Appendix 3

Published on Tuesday, 01 July 2008 06:51

Page 1 of 8

Ken Shifrin: The Alto Trombone in the Orchestra: 1800-2000

In October 1994 the following survey was addressed to the Principal Trombonist of every professional symphony and opera orchestra in Great Britain¹. The same survey was also completed by Denis Wick, former London Symphony Orchestra Principal Trombone, and Jay Friedman and Michael Mulcahy of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in October 1996. The author wishes to express his gratitude to all those who responded for their assistance and their valued input.

Trombonist	Orchestra	Model of Alto Trombone	Alto Trombone Mouthpiece
(Principal unless otherwise stated)	(as of 1/10/94)
Dudley Bright (DB)	Philharmonia (London)	Bach 39 (1980)	Wick 6BS (old)
Eric Crees (EC)*	London Symphony Orchestra	Glassl Gold Bell (1983?)	From 6-10 size, larger for Brahms etc, smaller for classical repertoire
Mark Eager (ME)	BBC National Orchestra of Wales	Bach 39 (1981)	Most of the time I use a Bach 12C which gives a well-centered 'lightish' sound, but it needs to be treated with care or overblowing causes a harsh sound.
Lance Green (LG)	Royal Scottish National Orchestra	Yamaha YSL671 (1980)	Adjustable cup Hablowitch (from B. Free's collection!)
Michael Hext (MH)	Royal Opera House, Covent Garden	Yamaha YSL671 (1980)	Bach 9. For me it works, but larger mouthpieces tend to make the alto sound like a large bore.
Chris Houlding (CH)	English Northern Philharmonia	Conn 38H (1991?)	Wick 9C
Kevin Morgan (KM)	Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra	Miraphone (19?)	I'm still experimenting and if I ever find a combination I'm happy with I'll let you know. Currently a Wick 6.
Chris Mowat (CM)	BBC Symphony Orchestra (London)	Yamaha YSL671 (1982?)	Bach 6 1/2 AL or 1/4
Peter Oram (PO)	BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra	Lätzsch (1973)	Custom built
Anthony Parsons (AnP)*	BBC Symphony Orchestra (London)	Yamaha YSL671	Bach 6 3/4 C. Best of a haphazard selection tested.
Alan Pash (AP)	Orchestra of Scottish Opera	Lätzsch (1964)	Various depending on period of work and type of mix I want with other instruments. Generally Giardinelli 4M for early works, Bach 7, 6 1/2 AL, 5 and 4 for large romantic and 20th century works. All these mouthpieces have been personalised and are not standard.
Kevin Price (KP)	Royal Liverpool Philharmonic	Glassl 49 and Yamaha 671	Bach 6 1/2 AL. It's the only one that my lips fit into! My high register becomes restricted by anything smaller.
Bryan Raby (BR)	Welsh National Opera	Pfitzner	Schilke 47
Paul Reynolds (PR)	BBC Philharmonic (Manchester)	Whatever I can borrow	Whatever works at the time
Ken Shifrin (KS)	City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra	Yamaha YSL (large bore) 673 with detachable Bb valve. Bach 39 for concerto work	Bach 12C with my tenor mouthpiece rim
Warwick Tyrell (WT)	London Philharmonic	Bach small bore, Glassl medium bore.	I consider mouthpiece change a major factor in getting the required sound for a particular style. I use 4 different mouthpieces on my 2 altos, depending on what I'm doing, solo or concerto. An old Besson (very small) gives a beautiful crisp bright sound. Brahms 1 I would use a Denis Wick 5 for a larger fuller sound.
M Wilson (MW)	Ulster Symphony Orchestra	Bach 39	Bach 11 (slightly large but it suits me)
Denis Wick (DW)		Yamaha Custom	My own mouthpiece that was developed specifically for that instrument.
Jay Friedman (JF)	Chicago Symphony Orchestra	Lätzsch (1966) and Glassl (1992)	Similar to a 6 1/2 AL

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