News

The Guildhall Trombone Ensemble will be flying the flag for the trombone during a series of ‘endangered species’ lunchtime concerts at LSO St Lukes, London.

LSO Discovery Fridays: lunchtime concert
“Endangered Species: Trombone”

2 Nov 2007, 12:30 PM
LSO St Luke’s, Old Street, London

Guildhall Trombone Ensemble
Rachel Leach presenter
Tickets: Free

Full details on the LSO website

Simon Wills spoke about the early trombone on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show last June. For those that missed it, due to a rebroadcast today, it will be available to hear on-line for the next seven days.

Lucie Skeaping looks at the history of the sackbut and its use as an ensemble instrument in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Music includes pieces by Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Lassus, Scheidt and Locke. Andrew Gourlay visits the home of trombonist and sackbut player Simon Wills for a potted history and demonstration of the instrument.

Many British trombonists have a soft spot for old Conn instruments, so there is sure to be some interest in a new gallery of photos from the Conn factory dating from around 1911. Provided by American brass instrument repairers Oberloh, the sepia images show hundreds of men working in a variety of departments from the factory, with scenes including bells being spun, tubes being bent and slides being drawn.

This factory, built in 1910 in Elkhart, Indiana, was where Conn made trombones until 1971, when production (of professional models) moved to Texas.

There are two opportunities coming up to hear up close the Philharmonia Orchestra’s principal trombonist Byron Fulcher. This coming weekend he will be in Bedfordshire with a quintet made up of the orchestra’s principal brass players. He will follow this a couple of weeks later by presenting a masterclass in orchestral trombone playing at the Royal College of Music in London.

The Soloists of the Philharmonia Orchestra Brass Ensemble

Sunday 18 February 2007, 3.00pm
Church of St Michael and All Angels, Shefford, Bedfordshire

Mark David trumpet
Mark Calder trumpet
Laurence Davies horn
Byron Fulcher trombone
John Jenkins tuba

Scheidt Battle Suite
Pachelbel Canon
Ewald Quintet
Copland Simple Gifts
Weill A Little Threepenny Opera
Gershwin Quintessential Gershwin

Full details are available from the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Orchestral masterclass

Friday 2 March 2007, 2.00pm
Recital Hall, Royal College of Music, London
Brass Faculty Masterclass
Byron Fulcher trombone
The trombone in orchestral repertoire

One of the best known brass scholars is giving a lecture as part of a prestigious series at the Royal College of Music later this month. Trevor Herbert is best known for jointly editing the Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments (with John Wallace) and last year earned much more praise for his ground-breaking book The Trombone. In this lecture, Herbert will talk about research and scholarship for performers.

27 February 2007, 6.30pm
Royal College of Music Recital Hall, London
Crees Lecture 2007
Professor Trevor Herbert, The Open University

Researching and Writing About Music: Scholarship for Performers

A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Trevor Herbert has played trombone with many of the UK’s leading orchestras. He’s also a hugely respected author and academic who joined the staff of the Open University thirty years ago. His books include The Trombone and Music in Words, an indispensable bible for musicians faced with the challenge of communicating in words what music is all about.

The Crees Lecture is an annual tradition at the RCM dating back many decades in which a renowned musician is invited to speak about a major aspect of today’s profession.

There will be a drinks reception following the lecture. Tickets are free, but should be reserved in advance. Call the Box Office weekdays 10am-4pm on 020 7591 4314 from 15 January.

The Royal College Brass Ensemble has a Valentine’s date with London Brass. Their joint concert is perfect for listeners who want to avoid the soppy romantic fare usually on offer on February 14th. The programme culminates in Bernstein’s dazzling dances inspired by sailors looking for fun on a night out in On The Town.

14 February 2007, 7.00pm
Royal College of Music Concert Hall, London
RCM Brass Ensemble and London Brass
Nigel Black conductor (Bernstein)
London Brass
RCM Brass Ensemble

Handel Concerto Grosso arr. A P Stagnes
Richard Rodney Bennett Concerto for Ten Brass Players
Bernstein Three Dance Episodes from On The Town (arr. Eric Crees)

Kevin Price and Chris Mowat are heading up a Trombone Day in Bath for school pupils across the West of England. Organised by the Bath and North East Somerset Music Service (BANES), the day will feature the RWCMD 9-piece trombone choir as well as workshops, ensembles and masterclasses for pupils.

Friday 16th March, 10.00am - 3.30pm
Hayesfield Upper School
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Trombone Choir
Kevin Price (Head of Brass at the RWCMD), Chris Mowat

The day is open to anyone attending school in the Bath and North East Somerset area and adjoining authorities (Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Somerset and Wiltshire as well as Wells Cathedral School. The cost is £7.50 for BANES pupils and £10 for non BANES pupils.

The Royal Academy of Music presents Mark Nightingale in a lunchtime concert with the Royal Academy of Music Trombone Choir, conducted by Bob Hughes, on 30 November 2006.

Thursday 30 November 2006, 1.00pm
Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London
Free, no tickets required

Academy Trombone Choir
Bob Hughes director
Mark Nightingale jazz trombone

Programme to include music by Mark Nightingale including the UK première of Turning Back the Clock for solo jazz trombone and trombone octet.
Mark Nightingale is one of the busiest session musicians on the London scene and is also a highly sought-after jazz trombone soloist. His rich and varied musical life has heard him playing on countless film soundtracks and television shows, writing educational books and playing in the orchestras of Henry Mancini, Michel Legrand and Frank Sinatra. Mark also leads his own quartet and Big Band.

A large display of historic Boosey & Hawkes instruments and production records will be opening at the Horniman Museum later this month, celebrating over 150 years of British brass instrument manufacture and Boosey & Co.’s invention of the compensating valve system in 1874.

The museum in South London, which already has a large display of historical brass instruments, acquired the Boosey & Hawkes Collection and Archive in 2001. The B&H museum of instruments and production records from the Boosey & Hawkes factory in Edgware needed a new home when B&H left Sonorous Works and moved to much smaller premises in Watford. These instruments and material from the archives are the centrepiece of the new Boosey & Hawkes display in the music gallery, which will open officially on 17 November 2006.

Next week Fiona McLean will be performing the Arnold’s Fantasy for Trombone at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. It comes as part of Brass Spectrum’s lunchtime concert in tribute to the late Sir Malcolm Arnold. The brass quintet are resident as a fellowship ensemble at the Guildhall School. The programme also features Arnold’s Quintet No. 1 and his three other Fantasy pieces for solo instruments.

Brass Spectrum
Wednesday, 25 October 2006, 1.05pm
Music Hall, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London
Free admission

In addition there is a trombone masterclass tonight in the Guildhall featuring Jiggs Whigham.