Open Rehearsal takes place this weekend as part of the Visit London campaign, allowing the public to experience music, theatre and dance for free across the capital. This includes several of the London orchestras and the RPO Brass Ensemble, who can be heard rehearse on Friday afternoon for their evening concert of opera highlights.

Geoffrey Boyd conducts The Brass of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
29th September, Cadogan Hall (Sloane Square)
Free rehearsal from 3.30pm. Concert at 8pm
To book, telephone the box office on 020 7730 4500.

Also:

• LPO/Jurowski rehearse Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Bizet’s Carmen Suite.
• BBC SO/Bĕlohlávek rehearse Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’, Dvořák’s Suite in A major and Hojoki - a world première by Jonathan Dove.
• LSO/Zhang rehearse Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Steve Reich’s Three Movements.
• Philharmonia/Dohnányi rehearse Weber’s Overture Der Freischütz, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major.
• RPO/Gatti rehearse Prokofiev’s Symphony No.1 ‘Classical’, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Elgar’s Enigma Variations.

This Sunday you can hear Slide FX, the Kent-based jazz trombone quintet in Chatham.
They will be supporting Denis Rollins in Chatham at the Brook Theatre.

Slide FX is made up of Steve Botting, Andy Frew, Steve Parkin, David Holt, Bob Maslin with friends.

Sunday, 1 October 2006, 8pm
Medjazz Waterfront Festival: Dennis Rollins’ Bad Bone And Co + Slide FX
Brook Theatre, Chatham, Kent
Tickets: £11.50, £8.50 concessions from Brook Theatre 01634 338338
Full info here

The 2006 International Trombone Festival BBC Big Band concert featuring soloists Mark Nightingale and Wycliffe Gordon is being broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and can also be heard on the Internet. Full details are available on the BBC Radio 2 website.

Norwich’s Mozart Orchestra are presenting Becky Smith in a performance of two pieces for trombone and orchestra in a concert next week. Soloist in Rimsky Korsakov’s Trombone Concerto and Guilmant’s Morceau Symphonique, Becky is best known for her work with Bones Apart. In addition the 27 year-old is already a successful freelance trombonist, regularly playing with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera North.

Saturday 7th October 7:30pm
St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich
Brahms Variations on a Theme of Haydn
Rimsky-Korsakov / Lindberg Concerto for Trombone
Guilmant / Lindberg Morceau Symphonique
Mussorgsky / Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition

Becky Smith trombone
Colin Dowdeswell Conductor
Mozart Orchestra

Tickets are available in advance form Prelude Records 01603-628319.

This is just to make you all aware or to remind you that the annual East Anglia British Trombone Society and lower brass day is being held on Sunday 8th October at Oundle School Great Hall. I will provide final artist details shortly, but here is the outline.

The day will run from 10am until 5:30pm, followed by the AGM at 6pm. You will be able to register from 9:30am and will be free to all members and children under 16. There will be a £10 charge for non BTS members but if they join on the day they can gain free entry.

If you know anybody who is or might be interested in coming along to this day then please send them this information and ask them to e-mail me so I can add them to my mailing list.

Artists performing on the day include the Spitfire Trombone Quartet, who return from the Internation Trombone Festival flushed with success in the ITA Quartet Competition 2006.

You can join the BTS in advance online, and if you have a Paypal account (eBay users will understand but if you are unsure details are on the web site) you can set up a yearly subscription! You can also download an application form to fill out manually and send if you would like to. Full details of both methods are here.

We will start the day as is the tradtional way with a Massed Blow!! A couple of treats are expectedl!! There will be an education workshop for youngsters and anybody who is nervous about the massed blow and feels they would benefit from some easier playing. There is no age limit for either group so please do not feel that you have to play in the advanced Massed Blow.

There will be the usual mix of styles and groups and I hope the day will run as smoothly and relaxed as last year! We are hoping to run a jazz evening at The Ship Inn, Oundle in the evening so please keep this free as it will be a fantastic Jazz filled night with music from a TO BE NAMED trombone quintet and rhythm section, this does depend on interest so please e-mail me if you would like to attend, there will be some great players involved so don’t be left out and ticket numbers will be limited. I will provide these details when I have the final running order of the day.

Ben Bouzan
eastanglia@britishtrombonesociety.org
BTS East Anglia Representative

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Brass are performing a concert of operatic arrangements next week in the Cadogan Hall, London. Conducted and promoted by Geoffrey Boyd,the concert follows the premiere performance of the arrangements at the Grand Teton Festival, Wyoming.

An evening of opera music, featuring the Brass of the RPO

Friday 29 September 2006, 8.00pm
Cadogan Hall, London SW1X
Brass principals from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Tickets £10-£25

Mozart: The Magic Flute (Overture & excerpts)
Gounod: Faust (Mefistofele’s aria)
Menotti: Amahl and the Night Visitors (Shepherd’s Dance)
Puccini: Tosca (excerpts)
Rossini: The Barber of Seville (Largo al factotum)
Holst: The Perfect Fool (ballet music)
Verdi: Otello (Ave Maria)
Puccini: Turandot (excerpts)

Full details here.

Giant Safety Pins (also known as Sussex Trombone Choir) are presenting a concert next week directed by Peter Harvey with guest mezzo soprano Liza Hobbs.

Friday 29th September, 2006, 8.00 pm
GIANT SAFETY PINS
(Sussex Trombone Choir)
Peter Harvey director
Liza Hobbs mezzo soprano

Trombone ensemble concert of music spanning 500 years, from Baroque to Jazz

St. Anne’s Church, Western Road, Lewes, Sussex
Tickets, to include a glass of wine, £7 on the door or £6 if bought in advance: Tel. 01273 478290 / 01273 475201
Free Parking at County Hall, behind the Church

The British Trombone Society will be debating and voting on a new constitution at the 2006 Annual General Meeting, to be held at Oundle School, after the East Anglia Trombone Day on Sunday 8 October 2006 (announced previously). Please download the draft BTS Constitution (24KB Adobe PDF) to peruse at your leisure.

The Executive Committee hopes to see as many members as possible at the East Anglia Trombone Day or at the Annual General Meeting as can make it.

Geoff Wolmark
BTS Secretary

It was a full six months ago that the Dutch Bass Trombone Open was declared full, such was the incredible interest, but now a couple of last minute places have become now available. 46 players from across Europe have signed up to stay in Castle “Oud Poelgeest” for the weekend of 6-8th October for masterclasses from the likes of Ben van Dijk and Bill Reichenbach. Host Marcel Schot has just announced that with less than three weeks to go, some participants have dropped out and for the bargain €249 there is room for a few latecomers to join in the event that carries this motto:

“No tenor trombones will be used, permitted, harmed or damaged in any way during this event!”

Full details of the event are on the Atelier Pfeiffer website.

The Philharmonia Orchestra is presenting a concert on Tuesday 10 October which features the London première of Piers Hellawell’s Double Concerto for Trumpet and Trombone – Cors de Chasse, performed by Håkan Hardenberger and Jonas Bylund. The BTS is pleased to offer members a 25% discount on tickets.

The concert also includes Elgar and Walton which should give ample chance for the Philharmonia trombone section to show their class too.

Tuesday 10 October 2006, 7.30pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Martyn Brabbins conductor
Håkan Hardenberger trumpet
Jonas Bylund trombone
Matthew Trusler violin

Elgar Alassio
Piers Hellawell Cors de chasse London première
Walton Violin Concerto
Elgar Cockaigne

Tickets: £6-£35

6.00pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall, free pre-concert talk with Piers Hellawell, Håkan Hardenberger, Jonas Bylund & Martyn Brabbins.

More information including an interview with Håkan Hardenberger can be found on the Philharmonia Orchestra website.

BTS members can get their 25% discount on all tickets quote Trombone Society when they ring to book. Tickets can be booked through the South Bank Centre Box Office on 0870 405 6666.