in style by just the Black Dyke and Bromley trombones in Robert Redhead’s A Fanfare of Praise. The trombone choir played Wonders Begin..., led by Paul Woodward. And the Dyke quartet played a couple of really inspiring sets during the concert, the highlight being James Bond arrangements, complete with stunning pedal A’s from Adrian Hirst in Dr. No! It was a superb day of making music and new friends, and from the feedback I’ve received, it would seem that the day was a fantastic success! My thanks to all.

Richard Debonnaire

The BTS day on Saturday 29th May was truly a day of two halves. We started the day in St John’s Church, but the turn-out of trombonists was so low, it was anything but a ‘massed blow’. Still, those that had come made good use of the church’s fantastic acoustic.

Coventry Carol in an arrangement by Derrick Parker seemed most apt, and I was pleased to play Durham Memory, based on a tune by my teacher Stan Mccoy and arranged by Chris North.

The Corner Pocket Jazz Club was rather more popular for Mark Nightingale and Roger Heeley trio, taking the lunchtime session by storm. The performance started with a ballad Just Friends, a slow Bossa, Blue Monk and Now’s the Time. The second set contained the highlight of the gig, an original called Calm. Mark stipulated that the volume of the applause would indicate the tune’s destination: pad or bin. I reckon it is safely in the pad! It was to be part of a larger work called Urbieplicity, to be played by a 21 piece July by the New Trombone Collective in a performance with many of the original Urbie Green charts.

Back at St. John’s, Brett Baker took the afternoon concert and also demonstrated the versatility of the trombone by playing two Arthur Pryor solos.

It was a great shame that we’d had such poor attendance on the participatory part of the day in St. John’s, considering the extensive promotion: all the schools in Coventry and adjacent LEAs plus private schools were circulated. The Coventry Festival, Corner Pocket and the BTS website, also Facebook were used. 800 flyers were distributed in libraries, Coventry church parishes, pieces in the local press and local radio and around the local brass and big bands. Time to reflect.

Ivor Lee 16 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

© JOHN MORGAN

Coventry Trombone Day

FEATURES

Trombonist’s island discs Bill Geldard has played trombone with the top big bands, directed his own bands and has became a well-known composer and arranger.

Born of a musical family with his father playing the violin and his mother the piano, Bill’s first instrument was violin, followed by viola. He started playing the trombone when he was ten. He was a high achiever early on, becoming Durham County Junior Champion Soloist for three years.

His first broadcast was as a young soloist on Radio’s “Children’s Hour”, becoming a professional musician at 15.

He played trombone with the RAF Central Band during his National Service.

Bill had a spell with most “Big Bands” of the day – The Squadronaires, Ted Heath, Rabin, Dankworth, Parnell, Geraldo, Mantovani, to name but a few.

He changed from tenor trombone to bass trombone in the late 1960’s.

He was a very busy session musician recording with all the famous names such as Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett, Shirley Bassey etc.

Bill formed his own combination bands for radio, the Bill Geldard Tentette and the Bill Geldard Big Band and was a guest conductor of the BBC Radio Orchestra from 1978 until its demise.

He is widely recognised as a top arranger and composer for TV, films and brass bands.

Nelson Riddle wrote a solo “Nelson’s Blues” specially for Bill! He toured Europe in 1989 with Sinatra, Sammy Davis Junior and Liza Minelli in “The Ultimate Event”.

Bill Geldard was awarded The Freedom of the City of London in 1991 for services to the Music Industry.

Mozart’s Haydn Quartets – Juilliard String Quartet As a very small boy, a string quartet met in our house every week, (my father played viola) and I was fascinated by it. I had a toy violin with string strings and was allowed to sit in the middle, sawing away...the mind boggles! Their repertoire was Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven etc. so I’ve always had a fondness for this music.

Petrouchka I was a bit baffled by it. The harmonies and rhythms etc. were so different from what I was used to. Now I wonder what the problem was. The disc I have is Stravinsky conducting. I just love it, the energy in the music and the tone colours. It’s an education on what can be done with an orchestra.

Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder (Philips 1956) I had become mildly interested in the swing bands in my early teens, but when I heard a broadcast of a programme of Duke Ellington on Radio Rhythm Club that did it. I was hooked. I think Such Sweet Thunder is a good example of Ellingtonia, and I never tire of listening to it.

Stan Kenton – Sketches on Standards (Capitol 1953) In 1953, American Bands weren’t allowed to play in this country because of a Union ban. The New Musical Express (it wasn’t a pop paper then) organised a two plane excursion to Brussels to hear the Kenton band. That was an unbelievable experience, to hear these players and this music in the flesh was an eye opener, and we all learned a great deal.

George Roberts – Meet Mr Roberts (Columbia) This album is a beauty. George Roberts plus Frank De Vol’s arrangements. The personnel are not listed, but it sounds like Joe Howard leading the trombone section. Hearing this album in the mid 60’s helped to set my mind on switching to bass trombone, and forming a group to play something like it. Luckily for me, the time was right, and I formed the Tentette, which broadcast regularly over the next decade or so. Making the switch was something I’ve never regretted, so thank you Mr. Roberts.

Urbie Green – Twenty-one Trombones (Project Total Sound) I’d never heard the tune Here’s That Rainy Day before this album (track 1). It was pure magic, and to top it all there was Urbie showing us how. The whole album is a gem and how ever many times I listen to it I hear something else.

Stravinsky – Le Sacre du Printemps (CBS) As a young teenager, who had been brought up on the classics, when my father came home on leave and brought a record of The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 17

FEATURES Chris Mackey talks to Andrew Justice as he looks back at 25 years service as the principal trombone of the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army.

Andrew Justice How did you get involved in playing trombone, and what attracted you to the sound of brass?

I started playing brass instruments at the age of 8. Having been born into a Salvation Army family meant I had probably been exposed to the sound of brass bands even before birth!

My father was (and still is!) a trombone player, having undertaken National Service in the RAF and been transferred into the Fighter Command Band, and trombone became my goal. I started on cornet, then tenor horn, and eventually when my arms were long enough, was allowed to take a trombone home from the Junior Band practice at Sutton SA in south London. The very next week, the Junior Band featured a trombone solo passage in it’s weekly Sunday afternoon music offering, much to the surprise of my parents, and I was off!

I studied trombone at school on various scholarships, and graduated into the Hampshire Youth Orchestra where I was exposed to the classical world, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

From a very early age, I listened to trombone players of all types, from Maisie Ringham on the old SA 78’s, to Ian Hankey and Matt Carter in the ISB of that day, then onto Don Lusher (his album Lusher Lusher Lusher was almost worn flat!), the Tutti’s Trombones, and then once I had some money in my pocket, every LP or cassette I could get where trombone was featured, from big-band to military band, symphony orchestra to the Pasadena Roof Orchestra!

The discipline of listening critically is one I still follow, whether to good or not-sogood playing, I learn something every time.

How did you get from Sutton SA to become Solo Trombone with the International Staff Band of the Salvation Army?

18 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

My playing career has largely been in Salvation Army banding circles. The band is used as an accompaniment to church singing in our services primarily, but has also developed a quite sophisticated concert and recital programme, so we are kept very busy visiting ‘corps’ or church centres, undertaking weekend campaigns, or touring internationally to support the efforts of Salvationists around the world. In this context I moved with my family from the Junior Band in Sutton to Portsmouth, where I then graduated into the Senior band at Portsmouth Citadel under Harold Nobes. It was there at age 15 I was given my first major soloing opportunities, culminating in my period there with an invite to play a solo (the Guilmant Morceau Symphonique, with the world-famous ISB accompanying!) at an international SA Congress at the Royal Albert Hall aged 19!

While at Portsmouth I undertook my first overseas band tour to Germany. I also undertook a degree in Architecture (my chosen profession) from age 19-21. From Portsmouth I moved to Bristol where I joined the Bristol Easton Band conducted

by Don Jenkins, another well-known SA trombone name, and moved up the section until occupying the Principal chair.

Further tours to Scandinavia were undertaken, broadening my playing experience even further.

A move to London allowed me to join the Enfield Citadel Band, conducted by James Williams, and I guess I had been ‘spotted’ by then, as almost at the same time as moving to Enfield I was invited to take over the prestigious Principal seat with the International Staff Band, (recently vacated at that time by Stephen Pearson who went on to play with GUS Band) the ISB being Army’s premier ‘headquarters’ band. So began a settled period of over 25 years where I have been Principal of the ISB, at the same time as being Principal of Enfield,

following on from the high standard set by my predecessors Michael Savage and Matt Carter (the latter at Tottenham, the predecessor to the current Enfield Band). Now being married to Fiona, we settled in the Enfield area where we still live, and I work in London in a large architectural practice as Business Development Director.

So you had no idea that your ‘audition’ for the ISB at the Albert Hall was just that?

At the tender age of 19, the thought wouldnt have entered my head, indeed it wasn’t an ‘audition’, but it certainly helped when the ISB Principal Trombone position became vacant some 5 years later, as I had played with the band in an important International Congress event. Lt-Col Norman Bearcroft was behind the invitation, so I have him to thank ultimately.

The ISB have recently returned from a tour to the USA: what are your memories and musical highlights from this trip?

The tour, over a 10-day period at Easter 2010 was from Los Angeles up to Seattle, taking in Salvation Army centres in LA (Tustin Ranch and Pasadena), Phoenix, Las Vegas, Oakland, Sacramento, Coeur D’Alene Idaho, and Seattle. As a trip it was a remarkable snapshot of Western USA; we experienced 30 degree sunshine in Phoenix, and snow in Coeur D’Alene. As well as playing to over 5000 people in venues ranging from concert halls, schools, churches, to a Masonic Temple, participated in the ground-breaking of a new SA Community Centre in Phoenix, funded by the MacDonald’s burger empire, played and stayed on the Las Vegas strip, dined in the Space Needle in Seattle, and mixed it with jazz groups in Disneyland.

We saw inspiring work among the poorer sections of the Las Vegas community,

FEATURES

The Enfield Band pictured at the Washington Monument, on tour in 2007. (L-R) Stuart Horton, Carl Shepherd, Ben Horton, Andrew Justice

helped the Chinese Corps in Oakland celebrate their community profile, almost met Arnold Swarzenegger and appeared on TV in Sacramento. Musically the band excelled, we were well-received everywhere we went, and we set a high standard of SA music-making for the local folks to aspire to. Not a typical SA Band Tour, but a memorable one none-the-less.

I know the SA has relaxed it’s rules regarding their musicians playing with non SA, or as you call them, ‘outside’ bands. Before the relaxation did you receive offers to join one of these contesting bands and if you did were you tempted?

The issue of rules regarding SA musicians playing in contest bands was really an attempt to regularise what was already happening up to about 7-8 years ago, regardless of the SA’s rules. The SA was losing members because of its inflexible stance, so it decided to remove the restriction, some say for the better, some say for the worse.

It is true that even prior to the rule change, when playing in The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 19

FEATURES ‘camp meetings’ in Old Orchard Beach, Maine a few years ago. They were to open a new 1200-seater auditorium, and former President and Mrs Bush (Snr) who lived neaby at Kennebunkport, Maine, who are great supporters of the SA were due to perform the opening ceremony. I was asked to play a solo during the event, the piece was selected for me as it was an arrangement of one of President Bush’s favourite tradional American folk songs. I had the pleasure of doing so, and also of meeting with the President afterwards.

Looking back on 25 years with the ISB what have been your fondest memories? And what have been the worst, if any?

Andrew Justice in the studio with Nick Hudson, recording their joint 2004 ‘Comrades’ album

Bristol Easton I was approached by the now-defunct but wellremembered Stanshaw Band to play with them on second trombone under the then Principal Steve Walkley. I was very tempted, as it would have been a great opportunity to enter the contesting world proper with a ‘top 5’ band of the time (I am talking early 1980’s). My upbringing weighed heavily, so I was looking for a sign as to whether it was the right thing to do, and turn my back on my origins. At that time, it would have been a brave move for me, and one which my family may have found difficulties with.

Almost at the same time I was asked if I would take over conducting the Junior Band at Easton, which was really only a few ‘learners’ at that time. I took this as being the sign that I was looking for, and decided against Stanshaw, and took over training and conducting a small group of learner kids. On my first appearance with them, in a regular Sunday meeting, I put an ‘L-plate’ on my back to signify solidarity with the kids, and also to remind myself that it was my first conducting experience as well! I built it up to about a dozen or so players, some of whom went on to play with the full senior band at Easton, one of whom – my Principal Cornet at the time – even became a BBC News personality (Nick Bryant, now in Australia as a BBC correspondent).

Seeing the Stanshaw Band disappear was very sad, they are still missed, but in a strange way, their demise underlined that maybe I had made the right decision in staying with SA bands and contributing something back via the training programme.

Part of the ISB’s remit is to premier new music. Does this help in getting new solo material for the trombone? Do you get frustrated that new repertoire is so rare?

I have now recorded two CDs of solos, one with the ISB called ‘Immortal Themes’ and one in conjunction with Nick Hudson and Enfield Band called ‘Comrades’ (both available from World of Brass). For both those CDs I commissioned several new works, which have now passed into SA repertoire. The danger with asking people to write solos is that you feel morally obliged to use them, even if they are not quite what you wanted, or worse, unplayable! I am in that position at present in not having too much new repertoire to play, so am constantly looking to recycle old or encourage new repertoire. It is frustrating, but sometimes it makes you go back and look afresh at older works that have not been played for a while.

How did the performance for President George Bush Snr come about?

I was invited by the USA Eastern Territory to perform at their annual 20 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

The main standouts are the people I have met both inside and outside of the band. Inside, because of the remarkable talents given selflessly, as conductors, composers, and players, unpaid and often unannounced. Outside because of the nature of the organisation we support and the countless stories of people’s lives changed by its members and their work.

Specific occasions include tours such as the recent one to the US (a total of 15 or more such trips done in my time as a bandsman), where we might have played to a group of blind children in a home in Japan, or a retired officers residence in Australia. These are the bonuses in addition to the full concert halls from LA to Stockholm, Edinburgh to Tokyo.

Worst are just the personal inconveniences of long late-night bus trips, or the occasional misplaced mouthpiece – nothing to take the edge off 25 years of playing pleasure though!

The BTS magazine once had a ‘Tip from the Top’ column. What advice would you give to a young or aspiring trombonist?

Get a good teacher! On a personal note, the three ‘L’s worked for me: Look, Listen and Learn. Watch how good players approach their playing, hear the result, work out how they do it (its not rocket science...if you think it is then revert to the ‘get a good teacher’ option) and put it into action.

How do you manage to balance your work, home and playing commitments with two world renowned brass bands?

It has its moments! Fortunately the two respective secretaries of both bands coordinate their diaries to avoid conflicts, and my wife is also very supportive. Those are the two main external influences.

For myself, while I am still motivated to play, I will continue to do so.

How do you keep your own playing in shape, on top of the 3 weekly rehearsals and weekends away?

I guess with over 40 years’experience I have developed a sixth-sense that tells me when I need to put extra work in! The band rehearsals and concerts do keep a good background muscle fitness, but sometimes a bit extra is needed, particularly when playing solo as well as band work.

What about equipment - what horn and mouthpiece combination do you use?

I use Rath R4s (I have two) and use a Bach 4G mouthpiece. I also have a Conn 8H, and a ‘peashooter’ Boosey & Co which I rescued from a bin, and want to get back in working order.

Finally, do you have any projects in development you would like to share?

The ISB celebrates its 120th anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall next June (2011). It will feature eight SA staff bands from around the world. That’s nearly 40 of the SA’s best trombone stars all in action at once! Be there!

FEATURES

IPV Symposium, Essen Now based in Germany, Chris Houlding recently spearheaded the annual event for the German trombone society, featuring Ian Bousfield and a raft of other European talent The European Capital of Culture this year is Essen and the Ruhr valley, a perfect opportunitiy to invite IPV members and all interested trombone players to Folkwang University of Arts in Essen where Chris Houlding is professor, for four days of workshops, concerts and a trade exhibition.

On 8th April, 50 enrolled participants and 35 students plus visitors commenced the busy schedule of workshops covering warm up, basic concepts, technique and onto solo and ensemble pieces. Professors from across Germany led the sessions, including Jonas Bylund (Hannover), Ludwig Nuss (WDR Big Band), Ansgar Striepens (jazz) and Wim Becu (sackbut) thus giving participants the possibility to sample each teacher at least once and form their own impression of the different concepts covered.

The day culminated with a jazz concert held in the wonderful 400 seat university concert hall, featuring the Folkwang Jazz Orchestra directed by Prof. Ansgar Striepens, soloist Ludwig Nuss and the Folkwang Jazz Vocal Class. Late Night Jazz followed, a great opportunity to meet up, discuss and party on!

Jonas Bylund started Saturday morning with Trombone Yoga, a combination of playing the trombone and different breathing techniques alongside yoga exercises, unfamiliar to most participants but it went down well. Another jazz workshop by Prof.

Striepens was much commented on by participants who were

delighted to explore jazz each day in such a relaxed atmosphere.

The afternoon held many attractions; Ian Bousfield’s masterclass, where he told of not only his personal great experiences in playing and teaching but also his crises and how he managed them. ReSonanz Trombone Quartet shared with us technical and musical precision plus a sense of great fun with pieces from different epochs. Then, the chance to witness the four trombone classes of Berlin, Hannover, Essen and Cologne in ensembles directed by their teachers.

With much anticipation came the gala concert, featuring the Bochumer Symphoniker under the direction of Chris Houlding.

An immaculate performance of the David Concertino by Jamie Williams, newly appointed Principal Trombone with the Deutsche Oper Berlin was followed by Ian Bousfield’s sensational account of the Nino Rota Concerto, with a discernible presence on stage of a conductor and soloist who have a long history together. The main work in the second half was Daniel Schnyder’s recent five movement epic entitled Suite for Bass Trombone in a truly memorable performance by Stefan Schulz (Berlin Philharmonic), topped by a sparkling performance of Tannhauser Overture.

With no let-up, the Sunday featured new pieces performed by Andreas Frey, a recital by Brandt Attema featuring two more premieres, massed trombone choir and the Composers Slide Quartet. The closing concert featuring the Folkwang Brass Band and Brass Ensemble and soloists Brandt Attema, Bruce Collings and Jamie Williams with interesting and challenging new solo works

by Elgar Howarth: Spooks – An Outrage for Bass Trombone and Fuzzy – Concerto for Two Chatty Trombones. And how best to close a Trombone Symposium?... a rendition of 76 Trombones (arr. Eric Crees) by the entire assembled forces and delegates!

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FEATURES

Teaching Network Chris Houlding – trombonist and teacher at Folkwang Hochschule and RNCM I believe that in our current society that is used to instant gratification with a ‘click of a mouse’, establishing the concept of physical effort akin to sport is most important at the outset. Therefore, I recommend a few breathing exercises. These can by fun by altering the length and pulse of inhalation and exhalation, holding breath and topping up to absolute capacity. NB Remember to warn enthusiastic youngsters of the dangers of the sudden influx of extra oxygen and the possibility of dizziness and fainting.

I would follow this by establishing the concept of lip vibration with a ‘raspberry’.

Always good fun but usually a little damp afterwards! By combining energetic breathing with the pursing of the lip a higher more intense ‘buzz’ can usually be achieved quite quickly. NB Maximum 5 minutes. With lip buzzing even the strongest set of ‘chops’ begins to revert to an unwanted stretch if undertaken for too long.

Then try the same into the mouthpiece stressing the importance of opening the lip aperture a little to promote the strongest and most efficient buzzing noise.

Finally, introduce the mouthpiece to the instrument and with a little further opening of the aperture the first note should be easily obtained. It is always interesting to see which harmonic the new student hits first!

Follow up procedures would involve buzzing an actual pitch. My advice would be to commence on middle F (bass clef) and work up to Bb and down to low Bb. Les Lake – ENO bass trombone (retired) One of the important things to get right at the start is holding the instrument. Getting a comfortable hold and posture can save a lot of money with the osteopath later on!

Make sure they lift the trombone to their head, not the other way round. Also make sure they sit or stand upright, but relaxed.

Actually blowing the thing right can be a matter of whether they can or can’t, but getting the body into position is always achievable.

Ben Bouzan – bass trombonist and trombone/brass teacher at Oundle School, Musicale and Herts Music Service The first thing I do is to introduce myself and get them to realise that I am not a big, bald monster and that I really am a big friendly guy!

Perhaps the most crucial lesson for a trombonist is the first one. As the teacher, a new pupil can seem like a blank canvas, but what is taught and how it is taught can leave a lasting impression. What do you spend the time working on? What are the good and bad habits to focus on? How do you build up a rapport? The Trombonist asked some experienced teachers for their thoughts.

Then I ask them, “What is sound?” Understanding the concept of air and vibration really helps when talking them through how to make a ‘buzzing’ sound, also showing them how to do each step as well, firstly with just their lips and secondly with their mouthpiece.

I then explain pitch saying “High” in a high pitched voice and “Low” in a low pitched voice, explaining about air flowing slower through the instrument for low pitched notes, faster for higher pitched notes. And to keep the note sounding the same from beginning to end they need to keep the same amount of air travelling at the same speed through the instrument.

To help them understand how we push the air through the instrument to produce a sound I get them to show me how they blow the candles out on their birthday cake, but, standing still, taking a relaxed breath through their mouth and keeping the corners of their mouth slightly tense so their cheeks do not puff out! I also get them to place their hand just below their ribcage so they can feel their tummy muscles pushing and tensing as they blow.

I show them how to get the trombone out carefully next, how to hold it and how they should be standing or sitting when playing, posture is extremely important and something I try and install in to all of my pupils right from the beginning. I then get them to have a go at producing a single note, reminding them that they are aiming to play a note that sounds the same from start to finish.

John Kenny – trombonist and teacher at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama I have been teaching at conservatoire level for twenty years, and so you might think that I don’t either want, or have time, to teach beginners – but you’d be

wrong. Not only do I enjoy starting people on the trombone, I feel that it’s a vitally important for a teacher fortunate enough to be working with the most advanced level of student should also keep in touch with the difficulties and challenges faced at the most elementary level, precisely because we ALL still carry the resonances of those first few lessons and impression with us for as long as we play.

My own approach in the first lesson is slightly different according to the age of the pupil. I believe age 9 to 11 is the ideal age to start: dental structure is generally secure, most children have sufficient strength to hold an instrument without “dipping” and if an alto trombone is used, there is no need to twist the body. This last point is one that concerns me greatly – far too often at the most advanced (and even professional) level I find myself trying to help people who are experiencing growing tension and blockage in their playing, and I find this is traceable to a habit of body & neck contortion ingrained in their earliest years, playing an instrument that was too long, and too heavy at full extension - it’s as hard to loose that kind of habit as it is to hide our underlying regional accents, and the consequences can be dire.

In adolescence, the problem is to deal with embarrassment, and often that outward shrug of “huh – so what” that holds folks back – especially boys. One of the joys of teaching younger kids is that they are full of enthusiasm, and are rarely spoiled by negative peer pressure. The teenager is a whole different ball game – and the physical problems often stem from embarrassment or truculence!

The adult learner – especially those who have decided they now have time to do something they always fancied, now their own kids are (in theory at least) independent is a joy to teach, because of their intelligent engagement and a desire to learn for its own sake, without any underlying notion of competition. The problem is that it is always harder to teach an old dog new tricks – we ALL get stiffer, less coordinated, and if posture is poor (as it is with an alarming percentage of our increasingly ageing and desk bound population) then genuine pain can result from the effort to adopt correct playing posture, and build up practice stamina.

I make this lengthy pre-amble by way of making my primary point about that first lesson: we must look at every pupil as an individual human being, and respond to the needs of that person! Teaching “by the The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 23

FEATURES book” – any book – can be a very negative experience, for both pupil and teacher.

So, what do I try to achieve in that first lesson? Well, we assemble and dis-assemble the instrument several times, making sure it goes back into the case undamaged!!!

Depending on the character I’m working with, I slant the lesson either towards a psychological approach – encouraging, enthusing, trying to reassure the person that this activity is really both worthwhile and hugely enjoyable, but requires hard work and discipline, and attempting to instil the most important basic technical habits, which are: 1) Ensuring that the instrument is held correctly with shoulders relaxed and even, elbows comfortably out from the body, head straight with a gaze to the middle distance.

2) I make sure the pupil can adopt the same upper-body seated and standing, and get them moving between the two.

3) I pay attention to the slide grip, making sure that the thumb and 1st finger are

Gary MacPhee has just celebrated his first anniversary as Solo Trombone with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, following two years in the same seat at Brighouse & Rastrick. The Trombonist asked Gary about life playing with these famous bands and his passion for exploring new pieces.

W

hilst at Brighouse, Gary received a phone call from Grimethorpe saying that the solo trombone seat had just become vacant and would he be interested in coming down? It was an opportunity Gary couldn’t resist and in taking up the position, fulfilled his childhood dream of playing with the band.

“Richard Brown had just been appointed to the second trombone position with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, it was Richard that called me actually and I ended up going to a rehearsal that evening. It was Thursday and I was booked to do the concert at Selby Abbey that Saturday. Philip McCann was the conductor and after a brief hello told me that he’d put me down to do a solo on Saturday and what was I going to play? I was a little shocked and a bit taken back as to be thrown into the

24 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

controlling the slide, low on the brace.

4) I get them to start moving the slide from 1st to 7th smoothly and regularly – without play, but breathing through the instrument – to make sure they can move freely without twisting.

Only after I have dealt with these issues do I start working on the 1st note, and that is always a mouthpiece buzz – incidentally, over the years I’ve found that the most common 1st note on a tenor trombone is a middle Ab, so when I pick a pitch, that’s what I go for – and I use speech syllables to discover how the tongue will best activate a buzz in this particular person.

This brings up the issue of pitch, and we rapidly discover whether or not someone has pitch sensitivity. The majority of us DO – but some really don’t, and all the enthusiasm in the world won’t produce a musician!

By this time, our first session is usually nearly over – so I hope to leave the person with our unique trombonists’ joy – the glissando! Having hopefully achieved a steady

middle F (possibly low Bb or even, occasionally, middle Bb) I ask them to focus on that note, try to hold it for counts of 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 slow beats – and then start moving slowly down and back up the slide without letting the note break. I never cease to be amazed at the delight this produces in the new student, hours of endless fun just sliding – and in the process developing far more early embouchure control than either static long notes or tension inducing repeated notes can ever produce.

One of the problems of trombone being taught by other brass players (no matter how fine they are, and no matter what an excellent intellectual grasp they have of the principals of brass playing) is that they have no feel for the slide – that wonderful, archaic, and strangely efficient device that makes the trombone unique. This is where I like to leave my first lessons – with a sense of the simple uniqueness of the trombone, and granting of permission to get out there and just enjoy it!

Gary MacPhee

deep end so soon, a little nervous I suppose as anyone would be walking into a band room with such history but at the same time excited about playing with this great band. I was lucky actually that I had a trombone solo in my case, an arrangement of Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me that had been given to me only two days previously so I played that, don’t know what I would have done otherwise, I certainly hadn’t prepared anything, but it seemed to go down well. Looking back I think it was my unofficial audition so am glad they didn’t actually tell me!”

2009-10 has been a brilliant but a very busy year for Gary. Playing in over fifty concerts across the UK, his highlights have included performing at the British Open Contest at Symphony Hall, Birmingham under the direction of the band’s profes-

sional conductor, Alan Witthington and playing new works by Roger Steptoe, Martin Ellerby and Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen at the RNCM Festival of Brass. Television appearances for the band have been a key feature of this year with live performance in The Alan Titchmarsh Show and BBC’s A Band for Britain. So one year on what has he made of it all?

“It’s been busy, really busy! Most people in the band do this as a hobby, unbelievable really to think that they all work a full week and then spend an average of 30 or more hours a week at band on top of their jobs. You really have to be committed to play in a band at this level and really must want to do it, especially when you do concerts in places like Southend or Norwich on a Sunday night and don’t get home before 6am Monday morning,

© IAN CLOWES WWW.GOLDYSOLUTIONS.CO.UK

FEATURES

Memories of Brassed Off, as the Grimethorpe trombones don mining helmets. (L-R) Garrath Beckwith, Gary MacPhee, Dean Jones

a quick shower then out to work! Musically however it has been brilliant! I have been fortunate enough to have played in some of the country’s finest concert halls, to packed halls and have featured as a soloist at many of the concerts. We recorded three CD’s this year too, the first came out in July with me playing Someone to Watch Over Me that I first played for my unofficial audition! We recorded a CD of Martin Ellerby’s music which I am really looking forward to hearing and a tour to Switzerland in August with the Swiss Army Band.”

As a principal player with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Gary is regularly asked to lead master classes for music festivals. Recent events have included; ‘Brassed On’ and the National campaign ‘A Year of Music’ and will be appearing at the BTS Trombone Day in Rochdale on the 12th September (see page 4). On a regional level Gary leads low brass seminars for the Brass Band Association’s Yorkshire, Humberside and East Anglia branches.

Outside of the band Gary works as a freelance trombone player, regularly performing with the Hallé Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Scottish National Orchestras.

In April 2009 Gary was invited to play at the National Brass Band Championships of New Zealand with the Woolston Brass Band and is returned this summer to help defend their title.

“I am lucky that the band lets me have time off to do other things I really couldn’t play in the band if they expected me to do all concerts, but they know that as a freelance musician I am regularly called in to play with orchestras, big bands or solo jobs and the band are pretty understanding about this. In July I fly off to New Zealand for a couple of weeks, playing with the Woolston Brass Band at the nationals with some teaching at the University and a solo job with the New Zealand Army Band. They are a superb band, last year we played Dreams by Bertrand Moren, one of the most difficult pieces I have ever played – no joke! When I received the music in the post about a week before flying over to New Zealand I actually thought that they had sent me the Euphonium or Cornet part by mistake. I have never seen such a black looking trombone part before and was even more shocked to find out that a lot of it was marked solo! Having wondered what I had got myself into I took the 36 hour flight to Christchurch to face the music – literally! It was a real eye opener and I spent hours a day practising it as I only two rehearsals with the band to fix it! The performance by the band on the piece was one of the most thrilling, exciting and amazing performances I have ever been fortunate to play in, it was stunning, Woolston won the contest by four points, a huge margin, let’s hope for the same this time round!”

(Update: Woolston won again this year by 5 points!)

Having just returned from New Zealand as this is written, Gary is currently recording his first solo CD, Sliding North. This will feature a selection of new works for trombone from both British and Norwegian composers including unaccompanied pieces by Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen and Tom Harrold, an electronic work from Arne

Competing at the British Open Championships, September 2009

Nordheim, two pieces for trombone and organ and a new commission for trombone and piano by Ørjan Matre.

“I am recording Sliding North in Norway on the remote island of Harøy on the west coast of Norway, one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth I have ever been. The CD seeks to demonstrate the lyrical, emotional and powerful aspects that the trombone does so well. All the pieces on the CD are new commissions or previously unrecorded music for trombone, so it’s been a considerable bit of work pulling this together. Making a solo CD is a welcome excursion away from banding. I am a big believer in performing and promoting new music for the trombone as a solo instrument and I really can’t wait to get started with this project.”

Sliding North is due to be released in December this year – look out for the BTS review. To keep up to date with all of Gary’s activities you can visit his new website at www.garymacphee.co.uk

The Trombonist | Summer 2010 | 25

REVIEWS I WAS LIKE WOW JÖRGEN VAN RIJEN CHANNEL CLASSICS 26909 Inspired by the title track by Jacob ter Veldhuis the trombonist justifies the scope and variety of compositions by explaining that ‘[the music] had all impressed me deeply for different kinds of reasons; pieces that for some reason had given me a “wow” feeling. I wanted to present the widest possible spectrum of repertoire in order to convince listeners that the trombone is a fantastic, beautiful and very versatile instrument’.

Unfortunately though, this ‘wow’ factor is not present throughout the entire duration of this 63-minute CD. The slow, mysterious opening of Frank Martin’s Ballade, although beautifully performed, does not succeed in truly engaging the listener until the allegro. Even then, pianist Paolo Giacometti largely supplies the vivacity that is so fundamental to the latter part of this work, whilst the trombonist lacks the zest of his accompanist. Similarly in Joseph Jongen’s Aria et Polonaise, van Rijen’s faultless legato and sweet tone across the range throughout the aria-like sections seem musically calculable, almost lacking in spirit, only to be remedied by a more impulsive polonaise. In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Jener Donnerworte Kraft from Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes, K35, composed when Mozart was just eleven years old, tenor Marcel Beekman and the Combattimento Consort join van Rijen in an unsuitably brisk rendition of an aria that expresses the sounds of the horn and the fear of judgment day.

However, Hommage du trombone exprimant la tristesse de l’auteur absent by Arthur Honegger is a melancholic and sensitive short introduction to the musical significance of ‘wow’, executed simply with gentle passion and poignant, elegant beauty. Martijn Padding’s Second Piece and Third Piece are two more compelling performances. These are both unaccompanied works, dedicated by the composer to van Rijen, which impressively demonstrate much of the extended technical capabilities of the trombone. It is a pity that the first of these Three Pieces (2003–5) does not feature on this release and that the connection between the second and third Pieces are interrupted

by Jacques Castérède’s Concertino – also featuring Frits Damrow on trumpet – and Philippe Gaubert’s Morceau Symphonique.

It would have been musically wise to arrange Padding’s intensely moving compositions as adjacent tracks on this CD, to 26 | Summer 2010 | The Trombonist

heighten their poise and lasting impact.

The title track, I was like WOW – written for Van Rijen by by Jacob TV in summer 2006 – features last on this release and rightly so: it is the most gripping work, hauntingly executed by trombone and electronics, depicting the violent experiences of the American army in the Iraq war. Van Rijen’s pertinent performance ranges from serene, smooth passages to full-bodied stabs, which, combined with the most disturbing incidents as retold by the soldiers, provides a heart-stopping soundtrack.

The album I was like wow aims to stir profound emotions, whether positive or negative. The concept of this release, and the craft and musicianship particularly displayed on the title track and the movements by Padding, provide evidence that this CD had the potential to become a superb work of art – what a shame about the weaker aspects.

Stephanie Dyer

SONATA FOR TROMBONES (TROMBONE QUARTET) SIMON WILLS STUDIO MUSIC £25.00 Like Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, Simon Wills’s Sonata for Trombones is written by someone who truly understands the technical and musical realms of possibility on his instrument. The Sonata covers nearly every style and mood conceivable, from a haunting recitative to a waltz that has a certain Herman Munster-like quality about it (and that’s just the second movement!). It has the perfect balance of ‘serious’ music and

tongue-in-cheek trombone buffoonery.

The Wills Sonata is challenging to play both technically and physically – it is a three movement work without much letup on any part – but not so challenging as to discourage playing it. Such is the quality of the craftsmanship that any tricky passages fall very nicely on the instrument making the piece difficult yet eminently playable. And for those of us not blessed with chops like a feline posterior, there’s nothing viciously high to play either!

Five Stars! Thumbs Up! The Sonata for Trombones is surely going to become a cornerstone of the trombone quartet repertoire, and a ‘must-have’ for any trombone quartet.

Jon Watkins TEN BONES APART This latest CD from Bones Apart celebrates the 10th anniversary of the group’s formation. Despite numerous changes in personnel over the years Bones Apart (who for the past couple of years are with Becky Smith, Jayne Murrill, Helen Vollam and Lorna McDonald) have proved through the highest artistic standards and excellent marketing that it is possible to thrive as a highly successful trombone quartet. The group’s previous four albums have attracted the highest accolades worldwide and I predict that this fifth album will also be a hit.

The music on this disc is on the lighter side, including favourites such as Tico Tico, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Pryor’s Annie Laurie and a cracking finale in Stars and Stripes Forever. Many are brand new arrangements by members of the group and some are from illustrious friends e.g. Richard Cheetham, Roger Harvey, John Challis and Simon Wills.

The CD has been expertly engineered and produced by Tom Watson. The quality of the recording has both clarity and resonance.

The playing throughout as you might expect is top draw stuff. Not only is it technically highly impressive and polished, the musicianship is of the highest order. Naturally sensitive phrasing and blend of ensemble is evident throughout this disc.

My personal highlights are the Three Gershwin Preludes, the imaginative use of harmon mutes in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Helen’s seductive playing on My Funny Valentine.

This recording stands up to some serious listening. On the other hand if you’d like some easy listening music to accompany your spaghetti bolognese, put it on as you crack open the Chianti!

Bob Hughes

Makes practice perfect

The Yamaha Silent Brass™ system is available for Cornet, Piccolo Trumpet, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Trombone, Bass Trombone, Alto Trombone, French Horn, Euphonium and Tuba.

On the road or at home, Yamaha’s revolutionary Silent Brass™ system lets you practice wherever and whenever you want.

The lightweight, active muting system is hardly noticeable in use, and with the newly-designed, pocket-sized Personal Studio, you can mix in audio accompaniments from CD and MP3 players.

Built-in digital effects allow reverb to be added to re-create the ambience of a live performance through headphones.

For perfection in practice, the new Yamaha Silent Brass™ system is unrivalled.

Visit us at yamaha-music.co.uk to hear more. Or maybe less.

The Classic has long been a favourite of trombone players and is seen in orchestras all over the world.

It is responsive and gives excellent flexibility combined with a rich tone.

The Heritage design combines thin walls with a heavy cup, creating a unique mouthpiece which is highly responsive in quiet playing yet powerful when played in fortissimo passages.

The HeavyTop, now available in either gold or silver plate, is designed for symphony players looking for a powerful sound which will project through loud orchestral textures. The huge mass of this mouthpiece gives it enormous carrying power.

Heritage 5AL mouthpiece:

“This combination of traditional and futuristic design promotes a wealth of overtones to produce a unique, beautiful, ringing tone and vivid articulation.”

Chris Houlding, Professor at the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen, Senior Tutor in Brass at the RNCM, Ex-Principal Trombone, Opera North.

The new Steven Mead designed Denis Wick Ultra mouthpieces are now available with medium (M) shanks in addition to the normal shank fitting. Also available are the new Ultra Baritone mouthpieces SM4UB, SM5UB and SM6UB. All these new designs available in either silver or triple-thickness gold plate.

“If you liked the former Steve Mead mouthpieces you will LOVE the newly designed Denis Wick SM Ultra series!”

Aaron Tindall Besson/Buffet Crampon USA Inc. Euphonium and Tuba Artist/Clinician

“The new ultra mouthpieces are simply sensational! I fell in love with the SM3U immediately and this is what I will always use now.”

Riki McDonnell International Euphonium Soloist

“Fantastic! fantastic!! fantastic!!!”

John Starkes, Solo Euphonium, Boscombe SA Band

Denis Wick wooden mutes are often preferred by European orchestras for their special tone quality, which is very effective for the misterioso sounds needed in early 20th Century music and film scores. Their distinctive timbre is an essential colour in every trombonist's palette. Available for alto, tenor and bass trombone.