1. Bob Hughes
(About/Biographies)

Bob Hughes has nearly thirty years' experience as a bass trombonist in many of the UK's finest orchestras. After studying with Harold Nash at the Royal Academy of Music, he joined the BB

2. Friends and Relations: The Sackbut
(Resources/Archived Articles)

The sackbut, otherwise known as the Barockposaune, is examined by Keith McGowan in the last of the series of "Friends and Relations". A useful review of modern sackbut manufacturers and th

3. Copyright Information
(About/Policy Documents)

...er and it will be removed promptly from the server. Reprints of Articles or other Resources Final permission for reprints in other publications of articles appearing ...

4. "The Improved Trombone": an essay in Edwardian ingenuity
(Resources/Current Articles)

One of the most remarkable efforts to improve upon the basic design of the trombone occurred at the turn of the 20th Century in Edwardian England. In The Improved Trombone, former Editor of The Tro

5. Audio Library
(Resources/Audio Library)

Note: The files in the Audio Library are all in MIDI format. Ludwig van Beethoven: Three Equale for four trombones [1812] (alto trombone, two tenor trombones, bass trombone)

6. Legal Disclaimer
(About/Policy Documents)

... download material from our website for the sole purpose of using our website as an information resource. However, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmi...

7. Friends and Relations: The Bass Trumpet
(Resources/Archived Articles)

In the second of our "Friends and Relations" series, Harold Nash pays a visit to one of the strangest of instruments, the bass trumpet. Read all about its history and compare different ma

8. Site Tools
(Homepage/Homepage)

Web Browsers, Media Player, Adobe Reader In order to benefit fully from the content on the British Trombone Society website, your computer should be equipped with the latest version

9. God's Trombones
(Resources/Current Articles)

Peter Bassano, ex-trombonist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, has researched that well-known work for trombone quartet, Beethoven's Vier Equale and presents his findings in God's Trombones. It

10. The Soprano Trombone Swindle
(Resources/Archived Articles)

...- lawyer that he was - with dogmatic vehemence and abstruse argumentation. In spite of the obvious source-historical problems in Kunitz' book, other writers have apparently considered it to be...

11. A Lament for Sam Hughes
(Resources/Archived Articles)

Sam Hughes was the last ophicleide player in the United Kingdom. The ophicleide was gradually replaced in the last century by the euphonium. In this article, Dr Trevor Herbert, Staff Tutor and Seni

12. Ray Premru: An Appreciation
(Resources/Archived Articles)

Sadly, this great master of the bass trombone passed away in 1998. In this article from The Trombonist in 1988, Peter Bassano, one of Ray's close colleagues in the Philharmonia Orchestra loo

13. The Alto Trombone in the Orchestra: 1800-2000
(Resources/Shifrin)

... whom a debt of gratitude is owed. While I have tried to acknowledge in the text all those who provided source material and shared their expertise, there are a number of individuals who deserve spe...

14. Friends and Relations: The Ophicleide
(Resources/Archived Articles)

...ind lnstruments, University of Leicester, and Head of Instrumental Teaching, Bedford High School. Resources The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments (Cambridge Companions to M...

15. Principal Trombone, LSO (Part II)
(Resources/Interviews)

Part II: 1957-1987 - Denis Wick When I joined the LSO, it wasn't really a proper job at all. There had been what was called 'the big split' when the Sinfonia of London was created. Most

16. Fall and Rise of the Alto Trombone: 1830-2000
(Resources/Current Articles)

During the latter half of the 19th century, the alto trombone diminished in popularity almost to the point of extinction. The last thirty years have seen a resurgence of interest. Rob Slocombe inves

17. The Future is in Low Notes
(Resources/Current Articles)

Adrian Cleverley reports on Chris Stearn's Contrabass Trombone Masterclass at Trinity College of Music. Chris Stearn, principal bass trombonist at Scottish Opera, and Professor at the Roy

18. Principal Trombone, LSO (Part I)
(Resources/Interviews)

Part I: 1936-1956 - Jock Ashby The recent retirement (1987) of Denis Wick as Principal Trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra brings to a close a half-century in which that p

19. Matthew Parry
(About/Biographies)

Matthew Parry started playing the trombone aged 11 while a pupil at Nottingham High School and was taught by the Head of Brass, Gerald Douglas. Some years later he had lessons from Pete

20. The London Trombone Sound
(Resources/Reviews)

Sixteen Trombones of Seven London Orchestras My best Christmas present - talking in "parliamo Glasgow" - is "pure dead brilliant". The Editor

21. Friends and Relations: The Alto Trombone
(Resources/Archived Articles)

An acknowledged expert in his field, Carsten Svanberg takes a close look at the alto trombone, its music and how it fits into the orchestral brass section. This article is a transcription of n

22. Chapter 1: From Beethoven to Schumann
(Resources/Shifrin)

... Germany, Bavaria and Austria the old civic organisations... [the] Stadtmusiker, remained... a valuable source from which orchestras could draw their trombone players.85 The music e...

23. Sheila Tracy talks to Maisie Ringham
(Resources/Interviews)

One of the small regrets of my musical career is that I've never played any jazz," says Maisie Ringham, Principal Trombone of the Hallé Orchestr

24. The Sackbut Rebut
(Resources/Archived Articles)

...ght after as a teacher and received rave reviews for his improvisation at the keyboard. The above sources are in absolute contradiction to the Gordon claim that Beck's music did not impress t...

25. Part I: The Alto-Tenor-Bass Trombone Trio
(Resources/Shifrin)

...with sacred music. Apparently only the Stadtpfeiffer played the instrument by now; they became the sole source of trombonists, albeit often of lacklustre ability. While Bach used trombones sparingl...

26. Friends and Relations: The Contrabass Trombone
(Resources/Archived Articles)

... I do, at the bottom end of a superb brass section, then it's worth every minute. (Sorry, violas!) Resources Syntagma Musicum Part 2 De Organographia (Historical treatise o...

27. Are we doing Dvořák wrong?
(Resources/Archived Articles)

What type of trombone did Dvořák write for? Ken Shifrin looks into performance practice in Bohemia and comes up with some interesting discoveries. The selection of Vaclav Sm

28. On a Pedestal
(Resources/Archived Articles)

A renowned figure on the London orchestral scene, Alfred Flaszynski made a meteoric rise to fame in the most well-known of British orchestras immediately after the Second World War. Anthony Parsons

29. Mozart's Requiem
(Resources/Archived Articles)

...d for performances in which Mozart himself was involved. For the Requiem, we don't have this additional source material, but there is surely no reason to doubt the appropriateness of Süssmayer...

30. Coda: The Orchestral Alto Trombone in the Twentieth Century
(Resources/Shifrin)

...bore trombones used today. Indeed, Yamaha's 'standard trombone', a medium-bore tenor, measures 12.77mm. Source: Yamaha Trombone Specifications Table 1996. Cited in Hartman, op. cit., p. 103. ...