At the International Trombone Festival, currently taking place in Birmingham, a World Record has been set. The first day saw an attempt to get the ITF into the Guinness Book of World Records by trying to form the largest trombone ensemble ever. The existing record, standing at 289 trombonists, was smashed, yesterday with 489 registered trombonists performing a 15 minute concert in Centenary Square. The combination of keen ITF delegates plus approximately 200 trombonists from schools in the Midlands performed Henry VIII’s Pastime with Good Company, Handel’s Sarabande and When The Saints Go Marching In, conducted by LSO legend and current ITA President, Denis Wick.

The schoolchildren performed in Symphony Hall later that evening, sharing the programme with the likes of Ian Bousfield, Bones Apart and the Brazilian Trombone Ensemble.

Rick Taylor conducts the Massed Schools Trombone Ensemble with the Birmingham Schools’ Azaad Dhol Group in Symphony Hall, Birmingham