News

This Saturday is the BTS day in Lancashire. Here are the latest details to whet appetites.

The British Trombone Society presents:

A spectacular day of trombone music and playing, at Bury Church, Bury, Lancashire on Saturday 19th July 2008 from 10.00 am to 9.00 pm.

The two themes of the day are:

Contemporary music for trombone
The trombone in the brass band

Artists confirmed include:
* Bob Hughes Royal Academy of Music Trombone Professor
* Brett Baker Principal trombone of the Black Dyke Brass Band
* The Stockport Brass (Formerly BT Band), Musical Director Michael Fowles
* Peter Moore winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2008
* Stephen Sykes Principal Trombone of the Leyland Band
* Lorna MacDonald Bass Trombonist with Bones Apart
* Nicholas Hudson soloist, formerly of Fodens and Faireys Bands
* The Black Dyke Band Trombone Quartet

The programme for the day is as follows:

10.00 am Introduction and massed trombone choir led by Bob Hughes

11.15 am Brett Baker. Demonstration and discussion of Brass Band repertoire and new compositions

12.15 lunch

1.00pm Nick Hudson Recital / Workshop

2.00pm: Trombone Choir rehearsal

3.00pm The Black Dyke Trombone Quartet + tutoring another quartet

4.00pm Trombone Choir rehearsal

5.00pm “The Bass Trombone” a workshop with Lorna MacDonald

7.00 pm Concert. Brett Baker, Stockport Brass, Peter Moore, Stephen Sykes.

Admission to the workshops and daytime events is free to BTS members and £10 to non members.
Tickets for the evening concert available on the door at £5 for all.

Venue: Bury Church, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 0LA. (The nearby rectory is at BL9 0JR)

There will be a number of trade stands present with instruments, sheet music and CDs to try and buy.
For further information, please contact Brett Baker by email: chair@britishtrombonesociety.org

Concert Programme

• Stockport Brass March conducted by Michael Fowles
• Brett Baker playing Concerto Olympic by Roy Newsome with Stockport Brass
• Brett Baker playing Iona Boat Song arranged by Howard Evans with Stockport Brass
• Slide Show Quartet (from Rochdale Music Service) playing Promenade, Nessun Dorma and Wagners
• Tannhauser
• Brett Baker playing the Evanepole Concerto with Stockport Brass
• Stockport Brass TBA
• Everyday Light trombone trio by James McFadyen with Stockport Brass, with Stephen Sykes, Brett
• Baker and Kevin Wilson

interval

• Trombone Choir to play two pieces conducted by Bob Hughes
• Stephen Sykes Playing Basta by Folke Rabe Unaccompanied
• Stephen Sykes Playing Brasilia with Stockport Brass
• Stockport Brass Lill Darlin
• Peter Moore Playing Shout with Stockport Brass
• Peter Moore Playing 2nd and 3rd Movements of the Larsson Concertino
• Lisa Sarasini Playing Freaks by Gavin Higgins with Stockport Brass
• Stockport Brass: Shine as the Light by Peter Graham

Black Dyke Quartet Program 3.30pm
Celebration
Their Hearts were full of spring
Concerto A4
Song of Courage (excerpt)
Tokyo Tyiptych
Red Red Rose
James Bond
Fly me to the Moon
Gospel Time

So far there are BTS events confirmed in Somerset and Northamptonshire this autumn.

Wells Cathedral School (Somerset) hosts a BTS day on Sunday 28th September 2008, 10.30am - 5pm. So far Bones Apart and the London Serpent Trio are booked. And of course there will be the massed blow!

Also, the ever-popular BTS day at Oundle School (Northants) returns on 5th October 2008, organised by Ben Bouzan.

Bones Apart - coming to Somerset this September

Kevin Morgan invites trombonists in the South-West to get together for a massed blow at The Crown, Winterborne Stickland on the 20th July.

20th July 2008
The Crown, Winterborne Stickland, Blandford, Dorset, DT110NJ
6.00-9.00pm
All trombonists welcome
Further further Information or to confirm attendance email: trombonemusic@mac.com

(The date coincides with a cricket match between the village and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at Milton Abbey earlier in the day.)

After a distinguished career at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Peter Gane will be stepping down from being Head of Department this summer. Having nurtured a great number of brass players, particularly trombonists, there are plenty who may wish to send a small message on this occasion. Jim Dean at Guildhall invites brass players to get in touch so that they can put together a big card for Peter, to be presented in early July.

Send your messages for Peter to: Jim Dean jim.dean@gsmd.ac.uk

The British Trombone Society presents:

A spectacular day of trombone music and playing, at Bury Church, Bury, Lancashire on Saturday 19th July 2008 from 10.00 am to 9.00 pm.

The two themes of the day are:

Contemporary music for trombone
The trombone in the Brass Band

Update 25/5/08

The BTS are pleased to announce to further developments during the BTS day in Lancashire. Renowned Soloist Nick Hudson will also take part in a recital and workshop, and Stephen Sykes will play Basta by Folke Rabe and Brasilia by Robin Dewhurst in the evening concert.

Artists confirmed include:

• Bob Hughes (Royal Academy of Music Trombone Professor)
• Brett Baker (Principal trombone of the Black Dyke Brass Band)
• The Stockport Brass (Formerly BT Band) Musical Director Michael Fowles
• Peter Moore winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year
• Stephen Sykes Principal Trombone of the Leyland Band
• Lorna MacDonald Bass Trombonist with Bones Apart
• Nicholas Hudson International Soloist
• The Black Dyke Band Trombone Quartet

The programme for the day is as follows:

10.00 am Introduction and massed trombone choir led by Bob Hughes

11.00 am “The Bass Trombone” a workshop with Lorna MacDonald

12.30 lunch

1.15pm: Trombone Choir rehearsal

2.15pm The Black Dyke Trombone Quartet + tutoring another quartet

3.30 pm: Brett Baker. Demonstration and discussion of Brass Band repertoire and new compositions.

4.30pm Trombone Choir rehearsal

5.30pm Nick Hudson recital / workshop

7.00 pm Concert. Brett Baker, Stockport Brass, Peter Moore, Lorna MacDonald, Stephen Sykes, and Nick Hudson.

Admission to the workshops and daytime events is free to BTS members and £10 to non members. Tickets for the evening concert available on the door at £5 for all. There will be a number of trade stands present with instruments, sheet music and CDs to try and buy.

For further information, please contact Brett Baker by email: chair@britishtrombonesociety.org

The Church postcode is BL9 0LA. The nearby Rectory postcode is BL9 0JR.

The British Trombone Society is delighted to announce its 2008-9 BTS Composers Competition for players and composers throughout the UK and abroad.

Composers are invited to write music for the trombone in one of eight categories:

1) Unaccompanied trombone
2) Trombone and Piano
a) Up to Grade 6 standard
b) Grade 8 standard
c) Diploma standard
3) Trombone and brass band
4) Trombone and Rhythm Section/Big band
5) Trombone Quartet Junior (under 16 years)
6) Trombone Quartet Senior

All submissions must be received by November 1st 2008 and will be judged by a team of expert trombone players and composers from within and outside the BTS such as Bruce Fraser and Dr Philip Wilby. Entry to the competition is free to BTS members and £30 to non-members.

Prizes include the publication of your score by Warwick Music and its performance by top level musicians at a future BTS event in 2009 and the Black Dyke Music Festival in Leeds, April 2009.

The winner of each section will have an opportunity for their compositions to be played and recorded by leading UK trombone players including having their composition used in BTS solo competitions.

Each entry must comprise three copies of the score, and a cover letter stating the category it is being entered for and contact details. The scores must be bound and legible. The piece must be an original work, and not performed previously to 1st January 2008. There are no restrictions on composer’s age or country. Entries are welcomed from both BTS members and non-members.

Please send entries to:
Brett Baker
BTS Chairman
35 Yew Tree Drive
Barnton
Northwich
Cheshire
CW8 4NH

The competition is a superb opportunity for composers, however experienced, and provides a showcase for the best new music for trombonists.

Gareth Westwood
northwest@britishtrombonesociety.org
North-West Representative, British Trombone Society

Guildhall student Robbie Harvey impressed judges Gordon Campbell, Bill Geldard and Jeremy Price to win the BTS Don Lusher prize. The competition was set-up to celebrate the memory and style of Don Lusher, and Robbie Harvey won a brand new Yamaha YSL697Z trombone and a special trophy presented by Diana Lusher.

Bill Geldard congratulates winner Robbie Harvey

The competition was staged at Leicester Grammar School on 3rd May 2008, where the three finalists, who had been selected by CD, played Harlem Nocturne and Stardust.

The two runners up Rachel Botham and Matthew Walton received plaques and a set of Denis Wick trombone mutes and a mouthpiece, kindly donated by Denis Wick.

The Summer Issue of The Trombonist is out today, packed with the latest news, articles and reviews. BTS members will all receive their copy in the next few days and can read about a range of hot topics, including:

• News of this Saturday’s Don Lusher / Brass Band BTS Day in Leicester
• Denis Wick’s delight in unearthing some Victorian mouthpieces
• The twists and turns of Bill Geldard’s career as told by Sheila Tracy
• Lindsay Shilling picks out his favourite discs
• Interview with David Whitehouse, with his latest move to the Philharmonia
• Full review and special offer on Chris Houlding’s new CD

Please note that unfortunately Mark Nightingale’s concert in Milton Keynes on 15th June has just been cancelled due to a double booking at the venue.

The Trombonist is published three times a year. Subscription is included in BTS membership, which costs £22 per year for those in Britain, with substantial reductions for students and under-16s. Full details and the opportunity to sign-up on-line are on the membership page.

The British Trombone Society presents:

A spectacular day of trombone music and playing

Leicester Grammar School

Saturday 3rd May 2008

• Celebrating the lyrical trombone playing of the late Don Lusher
• The trombone in the Brass Band

Artists confirmed include:
Nick Hudson (former Principal Trombone of YBS and Fodens Bands),
Bob Hughes (Royal Academy of Music - Trombone Professor)
Brett Baker (Principal Trombone of the Black Dyke Band)
Chris Jeans (Principal Trombone of GUS Band and formerly of Desford and Black Dyke Bands)
Gordon Campbell (Principal Trombone of the BBC Big Band),
Jeremy Price (Jazz trombone soloist and Head of Jazz, Birmingham Conservatoire),
The Ratby Co-operative Brass Band

The programme for the day is as follows:
10.00am Introduction and massed trombone choir led by Bob Hughes (juniors with Chris Jeans)
10.45am Chris Jeans and Brett Baker. Demonstration and discussion of Brass Band repertoire and new compositions
11.30am Nick Hudson workshop on the art of solo playing, using volunteers
12.30pm lunch
1.30pm Improvisation workshop with Jeremy Price
2.30pm Don Lusher Competition
4.00pm Junior choir lead by Chris Jeans
4.00pm Senior choir led by Bob Hughes
5.00pm Workshop with Gordon Campbell
(5.00pm Rehearsal with Ratby and Don Lusher finalist)
6.00pm Concert. Brett Baker, Nick Hudson, Chris Jeans and Don Lusher prize winner.
The evening concert will also feature the Ratby Co-operative Brass Band (Championship Section) and the artists in a full concert.

The three Don Lusher prize finalists will be performing an arrangement of either Stardust or Harlem Nocturne, by one of the judges: world-famous arranger and composer, Bill Geldard. The other judges are Gordon Campbell, lead trombone with the BBC Big Band, and Jeremy Price, International Soloist and Head of Jazz at Birmingham Conservatoire. The main prize is a new top-of-the range tenor trombone, kindly donated by Yamaha UK Ltd. The Don Lusher prize will be awarded by Don’s widow, Diana Lusher.

There will be a number of trade stands present with instruments, sheet music and CDs to try and buy.

Date: Saturday 3 May 2008
Times: 10.00am - 8.00pm
Venue: Leicester Grammar School, 8 Peacock Lane, Leicester, LE1 5PX - directions on the Leicester Grammar School website.
Prices: Admission to the workshops and daytime events is free to BTS members and £10 to non members. Tickets for the evening concert and competition final will be by ticket, available on the door at £5 for all.
For further information, please contact Brett Baker by email: chair@britishtrombonesociety.org

The British Trombone Society is pleased to announce the 2008 National Competition for Young Trombonists

Open to all tenor and bass trombone players up to the age of 16, the competition aims to seek out the next generation of talent, showcase their skills and provide support from some of the top names in the industry.

Mark Templeton, Carol Jarvis and Bruce Fraser will be judging both the CD recording round and live final. Bruce Fraser has written a piece specifically for this competition called Hellas, available now from Lomond Music.

To enter the competition, submit your recording of Hellas by 30 June 2008. The live final will take place at the BTS trombone day, Oundle School (Northamptonshire) on 5 October 2008.

Full details and an application form can be downloaded from the Competitions page.