FINAL MAG

SPRING 2017 £5.00
THE
TROMBONIST
BTS LAUNCH ABRSM
RECORDINGS
ACROSS THE POND
WITH TOBY OFT
GEAR, CONCERT
AND CD REVIEWS
WIN
WIN AN
OKURA
PRACTICE MUTE
THE EXTRAORDINARY
JOHN KENNY

Justin Clarke
CONTENTS
REGULARS
6
PRESIDENTS COLUMN
Message from Liam
7-10
NEWS & EVENT REVIEWS
What’s been going on in the
trombone world
26-27
THE BASS BONE FILES
Roger Argente speaks to Justin Clarke
28
PRESIDENT’S PROBLEMS
Your questions answered
RESOURCES
12-14
JAZZ BY JEREMY
Jeremy gives tips on two of Rob
Egerton’s transcriptions
29-30
TROMBONE SCALING
UP & DOWN
Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Toby
Oft gives us something to think about
33
GEAR REVIEWS
Gear, gear and more gear.
34
G & T
Matt and Mark’s highlights for the
next 3 months
PROFILES
18-19
ITM LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD
A look into the life of John Kenny
and his recent ITA Award
31
A TRIBUTE...
...to the life of Roger Williams
FEATURES
11
SINGAPORE TROMBONE
FESTIVAL
Hannah Stell tells us all
Cover photograph courtesy of - Hugh Beauchamp
4

WELCOME
TO THE SPRING ISSUE
OF THE BTS MAGAZINE
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Too late? Perhaps. Oh well! Welcome to 2017’s first edition of ‘The Trombonist’.
First of all, we would like to pass on our congratulations to John Kenny on receiving the
ITA Lifetime Achievement Award! If you would like to read more about John, turn to
page 18.
We would also like to pass on our congratulations to Ken Wellington, winner of our BTS
Christmas Crossword competition. Your prize is en route and will be with you shortly!
Check out this edition’s competition where you could win an Okura practise mute!
Life has been busy at BTS headquarters as we get ready for the second instalments of
the Ian Bousfield Tenor Trombone, the BTS Trombone Quartet and the Intercollegiate
Trombone Choir competitions. Hopefully you’ll all have got your entries in and we wish
you all the best of luck!
We always value your feedback and would like to welcome any suggestions from
members on how to improve our magazine.
Anything we can do? Want to promote your event? Drop us a line: editor@
britishtrombonesociety.org, and don’t forget to Tweet photos of you performing or
anything trombone’y @britishtrombone
Best wishes, Simon & Ross
THE TROMBONIST
MAGAZINE
Editors:
Ross Learmonth & Simon Minshall
editor@britishtrombonesociety.org
Sub-Editor:
Peter Chester
Alison Keep
Publishing and Distribution:
HMCA
Reviews Editor:
Jane Salmon
news@britishtrombonesociety.org
Advertising:
Jane Salmon
advertising@britishtrombonesociety.org
Design:
Sian Nowley
sian@hmca.co.uk
CONTRIBUTORS
IN THIS ISSUE:
Roger Argente
Ross Anderson
Matt Gee
Mark Templeton
Jane Salmon
Josh Cirtina
Sam Freeman
Sion Jones
Toby Oft
Liam Kirkman
Peter Chester
Hannah Stell
Jeremy Price
Tom Dunnett
Denis Wick
Paul Archibald
Chris Stearn
PAGE 8
PAGE 25
PAGE 31
PAGE 29
PAGE 33
5

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
PRESIDENT’S
COLUMN
Dear Readers,
Finally Spring is here and it’s the perfect
time for new beginnings. Here at BTS
HQ we welcome two new Young Persons
Representatives, Hannah Stell and Daniel
Higham. Both promising young players who
have featured previously in these pages and
we look forward to input from them in due
course. Matt Lewis has had to step down as
London Rep and we thank him for all the
good work he has done to date, not least in
organising the excellent event at the Royal
Academy in 2015. Matt is replaced by not
one but four excellent trombonists, Helen
Vollam, Becky Smith, Jayne Murrill and
Sarah Williams otherwise known
as the marvellous Bones Apart
quartet. Already plans are
shaping up for a London
event later in the year so
watch this space.
It is with much sadness
I can report the passing
of a dear friend
and colleague,
bass trombonist
president@britishtrombonesociety.org
Roger Williams who after a long illness left
us on 19th January. Our thoughts are with his
family and you can read a touching tribute
from Paul Archibald on page 31.
The more observant of you will have
noticed a new section to the website
www.britishtrombonesociety.org/resources/
abrsm-syllabus
Yes, finally Matt Gee, Dàvur Juul
Magnussen, Nick Hudson and myself have
recorded all the grade 1-5 pieces, 143 in
total! We believe an invaluable resource
for students and teachers alike. It’s free to
listen for all members, so please spread
the word.
All being well, hopefully
many of you will have also
received this edition of “The
Trombonist” in your email
inbox as a PDF. Recognising
that many of our members
prefer a digital copy we’re
trialling an electronic version to
run alongside this paper version.
Please let us know what you think.
If you’ve not booked your tickets
already there’s still time for
the upcoming Glasgow
Trombone Weekend
22-25 June featuring
an incredible line-up.
Check it out on page…
That’s it for now.
Until next time.!
Liam
BTS OFFICERS & STAFF
MAGAZINE CONTACT LIST
British Trombone Society
www.britishtrombonesociety.org
CONTACT LIST
President: Liam Kirkman
president@britishtrombonesociety.org
Vice-President: Dávur Juul Magnussen
vicepresident@britishtrombonesociety.org
Immediate Past-President: Christian Jones
pastpresident@britishtrombonesociety.org
Chair: Matt Gee
chair@britishtrombonesociety.org
Vice Chair: Rosemary Abram
rosemaryabram@britishtrombonesociety.org
Treasurer: Christian Jones
treasurer@britishtrombonesociety.org
Secretary: Alison Keep
Darcy Gate, Kelvedon Road,
Tolleshunt D’Arcy, Essex, CM9 8EL.
Tel: 07976 881893
secretary@britishtrombonesociety.org
COMMITTEE:
Nick Hudson
nickhudson@britishtrombonesociety.org
Simon Minshall
simonminshall@britishtrombonesociety.org
Becca Pope
beccapope@britishtrombonesociety.org
Adrian Taylor
adriantaylor@britishtrombonesociety.org
Administrator: Chris Sowerby
1 Ullswater Road, Dewsbury
West Yorkshire, WF12 7PH
Tel: +44 (0)1924 437359
administrator@britishtrombonesociety.org
MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES:
membership@britishtrombonesociety.org
Please submit news and events items for
the website to: Jane Salmon
news@britishtrombonesociety.org
Advertising: Jane Salmon
advertising@britishtrombonesociety.org
REPRESENTATIVES:
Scotland: Simon Johnson 07973 861623
scotland@britishtrombonesociety.org
Wales: Jo Hirst 07729 144690
wales@britishtrombonesociety.org
North East: Peter Chester & David Thornber
northeast@britishtrombonesociety.org
North West: Vacant
northwest@britishtrombonesociety.org
Midlands: Martha-Ann Brookes
07966 416198
midlands@britishtrombonesociety.org
Northern Ireland: Stephen Cairns
02892 602646
northernireland@britishtrombonesociety.org
South: Vacant
south@britishtrombonesociety.org
South West: Bones Apart
southwest@britishtrombonesociety.org
East Anglia: Ben Bouzan 07970 502509
eastanglia@britishtrombonesociety.org
Wessex: Robb Tooley 07713 093193
wessex@britishtrombonesociety.org
Yorkshire: Jonathan Beatty 07966 214362
jbeatty70@icloud.com
Brass Band: Ryan Watkins 07801 955297
brassband@britishtrombonesociety.org
Jazz: Jeremy Price 07850 685784
jazz@britishtrombonesociety.org
Young People: Hannah Stell & Daniel Higham
youngrep@britishtrombonesociety.org
Military Bands: James Howard 07906 392992
military@britishtrombonesociety.org

REVIEWS
PREVIEWS
EVENT NEWS
REVIEWS & PREVIEWS
This year’s President’s Awards, chosen
by the ITA President Joseph Alessi, go
to Professor Dee Stewart of Indiana
University and to the pioneering charity,
Brass for Africa.
If you want to hear them next Christmas
(and have a bit of a singalong), come to
Waterloo Station at 5.30pm on Friday
8th December 2017.
ITA AWARDS
The International Trombone Association
Awards committee is pleased to
announce the winners of the 2017 ITA
Awards. The awards are voted upon
by past presidents and the current ITA
advisory committee.
The winner of this year’s Neill Humfeld
Award was Ben van Dijk from the
Netherlands. The Neill Humfeld Award
is given for Excellence in Trombone
Teaching and, whilst recognizing the
contributions to trombone teaching of
the late Neill Humfeld, it honours living
teachers who have achieved the highest
level of excellence in their work.
This year’s ITA Award goes to jazz
trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. The ITA
Award recognizes the highest level of
creative and artistic output in areas such
as performance, composition, arranging,
teaching, conducting, research and
service.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will
be presented to John Kenny.
The Lifetime Achievement Award
recognizes people who have distinguished
themselves by their contributions to the
trombone profession over a long career.
RNCM TROMBONES
STREAM TO THE
WORLD
15th December 2016 saw the
Trombone Department of the Royal
Northern College of Music take to
the Conservatoire’s concourse for
their annual ‘Christmas Carols on the
Concourse’, bringing some considerable
festive cheer to Manchester. Conducted
by the Halle’s Principal Trombone, Katy
Jones, and joined by Visiting Professor
of Trombone and Mnozil Brass
superstar, Zoltan Kiss, the performance
was broadcast online and has been seen
currently by over 36,000 people.
LPO CHRISTMAS
CAROLS
On the 1st December 2016, the London
Philhamonic Brass section and friends
(together with the London Philharmonic
Chorus) took over the concourse at
Waterloo Station to raise money for
Save the Children
With festive favourites drowning out
the station PA system for 2 hours they
raised a whopping £3,101.26.
They would like to thank Bell
Percussion for their invaluable support;
without which, the tuba players would be
standing and there would be no jingle bells.
ZOLTAN
MASTERCLASS
December saw Zoltan Kiss give a
masterclass to the RNCM Trombone
Department. As part of his role as
Visiting Professor of Trombone,
members from the Trombone
Department performed a variety of solo
and ensemble works under his watchful
eye. Also featured were students from
Chetham’s School of Music.
7

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
REVIEW
BY PETER CHESTER
AT SCHOOL
WITH MAISIE, OLLIE AND KYLE…
BTS events are about many things.
Naturally we think of the music, the
playing and the listening, but they are
also about people and the pleasure of
meeting old friends as well as making
new ones, all through our love of the
trombone. The people element was
perhaps particularly strong in Oundle
School in November as those stalwarts
who attended found themselves in the
presence of one of the most celebrated
figures in British trombone world from
the last 75 years.
The event was graced by Maisie
Ringham Wiggins MBE, a lady still
playing in her tenth decade and in
Oundle to collect the Sheila Tracy
Award, presented in recognition of a
significant contribution by a female
player to the world of trombone playing.
As the principal trombone of the Hallé
Orchestra in 1940s & 50s under Sir
John Barbirolli, Maisie was very much a
trailblazer in the profession and her long
career has been an inspiration to many,
both women and men. With typical
modesty, Maisie said she was delighted
and very humbled by the award, but
would only accept it, “on behalf of all
female trombonists, everywhere”.
The Oundle event is traditionally an
occasion for awards, and four were
made in absentia, the recipients being
unable to attend. They were to Elliot
Mason (Player of the Year), Alan Hutt,
(Teacher of the Year), Jonny Hollick
(Student of the Year), and finally to
Michael Rath for his Outstanding
Contribution to the World of the
Trombone.
If November 2016 was celebratory
moment for one of our most senior
players, it will also be one for at least
two student players at the start of
their careers, Ollie Martin and Kyle
MacCorquodale, and it was very
gratifying not only to hear them play,
but to see them chatting with Maisie
during the day, and no doubt learning
from her. Every two years the BTS hosts
two competitions, the Don Lusher Jazz
Trombone Competition and the Bob
Hughes Bass Trombone Competition.
Ollie Martin and Kyle MacCorquodale
were the respective winners of these
competitions on this occasion. It has to
be said, however, that no-one present
envied the competition judges at all,
given the high standard presented by the
three competitors for each prize.
For the Don Lusher award, we had
Lewis Bettles and Richard Leonard from
the RCS in Glasgow, and Ollie Martin
from the RAM. Each played a Bill
Geldard arrangement of Stardust, and
introduced a piece of the own choice.
For Lewis it was Dark Eyes, for Richard
an unaccompanied transcription of a
Murray McEachern’s Nobody Knows,
and for Ollie it was a particularly cool
rendition of Carlos Jobim’s Wave. As
one of the judges, Jon Stokes, said, “all
played so melodically, in time and in
tune, expressing themselves through
music”. But there could only be one
winner and it turned out to be Ollie, a
unanimous decision of the three judges,
the other two being Nick Hudson and
Cliff Hardie. Ollie’s prize, the Don
Lusher Trophy, a new “John Fedchock”
XO trombone and Korg performance
support, was presented by Don Lusher’s
sons, Dave & Phil. The prize was
donated by Korg UK, represented on
the day by Richard Ashby, who was so
impressed with the overall standard that
on Korg’s behalf the two other finalists
were each given £100 vouchers, so all
went away with something.
Bob Hughes was present to see the
Bass Trombone Competition held in
his name. This time the three finalists,
Sam Taber, Kyle MacCorquodale
and Adam Crichton, each played Ray
Premru’s Prelude & Dance, before
introducing their own choice pieces.
The variety offered illustrated just
what is available for the bass trombone
these days and what is technically
possible. From Sam we had lyricism
and agility from an Adagio and Allegro
by Robert Schumann; from Adam
the sheer wonders of John Kenny’s
unaccompanied Sonata for Bass
Trombone; from Kyle the exuberance
and fun of Derek Bourgois’ Concerto
for Bass Trombone. Once again
differentiating between such talent
8

was hard, although the panel of Dave
Stewart, Dave Vines and Adrian Taylor
were unanimous in their selection
of Kyle as the eventual winner. Bob
Hughes was very pleased to present him
with a silver platter, and a Wiseman
custom-built carbon fibre case will soon
be on the way to the RCS in Glasgow,
where Kyle is a student. The muchappreciated
accompanist for the day was
Anthony Kerr-Dineen.
The day of course was not all listening
to new talent. Jon Stokes led a very
enjoyable session on improvisation in
which all participants got their chance to
shine – simple really - and the Massed
Blow sessions, expertly led by Adrian
Taylor, were once more as satisfying as
these usually are. Tubas and baritones
were even allowed to join in. After all,
this was Oundle School where Ben
Bouzan and his colleagues sustain a
flourishing low brass class of trombones
and tubas, and the BTS is nothing if not
welcoming! We were treated to some
short but deceptively tricky pieces,
including a round by Mozart, a modal
melody by Tallis, and an Icelandic
hymn that few dared pronounce –
try Heyr, himna smiour by Porkell
Sigurbjornsson. The latter was actually
exceedingly atmospheric and suited
the voices of the trombones perfectly.
And for something completely different
we had Pastime with Good Company
and an arrangement of Dem Bones by
Adrian Taylor, given its world première
performance.
The day had started with the Society’s
AGM, and it has to be said it had one of
the lowest attendances on record. Maybe
Storm Angus and the weather could be
blamed, and the good news is that it
became one of the shortest. Snippets of
interest to members will be:
(i) Geoff Wolmark has been very
busy arranging for the BTS
Library of ensemble music to be
available on-line in the near
future.
(ii) Nick Hudson has joined the BTS
Committee.
(iii) some members still have not
caught up to paying their correct
subscriptions, despite reminders
from Chris Sowerby (this really
would help our financial
position)
(iv) reducing the magazine to three
annual editions for the present
has produced more cash for use
in events (although we would
like to return to 4 editions per
year soon)
(v) The magazine can always do
with articles and ideas (please
don’t hesitate to send them in)
It had stopped raining by the end of
the day, and those who were at Oundle
School went home happy. Thanks to
Ben Bouzan for yet again organising a
very enjoyable day. As well as playing
the trombone, he has a good line in
providing sandwiches …
Always useful in a BTS organiser…
9

PREVIEW
SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
SLIDE IN TO GLASGOW
TROMBONE WEEKEND
FROM 22 – 25 JUNE
-- CHRISTIAN LINDBERG AND MNOZIL BRASS AMONG ARTISTS PERFORMING IN THE CITY --
Glasgow is to play host to leading brass
virtuosi as international performers,
including Christian Lindberg and
Mnozil Brass, descend on the city for
the Glasgow Trombone Weekend.
Swedish trombone soloist Lindberg
will team up with the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) for the
prestigious festival, which also features
competitions and masterclasses with the
British Trombone Society, in the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland.
The events, which run from 22nd until
25th June 2017, will take place in City
Halls and the Royal Conservatoire, with
students and staff from the institution
amongst those taking part.
Martyn Brabbins will lead the BBC
Scottish Symphony Orchestra,
Christian Lindberg and BBC SSO
principal trombone Simon Johnson
in a concert featuring Sandström’s
Echoes of Eternity, for two trombones
and orchestra, and Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony on Thursday, 22nd June.
The following evening, Brabbins and
the BBC SSO return to City Halls with
Lindberg and Jörgen van Rijen, principal
trombone of the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra in Amsterdam, where the
programme will include Lindberg’s
The Waves of Wollongong and the Aho
Trombone Concerto.
Both events are preceded by
Pre-Concerts in City Halls’ Recital
Rooms, featuring short informal
performances by students from the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
World-renowned brass septet Mnozil
Brass returns to Scotland with its
unique brand of virtuosity and humour
on Saturday, 24th June. Cirque will
showcase the ensemble’s reputation for
stunning playing, improvisations and
brilliant on-stage choreography in the
plush surroundings of City Halls.
Trombone players will have the
opportunity to pit their wits against each
other during a day of British Trombone
Society competitions in the Royal
Conservatoire’s Stevenson Hall on
Saturday, 24th June. The following day,
the institution plays host to the British
Trombone Society Trombone Day,
with artists including Simon Johnson,
Christian Jones and Ian Bousfield and
featuring clinics, concerts, workshops
and exhibition stands.
Liam Kirkman, President of the British
Trombone Society, said: “June is
shaping up to be an exciting month, as
trombone players from far and wide
meet in Glasgow for this Trombone
Weekend. With so many terrific
concerts, workshops and competitions to
enjoy, I would encourage players of all
levels of experience and ability to come
along and enjoy this fantastic spectacle,
showcasing superstars from the brass
and trombone world.”
-
Ian Bousfield comments; “This is not
a festival, it’s a feast! Simon Johnson,
BTS and the BBC SSO have put on a
monstrous programme – unmissable!
As Martyn Brabbins has said: “The
trombone is a fine and noble instrument.
It has inspired composers for hundreds
of years, integrated magnificently into
the symphony orchestra by Schubert
in his great C Major Symphony, for
example, and Mahler brought things
trombone to a culmination in the early
20th century – what trombone player
doesn’t want to be part of the brass
section of Mahler’s 3rd Symphony?”
“Glasgow has found the inspiration to
celebrate the trombone in June 2017.
And what finer musical City could
one wish for? There will be recitals,
workshops, premières, orchestral
concerts, even competitions – something
for all music lovers to enjoy, to be
inspired by, and to be moved by.”
“I look forward to the musical wizardry,
passion, humour and excitement!”
Tickets for the events are on sale now,
with attendees at the concerts in City
Halls entitled to multi-buy discounts.
More information about events at the
Royal Conservatoire is available by
logging on to: www.rcs.ac.uk/box-office.
10

BLACK DYKE JUNIOR
& YOUTH TROMBONES
IN SINGAPORE BY
HANNAH
STELL
At the end of 2015, The Black Dyke
Junior and Youth Trombone Ensembles
were invited to appear as guest artists at
the 2016 Singapore Low Brass Festival.
The Festival, which is one of the biggest
gatherings for low brass musicians
in the region and draws in musicians
from all over the world, was held at the
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts from
the 16th to the 18th of November and
featured many guest artists. The trombone
guest artists this year were:
• Dr Brett Baker (international soloist
and solo trombone at Black Dyke)
• Jörgen Van Rijen (principal trombone
of the Royal Concertgebouw)
• Matyas Veer (principal bass trombone
of the Essener Philharmoniker)
• Black Dyke Junior and Youth
Trombone Ensembles
There were also appearances from other
brass artists including Dr. Adam Frey
(Euphonium), Øystein Baadsvik (Tuba)
and Gary Curtin (Euphonium).
Whilst at the festival the Black Dyke
Trombone Ensembles performed two
concerts and participated in a number of
workshops.
The Junior Ensemble opened the first
concert (which took place just over 6
hours after landing in Singapore!) with
Jazz Quartet No. 1 by Franner Otter,
which was an original piece written for
the Black Dyke Trombone Ensemble.
They then played Be Still, a new and
refreshing arrangement by Jonny Bates.
The next piece played featured two of
the members of the junior ensemble:
Joe Heartfield and Adam Warburton,
who played a beautiful arrangement of
Someone Cares. The Juniors finished
their set with two movements from
Concert A4.
The Youth Ensemble then took to
the stage and began their set with the
delightful arrangement of Bohemian
Rhapsody by Matt Tooley. Gemma
Riley then performed a classy rendition
of Autumn Leaves. The Youth Ensemble
finished their first set with a noble
arrangement of Thunderbirds.
Then, the two ensembles combined to
perform some octets including the Red
Shield, Cool Shades for Eight, featuring
Hannah Stell, which was written by
Philip Wilby especially for the Black
Dyke Trombone Ensembles, and
Scarborough Fair. The concert finished
with March from Second Suite in F.
Following the concert, the ensembles
were able to explore Singapore and
sample some of the local street food.
The following day the group
participated in an excellent warm-up
and master class from Jörgen van Rijen.
The masterclass was very engaging and
the young players learnt a lot from his
advice. The ensembles then performed
another concert that afternoon which
was accepted very well by the eager
audience.
The concert started with the Junior
Ensemble performing Mr. Sandman.
They then featured Carl and Ian
Ashworth with a lovely version of By
the time I get to Phoenix. This concert
also featured Lloyd Brown on a new
bass trombone arrangement of Swing
Low, Sweet Chariot. The Juniors finished
their set with Procession to the Nobles.
The Youth Quartet then took to the
stage and began their set with Light
Walk which featured Josh Barber.
After that, Hannah Stell featured in
Atlantic Zephyrs, a piece where the
accompanying parts are almost as hard
as the solo! The Youth Quartet finished
their set with Libertango.
To conclude the concert, the two
ensembles combined to perform some
more trombone octets including Tower
Music, which was once featured on a
BTS CD, Fantasia on the Dargason and
the march On the King’s Highway.
This concluded the concerts in
Singapore, and now the group could
enjoy some more sightseeing in
Singapore starting with a visit to the
infamous Raffle’s Long Bar for a
Singapore Sling! The group also visited
Sentosa Island and had a trip up 57th
floors to reach the Marina Sands Hotel
Skybar, which overlooked the whole of
Singapore.
On the final evening of our stay in
Singapore we were fortunate to be
joined for dinner by Jörgen and other
notable artists from the festival. It was a
great evening and the young people were
inspired by the artists that they had met.
Overall, the trip to Singapore was an
amazing experience and one that will not
be forgotten. The trombone ensembles
would like to thank Brett Baker for all
his hard work and help in preparing
and organising the trip, as well as
Roger Harvey (Harvey’s Department
Store, Halifax), Mick Rath Trombones,
Hall-Fast Industrial Supplies and Music
Elements Singapore for all their support.
For more pictures and information about
the Black Dyke Trombone Ensembles
and the trip to Singapore please like
us on Facebook at ‘Black Dyke Youth
Trombone Quartet’ and look out for our
videos on Youtube.
Members of the Ensembles:
Youth Quartet:
Josh Barber
Lloyd Brown
Gemma Riley
Hannah Stell
Junior Ensemble: Carl Ashworth
Ian Ashworth
Lloyd Brown
Joe Heartfield
Adam Warburton
11

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
JAZZ BY JEREMY
JAZZ
BY
JEREMY
BY
JEREMY
PRICE
Whatever happened to the
instrumental break in pop
records? The formula used
to be groove, verse, chorus,
verse, chorus, instrumental
break, verse, chorus. Sadly
for the session trombone
economy, this seems to
have largely vanished.
The instrumental break is
quite often improvised,
or more accurately,
composed and honed on
the spot by a good jazz/
session musician in the
studio. It’s not unlikely that
the pop artist or producer
has an input, mainly for
the PRS cheque, and the
unwritten rule is that the
jazz musician gives away
pretty much all of the
creative credit in the hope
of more studio work and a
pop tour further down the
line.
Jazz musician to producer: “oh yeah
that’s a great idea. That will work really
well, thanks” referring to the exact same
riff he or she has just come up with.
Some times to keep the gig, you have
to let the producer feel that your ideas
were theirs all along. (Cynic moi?)
This issues’ two choices of transcription
are both pop solos, one chosen by our
transcription guru Rob Egerton and the
other chosen by me. Rob went for the
famous “Bones” Malone Peter Gunn,
solo and I delved deep into the 80’s for
a solo on a Matt Bianco record by our
very own Chris Dean of Syd Lawrence
fame. I can’t speak for the creative
process of these particular solos, but
both are corkers; very memorable and
great fun to play along to.
First the Peter Gunn solo. Take care
searching for this as there are many
versions out there. It’s owned by
Warner Music Group who don’t like it
being on Youtube, but it is on Spotify
if you are a subscriber. There are lots
of cover versions out there with other
rogue trombone solos (including one by
myself!) so take a bit of time hunting
down the right version. Once you’ve
found it, most striking is the laser beam
sound and stacks of blues playing.
Note: plenty of play between perfect 5th
and flat 5th, B to Bb and the dramatic
top E down a tritone to the Bb.
For the novice, you could
learn bar 14 as your
first blues lick. A bit of
decoration around this and
moving it around will make
you sound proficient for a
while!
12

13

The Chris Dean solo is from It’s Getting
Late by Matt Bianco and is easily found
with a Youtube search. Don’t hold me
responsible if searching for this results
in a spontaneous outburst of dancing
dads to Matt Bianco’s great back
catalogue. This was one of the better
bands of the mid eighties, often calling
on some fantastic jazz musicians for the
instrumental breaks and backing riffs, the
trumpet of Guy Barker and the baritone
sax of Ronnie Ross included with Chris.
The track is in Gb major and Eb minor.
Unusual pop keys but interestingly a
commonly used key for trombone as lots
of gliss. slide shifts work really well and
you get to exploit all the idiosyncratic
trombone phrasing we love so well.
Note the Eb minor Ellington solos such
as The Mooche and Ko Ko. The actual
instrumental break solo is superbly
crafted with all the characteristic
question and answer phrases and little
thematic links of a great pop solo.
Playing along to those “bow wow” riffs
is really addictive, including the E in 5th
position, and as for whacking out the
top Db gliss. to Cb, well that’s just sheer
gratuitous trombone. Have fun. All in all
a very stylish solo; suave, urbane and full
of panache, very unlike the protagonist in
the lyric.
As always, remember that with
transcriptions the notation is just a guide.
Play along by ear as much as you can,
and glance down at the transcription just
to speed up the learning.
Transcriptions by Rob Egerton
Ever since I first got into jazz, I have
enjoyed listening to solos and writing
down what was played.
About six years ago, I decided to share
my growing personal collection of jazz
trombone solo transcriptions (almost 100
and counting) on YouTube. They quickly
proved popular and, recently, after
listening to regular requests from many
of my 4,000 subscribers, I made them
available to purchase as PDF downloads
at my new store: Rob Egerton Jazz
Transcription - Digital Goods Store.
You can also find them by clicking on
the link in the YouTube info boxes of
each clip, or by following my page on
Facebook or Twitter.
I wanted to make them as accessible as
possible. For this reason the PDFs are
available, not only in Bass Clef, but also
Bb Treble Clef to cater for all the many
jazz-loving brass band musicians.
14

WINTER 2016 THE TROMBONIST
BY JANE SALMON
BIG SHAKE-UP
The Big Shake-Up exists to
try to bring English finesse
to the brass traditions of
New Orleans and combine
that with an exciting big
band sound. This blend
has already earned the
group a reputation as one
of the UK’s most innovative
and exciting brass
ensembles.
I met the ensemble’s founder and
trombone player, Jon Stokes. Jon is
currently playing in Dreamgirls in
London’s Savoy Theatre. Jon grew
up in Gloucestershire and started
the trombone aged 11. He is a busy
freelancer and regularly plays with the
John Wilson Orchestra, Syd Lawrence
Orchestra and others too.
On tour with the Heritage Orchestra
in 2008, Jon was introduced to a new
world of brass playing by the orchestra’s
then tuba player Gavin Smart, who
handed him recordings of Young
Blood Brass Band, New Orleans Night
Crawlers and Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Jon: “Coming up through the grade
exams, youth orchestras and the Royal
College of Music you don’t quite get
introduced to those kinds of things.
As soon as I heard those bands, I was
amazed. These musicians learn their
instruments by ear, the vibe is infectious
but their playing is sometimes unrefined;
they all have amazing things to say but
lack the skillset to get the finesse across.
This is a big contrast to the English
brass band tradition, which is military
but would never just play something by
ear.
The idea behind our group has always
been to combine the two ideas; New
Orleans music, brought together with
our brass traditions.”
Jon pulled together a group of friends to
form the Big Shake-Up (formerly Bad
Ass Brass). The line-up has remained
almost the same from the start and is
now Jean-Paul Gervasoni, Paul Munday
& Gavin Broom (trumpets), Jon Stokes
(trombone) Sam Bullard and Gemma
Moore (saxophones), Mike Poyser
(sousaphone) and Jimmy Norden
(drums).
These are some of the finest London
based players, each bringing their
own voice to the group. The band is
supported by a network of deps who not
only keep the band functioning, but add
their own contributions too.
Inspiration for the band’s line up came
from Peter Long’s 9:20 De-Luxe a
group that successfully found the
sound of a big band, in a much smaller
capacity.
“It was the sound of three trumpets
that gave the group the big band sound.
That’s the only thing I changed from the
New Orleans set up who might have
just two trumpets, two trombones.
I wanted the big, heavy big band sound.
Our group doesn’t have a rhythm section
as such, just drums and sousaphone.
Like us, the New Orleans bands don’t
have harmony instruments; they are
marching and blowing all the time.
Without a harmony instrument, the role
of the drums changes to something to
fill the gaps that a guitar or keyboard
player might. We’ve got Jimmy Nordon
who is one of the most expressive,
creative drummers who I have ever met.
For our gig he is unbelievable – he’s
constantly evolving – he never just sticks
to a groove; he’s picking out what we’re
doing but it’s busy when it needs to be.
I think that’s how we have tried to
get around the idea of no harmony
instrument. It’s taken years of
experimenting to figure out how to make
that work.”
How does it feel to be constantly
blowing?
“I think everyone in the band would say
it’s the toughest gig we do – once you’ve
done three Big Shake-Up sets in a row
at Manchester’s Matt & Phred’s Jazz
Club, you are exhausted.
You’re just playing the whole time.
If you’re not playing the tune, you’re
playing a solo and if you’re not playing
a solo you’re playing the backing line.
We’re always trying to think of ways
to give people rests. You get used to
knowing where to back off; the New
Orleans bands are just loud all the time
(as even some bands are in this country)
- it’s on your face the whole time.
We wanted to add much more light and
shade. That’s why we describe ourselves
as a jazz band rather than a party or
function band. A lot of our music is
slow, dark and quiet.”
As a child, Jon listened to Dave
O’Higgins’ album Biggish Band - a
record that shares a similar line up to
The Big Shake-Up, but with the addition
of guitar and Hammond organ.
“This amazing album features Mark
Nightingale on trombone and Oren
Marshall on tuba. Oren would start up
fantastic grooves that the double bass
player would take over; then the rhythm
section would keep it going for all of the
16

solo sections. It would then go back to a
sousaphone led groove for the rest of it.
Dave had written a real New Orleans-y
tune called the Big Shake Up and it
became one of the first tunes I arranged
for Bad Ass Brass.”
While agonizing over a new name for
the group, Russell Bennett – one of
Jon’s closest friends - suggested pulling
a tune out of the pad and calling the
band after it. Sure enough, it was that
very tune from O’Higgins’ album.
In November 2016, the group launched
their first EP under the new name.
This 5-part release features three
brilliant original works by Russell
Bennett, Dave O’Higgin’s Big Shake-
Up and Callum Au’s fine arrangement of
God Bless the Child featuring vocals by
Sharleen Linton. This is a collection of
lots of different styles – something that
reflects the group’s intentions to bridge
the gap between big band, pop, jazz
music and beyond.
The group is on fine form as they offer
an impossibly high level of playing with
great energy. Jon leads the band and
adds even more to the experience of
seeing the group live; he’s passionate
about engaging every audience they
play for.
Jon: “I would almost say I enjoy
presenting concerts more than I enjoy
playing the trombone. It’s not so much
the counting in and the leading, I just
love chatting to the audience, I could
sit on stage and chat for hours – in fact,
I often do. The guys in the band are
always going ‘come on, we need to play
another tune!’.”
As well as their work as performers,
the group are passionate educators too.
Ella Haller Zeiwrzchowska
The ensemble has long standing
partnerships with a variety of schools,
music services and festivals.
Jon: “We do all sorts. It’s mainly
improvisation – getting young players to
think about coming out of their music.
We go in to schools and do workshops
where we compose a piece with them,
work out parts and perform it as part
of a concert with them. We bring lots
of New Orleans stuff to little kids
too – Fats Domino’s I’m Walking is a
favourite.
We also love teaching brass bands
a tune by ear, a favourite for this is
Branford Marsalis’ tune Mo’ Better
Blues. They love it!”
The Big Shake-Up are not only set on
inspiring the next generation to pick
up instruments, but they are keen to
promote the art of writing and arranging
too. They even hope to encourage new
material for the group to try.
What’s next for the Big Shake Up?
Jon: “We would love to do some more
Jazz festivals and have plans to release
another album too. I imagine this
would be another live recording and it
will be all original compositions, and
all pretty crazy. That’s the idea!”
The Big Shake-Up and ensembles alike
are paving the way for musicians to
pursue what they love and believe in.
This group of friends have worked hard
to create something together and this
true collaboration shines across their
output; I am sure we all look forward to
hearing more from The Big Shake-Up.
For more information, please visit
www.bigshakeup.co.uk.
Jane Salmon
THE NEW ORLEANS
BRASS BAND
New Orleans Brass Band music
dates back to the end of the civil
war when army bands were
disbanded and lots of marching
band instruments became available.
Black musicians in particular
started to play their own music on
instruments that were unfamiliar
and a style started to develop.
In particular the brass marching
band was popular for funerals, the
film cliché of the band somberly
marching, while playing a slow
tempo, only to suddenly break
out into a joyous sound while
everyone starts to dance and sing.
Overcoming adversity and finding
the real joy in existence was the
main aim of this music.
The music became more codified
and became a fairly standard line
up. It would generally include
drums, tuba or sousaphone,
trombones, trumpets and clarinets
or saxophones. It was very similar
to the music line-ups and music
of early jazz pioneers like Buddy
Bolden and Louis Armstrong.
The bands tended to not have a
harmony instrument as it’s not
much fun marching with a piano.
They developed a style using
backings and a rhythmic relationship
between the drums and bass which
filled a lot of the space, allowing the
other instruments to blow together
over a solid background.
Like Township Jazz or Gypsy brass
bands the energy of the music comes
not from a high level of musical
education but from learning the
music together as a folk tradition.
Later again, the music stretched
away from traditional jazz by
adding funk rhythms and other
traditional ideas from other
communities.
The modern style is defined by funk
rhythms rather than swing. The bass
and drums underpin the music and
the other instruments improvise on
top and provide backings. The Treme
Brass Band is a wonderful example
of this tradition. Another is the
Rebirth Brass Band.
Paul Moylan
17

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
BY JANE SALMON
JOHN
KENNY
– ITA LIFETIME
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The extraordinary John Kenny has just become
the second British trombone player to be awarded
the International Trombone Association’s Lifetime
Achievement Award – an award reserved for
those who have distinguished themselves by their
contributions to the trombone profession over a
long career.
So far, John has enjoyed a life that encompasses
almost every corner of the arts imaginable.
He is celebrated worldwide for his inspirational
work as a soloist, chamber artist, composer,
researcher and teacher.
John: “The trombone has been the most
wonderful springboard into every area that I
have worked in.
When I was studying as a trombone player,
I was studying to be a trombone player.
I discovered that the artistic opportunities on
offer were just not exciting enough for me.
I always felt that I needed to do other things,
but in actual fact, finding my frustrations with
the trombone was the best thing that could have
happened to me.”
John has a long relationship with the discovery
and research of ancient instruments and his
exploration of the trombone family reaches
back as far as anyone can imagine. In 1993
John became the first person for 2000 years to
sound a Carnyx – the great war horn. This was a
reconstruction that ended up the flagship project
for the new discipline of Music Archeology and
has since led to the discovery and replication
of ancient instruments from various sites
across Europe. Inspired by this work, John
went on to found Carynx and Co. who exists to
combine music archaeology and the world of
contemporary music.
The same company now acts as a parent
organization to ensembles including the
trombone trio Pandora’s Box, which features
Emily White, Miguel Tantos and John Kenny.
The trio are frequently joined by Swedish
trumpet player and composer, Törbjorn
Hultmark on soprano trombone. HeadSpace
Ensemble are supported too. This very special
quartet brings John and Törbjorn’s conventional
brass playing together with two extraordinary
electronic instruments; the Head=Space and Hi-
Note. This pair of instruments was designed for
Clarence Adoo MBE; a former trumpeter who
was involved in a devastating road accident that
left The great drive and creativity behind this
collection of ensembles are reflective of John’s
passion to pursue his own ideas.
“I always wanted to somehow make things
happen, it’s always very much been part of my
mentality. By the time I left the Royal Academy
of Music, I already knew that I really needed
and wanted to travel. I wanted to meet and
respond to people who had exciting things to say.
I suppose I set about trying to finding those
people and finding out whether I could be a part
of what they were doing. A lot of that actually
meant hitchhiking into Europe; just going to see
people. Listening. Watching, experiencing.
That’s carried on; if you don’t search, you don’t
discover.”
18

John is a widely recognised composer
and has contributed a great deal to the
trombone repertoire. John’s initial drive
to compose came from working with the
London Contemporary Dance Theatre
in the 70s and 80s. While in rehearsals,
John found great inspiration in physical
shape and movement.
“It is still the case that I am most
frequently motivated to compose by
extra musical ideas – by theatrical ideas,
movement ideas, poetic ideas, visual
impulses. Consequently, a tremendous
amount of my music isn’t published as
it’s not intended for the concert hall - it
has to be reinvented every time it is
performed.
There is a heavy improvisational
element within lots of my music and the
interpretation comes out of conversation
and connection with the performers; yet
it’s composition nonetheless.”
John’s performing, teaching, writing
and creating all centre around his need
to communicate. The trombone is
John’s expressive tool of choice; his
springboard for ideas.
“The trombone is an intensively
expressive instrument – it is an
instrument with huge power, it is
naturally theatrical and it has a great
history with links to ancient families
of instruments that I could not have
imagined existed.
The expressive tools that trombone players
have to hand have been vastly expanded
by the works of Berio, Stockhausen,
Globokar and Xenakis – to name a
few. John has a tremendous fascination
with how these works have added to
our expressive palette and has himself
contributed to normalizing ‘extended
techniques’ by employing these techniques
in his music as a form of expression, but
never as a technical exercise.
John is a Professor at the Guildhall
School and teaches across the country
at specialist institutions including Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland and St Mary’s
Music School, Edinburgh.
“Like many people, certainly of my own
generation – when I was a student I had
not thought of teaching. I wasn’t taught
to teach; in fact, possibly even the
reverse. It’s possibly the case that I went
out into my professional life thinking
that you taught if you couldn’t do. I very
rapidly found that I had to teach,
of course, but I also immediately found
that I liked to teach.
I feel it’s very important for me that if
I teach at the highest level – at the top
flying conservatoires, I have to also
teach little kids who are starting - I must
constantly go back to how it all begins.
I developed a method of teaching kids
on the alto trombone, which Conn
sponsored. In fact, my own son Patrick
learned that way. I love to teach little
children – one of the greatest pleasures
of playing in the Spanish festival I
visited just before Christmas, was to
see what an enormous success our
Spanish cousins are having out there in
teaching little children. I was watching
huge trombone ensembles of little
children playing trombone on stage,
from memory at a really high level.
We are talking octets and even twelvepiece
ensembles with little children on
trombone.
As a teacher at conservatoire level, I
have had a great deal of pleasure over
the years teaching people. Most of those
students thought I was teaching them,
but in actual fact they were teaching
me. You will find a lot of teachers say
that - and they say it because it’s true.
Our students mirror our own ideas and
our own problems, forcing us to think
about our own reactions, our own taste,
and our own problems. In the process
of discussing, demonstrating working
with every single student, you discover
an enormous amount about yourselves.
You discover things you couldn’t
discover any other way.
Teaching is very important, it’s a lot
of fun and everyone is very different.
At the Guildhall, I have the enormous
privilege of having an interesting role in
which trombone is only a part of what
I do. In fact it’s the smallest part of
what I do. I get to work right across our
Wind, Brass and Percussion department
and get to work with other people who
come through the door as well. So, I
suppose my role is primarily to discuss
ideas, and that’s where I work best.
Working with ideas. In any teaching
situation where I get to the point of
working with ideas as opposed to just
nuts and bolts, that’s where it gets really
enjoyable; it really propels. That works
with little kids too, because in that sense
– working with ideas – I often work
with story telling. I am telling stories
and I am trying to get people to react
to stories; react to expressing ideas that
aren’t necessarily musical but music
helps express the idea.”
This year is set to be John’s busiest year
yet as his ambitions and discoveries
continue to develop. John plans to
continue his work with the European
Music Archaeology Project and is set
to perform 0n a newly reconstructed
instrument in Tarquin, Rome. Pandora’s
Box will be visiting the International
Trombone Festival and also have plans
to record The Barony A Frame - Scott
Lygate’s new work for the ensemble.
John will perform and lecture in
Tenerife, Malta, France and Italy and
is currently composing a new piece for
two carnyces. There are new works on
the way for the HeadSpace ensemble
too, who hope to make an album in the
Autumn. John also has plans to work
with the TNT Theatre Group in Munich,
creating music for Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night.
“This is another year full of composing,
teaching, creating and discovering.
There are new things appearing too
– I’ve just had a request from one of
the most exciting jazz musicians in
Scotland, Chick Lyall, who wants to
create a piece for piano, electronics and
trombone. I’m looking forward to that
very much indeed.”
These are just a few of John’s
achievements; to be awarded the
ITA’s Lifetime Achievement Award
is particularly fantastic as this is just
John’s story so far.
“People can do things that I can’t
imagine, because I am not those
people. We have a wonderful panoply
of possibilities as trombone players
– it’s never been a better time to be a
trombone player. When I think about it,
that’s my final reaction – my goodness,
some people have given me an award
for simply enjoying myself for the last
35 years. It’s not a job, it’s my life and
I certainly don’t feel that I have had a
lifetime yet – I have only just started.
John has shaped a life that is undefined
and unbound and continues to inspire
his colleagues and countless musicians
across the world. The British Trombone
Society are delighted to have had
the opportunity to talk to John and
very much look forward to sharing
more about his work in the future.
Congratulations again, John!
19

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
BY LIAM KIRKMAN
BACK TO SCHOOL-
RECORDING THE
ABRSM SYLLABUS
It seemed like such a good idea at the
time… It was soon to become apparent
however that recording all 143 tunes
from the ABRSM syllabus grades 1-5 was
going to take some time. I don’t think
I’ll forget one of my colleagues
suggesting “…how hard can it be?
We’ll have it polished off in an afternoon!”.
Thanks to this optimistic approach we’ve
finally got there, despite it taking
significantly longer than a single afternoon.
The first hurdle was obtaining the
music, which anyone who teaches can
testify can sometimes be a real waiting
game. A phone call to June Emerson
(www.juneemersonwindmusic.com)
and 48hrs later, two huge boxes arrived
at BTS HQ and we were in business.
Well, almost… It’s all well and good
thinking grades 1-5 are straightforward
but the piano accompaniments aren’t
necessarily so basic. Huge thanks
therefore go to Erico Ishihara, Emma
Fowler and John Higginbotham for
the marvellous ivory tinkling. Another
obstacle was obtaining permission from
ABRSM to refer to their syllabus on our
website but after the necessary licence
fee was paid we were good to hit ‘record’.
The trombonists were myself, Davur
Juul Magnussen, Nick Hudson and Matt
Gee. Being the one in control of the
“red button” meant I could take care
of the easier grades (and the jazz stuff)
and stitch up my colleagues with what
was left. It’s interesting to hear how
the four of us have different styles and
approaches and hopefully will be an
example to youngsters that it’s not all
about “producing a single note followed
by another identical note”.
A number of records have been attempted
during the recording process. For Davurhow
many tunes can you record in an
afternoon (25) and for me-how many
takes required to record a grade 2 piece
without splitting a note (coincidentally
also 25)
The ABRSM have introduced a new
syllabus this year and there’s plenty of
great material to discover in every style.
It’s impossible to review everything
here but several publications really
stand out.
JAZZ FX by David Gale is really well
thought out with duet versions of all the
tunes as well as very stylish backing
tracks.
CORNISH PASTICHE arr. Mark Tanner
is a collection of traditional Cornish
folk songs and are really beautiful
arrangements to play. Nick Hudson
recorded these and it is a lesson in
lyricism.
THE VICTORIAN TROMBONE
arr. Simon Wills is a collection of
“7 Sensational Solos for Trombone”.
The tunes are great to play and
Simon’s performance notes are equally
entertaining!
DANCE TO THE BEAT OF THE WORLD
by Jock McKenzie is a fun collection of
self-explanatory unaccompanied tunes.
Pop, Funk, Calypso etc.
CITYSCAPES by Peter Graham is an
ingenious book of easy (grades 1-3)
original tunes that perfectly portray the
musical styles of the cities each tune is
named after, Moscow, Paris, New York,
Kyoto etc.
As I’ve said, it’s impossible to review
all the repertoire here but one final
mention must be made of MELODIC
STUDIES ON TROMBONE TECHNIQUE
by Adrian Taylor. This extremely
comprehensive book of studies
covers all sorts of required techniques
including tonguing, slurring, dynamics,
glissandos, alternative positions, sound,
the F valve (etc etc!!). I don’t care if
this is grade 5 material, it’s now in my
practice routine.
We recorded the piano parts separately
into Logic as MIDI files thereby giving
us the option to possibly offer these
at a later date as “play-alongs” with
control of the tempo. The trombone
was recorded mostly using a Samson
VR88 ribbon mic on loan from Samson.
Whereas most ribbon mics tend to
be expensive, extremely delicate and
requiring a good preamp, this is an
affordable entry level ribbon which
worked very well with the low and mid
frequencies of the trombone as well as
handling high sound pressure levels
and also being “self-powered”.
The recordings themselves are relatively
unprocessed with minimal reverb added
just to sweeten the overall sound.
The four trombonists recorded here
are all well used to recording sessions
of various sorts and I’m sure all of
us would agree that the best way to
improve your playing is to record
yourself regularly. It can sometimes
be an unforgiving experience listening
to yourself but the microphone doesn’t
lie and it really is the quickest way to
identify tuning issues, inconsistencies
in tone or articulation etc. These days
digital recording devices are pretty
cheap but for practice purposes
many smartphones will do a good
enough job.
The main incentive in tackling this
project was to offer BTS members the
opportunity to explore the repertoire, be
it for examination or not. As a teacher
or student wondering what to work on
next, there are loads of great tunes to
discover but we often stick with what
we know. Most of this repertoire is not
available to buy on CD or download
and BTS members can access it for free.
If you teach or know someone who is
learning the trombone give them some
good advice…. Join BTS.
The ABRSM grades 1-5 recordings are
at www.britishtrombonesociety.org/
resources
20

BY OLD NOTECRACKER
BONE THOUGHTS
FROM ABROAD
There is much discussion
of trombone legato
these days. When I was
in my youth, this aspect
of playing was never
discussed: people either
did it or they did not, as
the fancy took them.
Nobody complained or threw things
(at least, not because of our legato)
but I always felt that somehow better
organised times would come.
Now they have; indeed nowadays
it is hard to keep up, so rapid is the
pace of change; scarcely a week goes
by without the postman bringing
me a book or a PhD thesis on the
subject. The 2017 World Trombone
Committee Biennial Conference on
Technical Standardisation at Ponca City,
Oklahoma was, in this regard, inspiring.
Two years ago the emphasis was on
articulation and of course the single
approved way of starting a note has
already become universal. (It is to be
hoped that other instruments will enter
the 21st century and do away with their
own irritating vagaries; string players in
particular need to abandon the pretence
that their myriad inflections and note
shapes are “expressive”. They are
no such thing, merely confusing and
inconsistent). This time the topic was
Correct Legato and I was particularly
pleased to see a motion tabled that,
if passed, will make it compulsory to
move the slide as quickly as possible
at all times irrespective (or, as the
Americans say, irregardless) of the
style of music being played. I very
much enjoyed the competition to
discover the person who could jerk the
slide most effectively. Some jerkers
were so assiduous in their labours
that they could hardly breathe, and
one instrument was actually shaken to
pieces: I rather felt a prize should have
been awarded to its diligent player but
none was. Of course there are always
nay-sayers and fault finders on these
occasions, and some dolts objected
that the legato playing was somewhat
jagged – when the players were able to
relax enough to blow at all. I feel this to
be snobbery by liberal elites wanting to
stand in the way of progress. The study
of technique in its purest form should
never be diluted by such considerations
and the exhilarating new physicality
of the modern trombone may one day
lead to its becoming an Olympic sport;
though of course instruments will have
to become much larger and heavier if
this is to happen.
I was delighted to see my old friend
Dewey Chew of Dakota at the
conference, promoting his new laserguided
digital slide speedometer.
He claims, rightly, that this will obviate
the necessity of checking legato by
ear and will introduce a much-needed
degree of objectivity into this muchdiscussed
aspect of our sport. He has
already become a wealthy man thanks to
his patent embouchure gymnasium but
continues his researches purely out of
the love of music.
His technology is new but the desire
to measure is not, and I told him about
Szabolcs Meggyesfalvi, a notorious
Hungarian trombone player of the
inter-war years. He developed the first
slide speedometer using an ingenious
arrangement of ratchets and clock
springs.
It worked, but weighed more than
seven pounds and imposed considerable
resistance on the movement of the slide.
The inventor sought to overcome this
with a regimen of strict abstinence and
vigorous exercise; he was often to be
seen in the Turkish baths in Budapest
developing his legato muscles by
swinging an enormous steel mace
around his head for hours at a time,
singing his battle song Harsona
játékosok Nem Kell agy Csak az izmok...
which our G trombonist Ernest Pilsbury
told me was a love song. (Evinrud
Hearn travelled to Budapest especially
to measure the mace but Meggyesfalvi
got rid of him with a well-aimed Stalin
5AL mouthpiece between the eyes; he
always kept a bucket of them to hand
for use as missiles).
Now, it is excellent to have a giant’s
strength but it is tyrannous to use
it like a giant. During the 1938
Nyíregyháza brass band championships,
Meggyesfalvi was disqualified for
hurling a small pig into the midst of the
City of Kekscemét tenor horn section.
The initial complaint came not from the
musicians - who of course were used
to such things - but from an Albanian
animal rights campaigner who happened
to be passing.
A statistician by trade, Meggyesfalvi
was fascinated by that masterwork Blue
Bells of Scotland by Mr Arthur Pryor
and attended as many performances
as he could, timing each rendering
of the last variation with a stopwatch
and entering detailed observations on
metronome markings in the part.
He used a new copy of the music for
each survey and by the 1950s had
amassed more than seven hundred of
them, all annotated in his exquisite
copperplate handwriting. Alas, his
archive was put to the uses of personal
propriety by Russian troops during the
1959 Budapest toilet paper famine,
the shock of which loss prompted him
to enter the cloister and he became a
Cistercian friar, much devoted to the
sackbut-playing St Aphrodisius of
Languedoc (who, readers will recall,
was able to walk on snails without
crushing them and indeed did so while
performing). I cherish the memory
of Meggyesfalvi chasing the Swiss
virtuoso Guillaume Mentha down
the street after a particularly fine
performance of Blue Bells, waving his
metronome in the air and yelling
“Willy by St Aphrodisius of Languedoc
that was 148 beats to the minute!”
Continues on following page...
21

BONE THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD CONTINUED...
At least that is what Pilsbury told me
he was yelling; I have no Hungarian
and was never sure of the extent of
my old friend’s grasp of the language.
And Meggyesfalvi was only man I ever
knew to beat Ernest Pilsbury at poker.
There has been a certain amount
of carping lately about the limited
repertoire performed by trombonists
but I feel this to be misplaced.
What, I wonder, is the logic in ensuring
that everyone plays in exactly the same
way and then disturbing the purity of the
exercise by playing all sorts of different
music? Nevertheless I do wonder
why more is not heard of the work
of Giovanna Strozzapreti, a Futurist
composer, installation artist and
commis-chef at the Casa Forfora in
Palermo (the restaurant started by the
legendary Giuseppe Forfora with profits
from a termite-proof slide cream that he
invented for Italian military bandsmen
during the Abyssinia campaign).
Her handful of trombone compositions
had enigmatic titles: there was a piece
for alto called Dovè il mio Spazzolone?
and a seven-hour concerto with dancers
for G trombone, Il Mio Diletto è un
Grosso Grasso Ubriaco. The latter piece
had parts for half a dozen Lambrettas
revving their tiny engines and at one
point required all the church bells in the
town where it was performed to be rung.
It was composed for Ernest Pilsbury,
who at first was unenthusiastic, but after
a couple of days’ rehearsal it became
apparent that he was rather smitten with
the composer. They would sit up late
drinking a vile yellow liqueur called
Scoreggi or some such name, arguing
the finer points of Art and, if I know
Pilsbury, of card-sharping and bicycle
thieving as well.
I and the other members of the British
Empire Trombone Quartet were torn
between celebrating the civilising
influence of a woman on our criminal
companion and anxiety because
la Strozzapreti was self-evidently
deranged. She was never without a
cigar, which she never lit and would
often eat in moments of vexation,
was a stranger to soap and water and
was fond of practical jokes involving
spaghetti. She confided to me that she
was attracted to Pilsbury because of his
his idiosyncratic slide technique - which
involved keeping the slide stationary
while moving the instrument and his
entire body back and forth (he had to
sit on a three legged stool to play).
He, for his part, was besotted with her
and I must admit his playing acquired
new dimensions: he was renowned for
being one of the few trombonists who
could blare in pianissimo and this faculty
originated during his time with Giovanna.
Strozzapreti eloped with Pilsbury in
September 1953; three performances
at the Teatro Communale di Bologna
had to be cancelled in consequence
but he was back in harness for the
fourth concert. La Strozzapreti had, it
transpired, locked herself in her studio
and was working all the hours of the day
and night on her now-lost masterpiece,
Non me ne Frega un Cavolo, made from
dozens of G trombones welded together
in a curiously suggestive pattern.
Pilsbury’s playing was little impaired by
the loss of three teeth and a broken nose.
When I asked him what had happened to
his marriage he retorted “all the romance
went out of it” and that was as much
information as we were able to extract
from him. Dear old Pilsbury: he was a
great artist and a great romantic, even if
his slide action was a little too languid
to pass muster in Ponca City, Oklahoma.
THE HALLÉ YOUTH ORCHESTRA IS NOW RECRUITING FOR 2017-18!
ABOUT US
The Hallé Youth Orchestra, established in 2002, offers
talented young instrumentalists aged 13-19 years the chance to
experience playing in a full symphony orchestra supported by
professional musicians.
With weekly rehearsals on Sundays, 12-3pm, in central
Manchester, the Youth Orchestra provides its members with
experiences like no other. Highlights include performing
throughout the year at the Bridgewater Hall, working at
the highest level with professional musicians, performing
alongside the Hallé Orchestra, performing across the UK and
Europe on residential courses and tours and meeting likeminded
young people who share a passion for music and
performing.
JOIN US
The Hallé Youth Orchestra is looking for outstanding young
musicians aged 13 to 19 years, and of grade 6 and above
standard, who love orchestral music and the excitement of
contributing to a large orchestra. Full members take part in
rehearsals and concerts during term-time and in other activities
including residential courses and tours. Members are expected
to commit to weekly Sunday rehearsals during the autumn and
spring terms. There are no activities during the study leave
period of May and June although members are also expected
to attend a residential course and/or tour during the summer
holidays of 2018.
Membership is free, however all members are invited to make
a voluntary donation towards the Hallé as a contribution
towards the core costs of maintaining the orchestra. Members
are also expected to contribute towards the cost of residential
courses and tours where appropriate. Limited bursaries are
available through an application process to help cover the
costs of residential courses, tours and travel to rehearsals and
concerts.
HOW TO APPLY
The application form can be found on the Hallé website: www.
halle.co.uk/youth-ensembles-recruitment/ and the deadline
for applications is Friday 5th May 2017 with auditions being
held in central Manchester across late June and July. More
information on what to expect in the auditions will be provided
after the application deadline.
FIND OUT MORE
To see the Youth Orchestra in action, why not come along to
the annual Hallé Youth Ensembles Concert where they will
be performing Dvorak’s The Water Goblin and Respighi’s
Fountains of Rome. For more information on how to book
tickets, visit the Hallé website: www.halle.co.uk/whats-on/
youth-ensembles-concert-2017/.
We hope the following video will also provide a good
introduction and insight into the Youth Orchestra: www.
youtube.com/watch?v=zx2Y_6dB4VM&t=1s.
For all Hallé Youth Orchestra enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Isabelle Orford on isabelle.orford@halle.co.uk or 0161 907 9056
22

The maggio method
was developed by a man
named Louis Maggio,
a highly accomplished
trumpet player.
In a tragedy when on
the way to work on
an icy day, Maggio
slipped, knocking out
some teeth and badly
damaging his lips.
Beyond medical help, he
set about rebuilding his
chops from scratch and
returned stronger than
ever!
The method that
followed can be found
in the “Original Louis
Maggio System for
Brass” book by Carlton
Macbeth, an old pupil
of Maggios. It includes
multiple exercises all
based around the
principle of air and
building range from the
bottom up.
Most of these exercises
include low arpeggios
using pedals and false
tones, breathing through
the nose to keep the
chops set, followed by
an increasingly high
arpeggio or slur.
THE
MAGGIO
METHODBY TOM
WRITE AN ARTICLE ON THE
MAGGIO HE SAID. IT’D BE EASY
HE SAID. HERE GOES…
The “Louis Maggio System for
Brass” has been an important part of
my practice routine since the start of
college. The idea of something useful
to start my practice with, was very
appealing. I was introduced to the
magic Maggio by my teacher at the
Birmingham Conservatoire, Ashley
Horton. At this early stage, he had but
to click his fingers and I was game, but
the mention of those such as Gordon
Campbell and Mike Lovatt did help
things along too!
So I began working religiously on the
Maggio. Little did I know that Ash
was keeping a watchful eye, not only
in making sure I was executing this
method correctly, but also how it was
affecting my playing. As I felt the
system working and, ultimately, lived
a little longer, I began to understand
what the Maggio meant for me.
This understanding is of course still a
work in progress.
One of the main things that struck
me was that this method is not the
same for everyone. In some ways I
feel lucky that the Maggio “worked/
works” for me, although maybe at the
time I just didn’t know any better and
persisted! Who knows!
DUNNETT
Chops and chops maintenance is
something I still discuss with Ash today
if I’m ever feeling down about my
playing, or we’ve had too many pints.
I’ve met some incredible players
who’ve never touched the Maggio,
and others who swear by it: it’d be
impossible to open with a sweeping
statement. So for me, the Maggio starts
the day reinforcing some key principles.
It builds range from the bottom, while
helping you keep your chops set and
ultimately encouraging the “correct” use
of air.
Its “purpose” for me has changed over
the eight years or so I’ve been using it.
To start, it was my “go to” thirty-forty
minute warm up that appeared to be
having positive effects on my playing,
consistency was the key. Now I’m not
as committed, but it’s still something
I return to on a regular basis. It helps
me to “realign” and refocus across the
range, get the air moving properly and
relax. This is particularly evident after
a long stretch of tough blowing where I
may have been “pushing on” or forcing
things in order to keep going!
So I’ve found writing an article on the
Maggio difficult for several reasons.
Like many methods of practising brass,
not only does it not work for
everyone, but for those
where it does, it still
appears different for
each person!
I’m a massive Maggio
fan, and all I can say
is give it a go! Just make
sure you’re relaxed
and maybe talk to
someone who’s been
playing twice as long
as me first!

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
READ
ALL
ABOUT
IT!
That’s right, it’s competition time once
more! We have yet another excellent prize
for one of you lucky readers to snap up. This
time it’s an Okura practise mute!
To find out more about the mute turn to page 33 where Sion Jones has
done an excellent review for us!
Entry to the competition couldn’t be easier.
Simply answer this question:
WHAT 80S TV PROGRAMME USED ‘THE ACROBAT’ AS ITS
INTRO MUSIC?
Deadline is the 1st of June.
Email answer to
editor@britishtrombonesociety.org
Good luck!
SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD – WINTER 2016
ACROSS: 1. O’Casey 5. Iolanthe 9. Frederic 10. Editor 11. Death-bed 12. Unveil 13. Serenade 15. Beat 17. Opus 19. Assassin 20.
Cellos 21. Musician 22. Nesbit 23. She-devil 24. Rhythmic 25. Tangos. DOWN: 2. Carnegie 3. Sedatest 4. Yardbirds 5. Incidental
Music 6. Andante 7. Totted up 8. Earplugs 14. Dust sheet 15. Bruckner 16. Anglesey 17. On screen 18. Uno animo 19. Abolish

25

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
BASS
BONE
FILES
BY
ROGER
ARGENTE
Thank you Justin Clarke, for taking
the time to tell the BTS about
yourself and your life as a musician.
BACKGROUND?
I’ve been playing in the Bern Symphony Orchestra
(Switzerland) for 10 years now. I grew up in the USA’s
smallest state, Rhode Island. My father and brothers
played the trombone and naturally I wanted to play it
too and I was lucky to have a good school band director
and opportunities to play. I didn’t play in an orchestra
until I was 17 or 18, and developed my playing in local
big bands, rock bands, and even had a gig in a ska band.
I had a strong interest in music but I didn’t believe I had
what it took to become a professional, so when I went to
Syracuse University in NY state I took a music business
degree (management, sound engineering, marketing,
copyright law, and so on). Throughout, I was lucky to
have lessons with Bill Harris, principal trombonist of
the city’s Symphony Orchestra and I switched to bass
trombone under his advice. My playing developed a
lot with him and I gained the confidence to audition for
some of the more prestigious American music schools.
That’s what led me to study with Dave Taylor at
Manhattan School of Music and then Don Harwood at
the Juilliard School.
HOW DID YOU COME TO JOIN YOUR ORCHESTRA?
In 2006, Dave Taylor sent me as a sub for gig he
couldn’t make at the Gstaad Festival. There I met a few
local musicians who encouraged me to take an audition
in the Bern Symphony Orchestra. I flew over later that
year and have been living and working here in the Swiss
capital ever since.
STAND OUT MOMENTS?
Festival Orchestra. They do numerous international
tours and highlights include a particularly moving tour
and recording project of Mahler’s 9th Symphony; also
singing four-part Brahms and Mendelssohn for my
family in New York. Another performance I will always
remember is Claudio Abbado’s memorial concert with
the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, under Andris Nelsons.
We played Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony without
Justin Clarke
conductor, Berg’s Violin Concerto, one of
my favorite pieces, and the finale of Mahler’s 3rd
Symphony. The silence in the hall after we finished was
absolutely gripping. I also got to sit next to Rheinhold
Friedrich and Ian Bousfield, they’re not too bad(!)
A NORMAL WEEK?
It’s always different, that’s why I love my job. If I’m
in Bern we typically have a few symphony projects a
month at the same time as a few operas in the theatre.
I try to see my students typically once a week at the
Geneva Conservatory, so I’m often on the train.
If I’m with the Budapest Festival Orchestra I could be
anywhere, but I try to use the travelling to meet people
and to get to know the nooks and crannies of whatever
city we’re in.
DOUBLING?
The only valve playing I do is on a helicon, which
is a bit like a sousaphone, and I sometimes play it
with a Balkan brass band. That doesn’t involve much
finger work, it’s more blasting out I-V changes. I do
play contra and a little bit of tenor now and then, but
not as much as others. However, I do a fair bit of
sackbut playing and I’ve performed with a lot of period
instrument groups, including the Freiburg Barock
Orchester. There is a rich historical music scene in Basel
and I studied with Charles Toet at the Schola Cantorum
Basiliensis. The instruments are smaller and finer, and
make a beautiful sound, but there’s not much room
for error. I have always to make sure I’m putting the
appropriate amount of air through the horn.
TEACHING?
I have been teaching at the Geneva Conservatory (Haute
Ecole du Musique) since 2013. I’m lucky to be teaching
alongside the tenor trombone class of Andrea Bandini,
so there is a lot of young talent that comes through.
The wonderful thing about teaching is that everyone
is different and you have to find what works for every
individual. The goal is to play the instrument beautifully
and make music. It’s a challenge and it forces me to
stay flexible. I have the feeling I learn as much from my
students as they learn from me, so in the end we’re both
better.
The Bass Bone Files : TOP SECRET
26

The Bass Bone Files : TOP SECRET
Masterclass HEM
TROMBONE HEROES?
I studied with one of my bass trombone heroes, Dave
Taylor. He’s a huge figure for our instrument and
has played with the biggest names in classical, jazz,
modern, and rock music. He has a sound and style that’s
immediately recognizable. He taught me to always
“say something” regardless of the style. I take a lot of
inspiration from jazz, of course the top name every bass
trombonist should know is George Roberts, still today
his sound is untouchable. Others like Curtis Fuller,
Frank Rosolino, J.J. Johnson are big inspirations, to
name but a few.
YOUR PLAYLIST?
I’ve got lots of CDs and records. Style is all over the
place really, but generally I get enough classical music
from work and I try to listen to some other things for
inspiration and variation. Recently that includes some
electronic stuff (Flying Lotus, James Blake), jazz (Bill
Evans, Ellington), hipster rock bands from Brooklyn,
and I can’t ever seem to get enough of Bach Cantatas.
I also picked up a “Live in Dallas 1968” James Brown
record from my brother that’s absolutely ridiculous.
THE FUTURE?
I want to keep developing my teaching and solo and
chamber music playing. I started my own group “The
Transient Ensemble” and we released our first CD last
year. The response has been very positive and I want to
get some new repertoire written for us (bass trombone,
piano, violin, doublebass, and two percussionists).
RELAXING?
In Switzerland there is no shortage of alpine beauty.
I hike and ski very regularly and since 2011 I’m a
Swiss-licensed paragliding pilot. The combination of
concentration and relaxation is unique. The sound of
wind in your ears and nothing else is fantastic.
INSTRUMENTS?
I’ve played on Shires for several years now and I’m really
happy with the sound and versatility I get. Rene Hagmann
in Geneva made me a custom valve section for me.
Bell- B I 7YM T 7
Single Bore Slide
Hagmann Progressive Bore Valves
Laskey Mouthpieces
Sackbuts: I use instruments by Rainer Egger (Basel)
I have an Eb bass baroque sackbut and a custom made G
sackbut. I also use a classical sackbut in F.
PET HATES?
Musicians who don’t listen and adjust
COMPOSERS?
Bach, Bach, and Bach. Brahms, Schumann, Mahler
if I’m feeling melodramatic and Bartok played by
Hungarians.
BACK IN TIME?
Brahms: How long did it take you to grow that beard?
Wagner: Did that opera really have to be longer than 5
hours?
But seriously, I would love to know what the musicians
sounded like in the time of Gabrielli, Monteverdi,
Schein and Schutz.
KEEPING FIT?
I mix it up a lot, but always basic slow and soft playing
helps everything, otherwise lots of glissandi, scales, and
arpeggios to stay agile.
WEBSITE?
www.justinthattromboneguy.com
NEW RECORDINGS?
My solo CD “Permanent Transience” with The
Transient Ensemble was released on Neuklang Records
last year. The Abbado Memorial concert was recently
released on DVD.
27

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
President’s Problems
Dear President,
I have recently been offered a show in London’s glittering
West End playing mostly pop music in a small horn section.
The trouble is my experience in playing light music only
extends as far as Eric Coates. Will I be ‘found out’ in the
first rehearsal and what steps can I take to befriend my
colleagues?
Yours legitimately
Norma Butcher
Dear Norma,
As a fellow ‘pretender’, albeit musically vice versa, I offer
this advice.
1) It is your responsibility to keep time, not the drummer’s
and certainly not the MD’s. (they will almost definitely be
as unqualified as you are)
2) What is written in the part will probably be wholly
inaccurate and is to be treated as a guide. Do not play
written rhythms and note lengths literally. You should
have a comprehensive knowledge of the styles of Tower of
Power, James Brown, Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire,
Blood Sweat and Tears etc. It will also help if you have a
few years’ experience of playing in a big band. It would
help to familiarise yourself with Count Basie, Duke
Ellington, Terry Gibbs, Woody Herman, Thad Jones/Mel
Lewis, Bob Mintzer, Harry Connick Jnr etc.
3) Take the correct equipment. All mutes should be white/red
or made of metal. Certainly not wooden, worse still
plastic or cardboard. Your trombone will not have
mouthpieces made for it featuring a number smaller than
a 7 and you will have to play low Cs in 6th (no plug)
4) Do not ask the trumpet player “...is that long or short?”
LISTEN !!!!
5) Despite the MD (incorrectly) asking for accented
crotchets to be longer than accented quavers.... smile
politely but ignore them. NEVER follow the singer (you’ll
note Andrew Lloyd Weber was not included in point 2)
6) There is no such thing as “Broadway” swing. It either
does or it doesn’t.
7) It is sometimes acceptable to stop the note with the
tongue. It is sometimes acceptable to stop the note with
the tongue. It is sometimes acceptable to stop the note
with the tongue!
8) If you deputise the show (and you should at every
opportunity), pay up within 7 days. I hope this helps
with getting you started and best of luck! When’s your first
rehearsal?
PS If you need a dep...
Dear Plesident
After a ten-year hiatus from trombone playing, I have
returned to find in my local music shop that most
instruments are in fact now made of gaudy coloured plastic.
Despite my concerns about what image these novelties
portray to serious concert goers, I also worry about the
environment and so am working on a more ecologically
friendly instrument constructed entirely from bamboo. Using
an old Chinese method of weaving, I have the bell shape
finished but am having trouble in lubricating the not-sostraight
slide branches. Any advice?
P. Bon Chung
Dear Mr Chung
I too have worried, what with all the latest trends for “whole
class learning” schemes, what will become of all these
instruments. It sounds like you’ve really hit on something
with your bamboo trombone design though. I’m all up for
new organic solutions to problems that don’t really exist.
My young son came home from school professing to have
made an iPod in class. It turns out the “device” was made
from Balsa wood and so the operating system had some
flaws but it did float…something Apple can’t claim to have
achieved. Perhaps if you stick with natural ingredients and
try using sesame oil or a blend of rice vinegar, minced garlic,
soy sauce and cilantro you could do the gig and then feast on
the instrument afterwards…… I think it just might float, too.
Dear President,
We are five female trombonists studying “The positions women
held in 19th Century popular music” at Kings College
Cambridge. We have started a quintet specialising in the
repertoire of the Parisian Music hall trombonist Marguerite
Dufay. We are struggling to come up with a name for our
ensemble as it seems most of the “Bone……” references have
already been used. Do you or your readership have any ideas?
Tabitha,
Arabella,
Rowena,
Talulah,
Sabrina
Dear Ladies,
Yes, I do believe the “Bone…..” tag has been slightly
overdone of late. With the “French connection” (has that
been used by anybody?) might I suggest referring to the word
“sacqueboute”. Perhaps you could call yourselves “Push
me, Pull me”, does that work for you? Well, it’s a tricky one
but if all else fails you could resort to using your initials…
28

TROMBONE
SCALING UP
& DOWN
I love to play the alto trombone. I love
the colour it lends to the orchestra. I love
the solo repertoire, however small. I love
the elegance of the alto trombone sound.
When it’s done correctly, the sound of
the alto trombone is captivating like a
mother’s voice of encouragement.
But this article is not just a case for
the alto trombone. Rather, I hope these
words encourage all trombonists to
consider at least a two mouthpiece, if
not a two-trombone solution for their
professional career.
We, modern trombonists, are required
to play such a variety of music and
many pros from tenor to bass have a
variety of equipment solutions. It could
be more than one mouthpiece for a
single trombone or several trombones
and multiple mouthpieces. For any
professional trombonist that performs
Baroque to Modern music, practical
consideration must be given to balance
and dynamics at all times… but we all do
this anyway, don’t we?
Consider that dynamics are timbre
colours chosen by great composers.
Of course, volume is the literal meaning
of dynamics in music, but because the
trombone bell is conical like a trumpet
rather than cylindrical like a tuba, our
tone colour changes quite radically as we
play throughout the dynamic spectrum.
From dark and warm, to bright and cold,
we traverse the dynamic range from
pianissimo to fortissimo and offer quite
a range of colour to the ensemble.
Continues on following page...
29

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
Large mouthpieces and large trombones
means the colour of forte happens at a
much greater volume and works well
for heavily orchestrated works from
the late Romantic to Modern periods.
By comparison, small equipment reaches
the colour of forte at a much lesser
volume, thus allowing the trombonist
to contribute more to the performance
of a Classical or Early Romantic work
without the unintended destruction of
the ensemble’s balance. If you choose
trombones or mouthpieces that are too
small, the section can sound like a ska
band when the ensemble plays tutti
fortissimo.
Alternatively, if the section or player
chooses equipment that is too large,
the subtle colour difference between
mezzo forte and pianissimo disappears
and the trombonist is instantly relegated
to a single, warm, “moo-cow” timbre
regardless of most volume shifts.
Ask an orchestral trumpet player how
many trumpets they play for their job.
A keen observer will see they not only
change instruments per program, but
they often play more than one trumpet
in the same piece.
As far as trombones are concerned on
the matter, Gustav Mahler recommended
doing exactly this in his Seventh
Symphony. At rehearsal #39 in the first
movement, he indicates “eventuell auf
alt posaune zu blasen” which means,
“if needed, play with alto trombone”.
This is suggested for a four bar passage
that has a range of notes between an f
sharp to a b natural. Mahler did give
us higher notes throughout the Seventh
and all of his other symphonies and I
assume they were to be performed on the
tenor trombone. However, this phrase at
rehearsal #39 in the Seventh Symphony
is marked pianissimo, and is very pure,
sotto voce – perfect when played on the
alto. A tenor trombone playing the same
pianissimo phrase has by default a much
wider sound that is thick by default.
Comparative clarity on the tenor would
not be easily achieved and such a strain
would be audible.
There are several other less obvious
places in the symphonic repertoire to
utilise the alto trombone similar to
trumpet switching, like at the opening
phrases of Berg’s Three Orchestral
Pieces. The Boston Symphony Orchestra
trombone section utilises Edwards tenor
trombones and Kruspe style German
trombones (Deutsche Posaunen) as
well as a variety of smaller trombones
and mouthpieces from tenor to bass for
the Boston Pops. This wide range of
equipment allows us to better match the
trumpet section and balance the orchestra
as a whole.
When the trumpet sections plays rotary
trumpets, we generally match with our
German trombones. The rotaries get a
much warmer front to the attack and
timbre of each note while reaching an
elegant flame in the forte volume, similar
to a soft mallet timpani hit and roll. I find
the switch to Deutsche Posaunes allows
us to match both timbre and default note
shape better than our regular trombones,
which tend to have a harder edged front,
direct tone, and consistent colour.
As Principal Trombone of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra, I use a Kruspe
alto trombone, a small bore tenor for
Ravel, Berlioz, and Pops, and large
bore tenor for everything else. As far
as the tenor trombone is concerned in
auditions, we could learn again from
our trumpet colleagues who take several
trumpets to each audition. Although
it may be an impractical solution to
fly with three trombones, Principal
Trombone candidates can choose to
bring an alto and large bore tenor with
a few mouthpiece choices for the tenor
trombone. It goes without saying that
smaller equipment does make it easier
to play in the upper register, just like
big equipment allows us to command
the low register with more confidence.
However, I do find this obvious gain of
either range extreme to be negated by
the obvious lack of good tone quality.
Small equipment does give us easier high
range at first, but sadly it isn’t the best
tone. Easy access to range extremes is
less exciting than achieving the correct
volume with great pitch and a gorgeous
tone quality.
This brings me to my final point that I
cannot overstate: do not underestimate
the amount of practice it takes to
maintain reliable proficiency on more
than one trombone. Too many great
trombonists refuse to play alto trombone,
German trombones or jazz trombone
simply because they can’t pick it up
the week before a performance and feel
confident about pitch or response on
game day. I used to feel the same way
until, again, I observed my trumpet
friends practice their piccolo trumpet,
Bb, C, and D trumpets EVERY DAY.
My friends, we must keep pace with our
trumpet colleagues by at least doing the
same!
In closing, I admit that the strategy
I’m suggesting may be at least cost
prohibitive. Moreover, the time it takes
to master two, let alone three instruments
is no small investment either. So my
friends, start with a new mouthpiece
addition to your arsenal. One of the
best auditions I ever played was when I
prepared my audition on one trombone
and two mouthpieces: one for Bolero
and Symphony Fantastique, and another
slightly larger mouthpiece for everything
else. As you gain confidence with
switching per the needs of the music and
ensemble, you will find your tone colour
and blend goals guiding your equipment
decisions. This can greatly improve your
odds of success rather than struggle
through a commitment to a single setup
that works well for a lot of repertoire but
not for everything.
Toby Oft has been Principal Trombone
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since
2008. Heralded as one of the finest
trombone players of his generation, he
is also an internationally active and
renowned teacher. Current professor
of trombone at the New England
Conservatory and Boston University his
master classes are in great demand both
in the U.S and abroad.
...my final point that I
cannot overstate: do
not underestimate the
amount of practice it
takes to maintain reliable
proficiency on more than
one trombone.
30

ROGER WILLIAMS
A TRIBUTE
FROM PAUL ARCHIBALD:
Casual conversations amongst
musicians occasionally bemoan the lack
of ‘characters’ in professional music
making, implying that today’s work
environment requires a rather clinical
perhaps commercial approach to high
level performance. If you need a perfect
example of a modern day ‘character’, an
individual who broke the mould, who
pursued his own path at the highest level
then Roger Williams, who has sadly
passed away after a long illness, was
surely the embodiment of the bohemian
spirit.
Merely to call Roger a bass trombonist
does him an injustice. He did, of course,
perform with many of the great London
orchestras and was a busy and highly
successful West End musician but it was
his personality, eccentricity, enthusiasm,
quirkiness and sheer joie de vivre that
guaranteed a smile on the face of those
who were fortunate enough to share
his company. His self-deprecating take
on his euphonium and tenor trombone
playing never fooled anyone.
He was an intensely thoughtful musician
and his beautiful lyrical playing is
evident on the many recordings he
made throughout his life. Because of
his refusal to lose his child-like love
for anything connected to brass he
constantly explored and experimented.
He was an evangelical supporter of the
avant-garde and an influential member
of Music Projects / London, he travelled
the world with English Brass Ensemble
courtesy of the British Council and he
helped define two of the most iconic
folk groups to grace these shores –
Brass Monkey and Home Service.
He was an important influence in
Colin Towns’ Mask Orchestra and the
Stan Tracey Big Band and he even
found time to expand his many talents
into the world of professional music
copying and score preparation.
His greatest success was his family life
and his love for Gillie and his beautiful
children Katie and Max. His funeral at
St Paul’s Church in Grove Park was a
tribute to the man and musician. It was a
celebration of the music that he
loved, as diverse a collection of styles
and influences as you could wish for
and reflected his love and passion
for music, the arts and life. As Colin
Towns stated in his tribute to Roger in
the London Jazz News “Roger simply
loved life – walking, photography,
travelling and of course his beautiful
family. An almost normal human being,
but anybody who knew him would say:
‘he’s a truly extraordinary man, a great
friend, brilliant musician and by the by a
brilliant chef too’.” Thank you Roger for
being a ‘character’ – loved by family,
friends, colleagues and audiences – and
for inspiring all of us with your joy and
enthusiasm.
FROM CHRIS STEARN –
MEMORIES OF A DEAR FRIEND:
I first met Roger in our now long distant
college days; I at the Guildhall, he at
the Royal Academy of Music, Roger
having gained entry after just over a
year of playing tenor trombone! I will
never forget that first meeting. An ad
hoc orchestra in some hall in a corner
of London and an outstretched hand
comes rushing toward me, “Hello! Iʼm
Roger... SO pleased to meet you!” His
greeting was so warm, so honest, and
his trombone playing so enthusiastic, I
knew right away that we would get along.
Roger moved to bass trombone in his
first year of study at the Academy,
probably because it was more quirky,
with extra bits of plumbing to mess
around with and he took to it like a
duck to water. We would never again sit
together in a section because of the lone
nature of the bass trombone, but now
had a shared passion and made the most
of it. Days of blowing through excerpts,
playing recordings, cooking and talking
because commonplace. Notting Hill
must have come to dread our Wagnerfest
sessions, playing all the loudest
parts of the Ring cycle until we could
blow no more. I think the Carnival was
invented simply to drown us out!
Roger loved cycling and ensured that
this ailment infected me too. We would
head off into darkest Essex in search of
the best ale available as recommended
in the CAMRA guide. The ride to our
destination was usually straightforward,
but the return journey often developed
complications, due probably, to slightly
impaired judgement. Over time we
pretty much perfected the art of falling
off a bicycle with minimum damage.
We also both dipped a pen in the black
art of music copying, sometimes sharing
work that was too demanding for just
one scribe, meeting up, red eyed after
days without sleep, to hand in parts
just before a deadline. Thank goodness
all that is now the work of computer
programs.
Over the years, even with me being at
the other end of the country, we never
lost touch and would catch up regularly
over food and wine in London or
Scotland. There were a steady stream of
recordings that arrived on my doorstep,
as Roger continued in his mission to
educate me regarding the wider world of
music. Each sonic epistle reflected his
highly refined musical ear and gave me
much to consider.
More than anything, Roger cared.
He cared about his friends and he cared
about his family. He cared deeply about
music and loved to share his passion.
It has been a rare privilege to be the
friend of such a man. Goodbye old chum.
31

SPRING 2017 THE TROMBONIST
REVIEWS
REVIEWS
NOT SO STANDARDS
JIGGS WHIGHAM –
INTERNATIONAL TRIO
– LIVE AT NIGHTTOWN
AZICA RECORDS 2015
REVIEWED BY ROSS ANDERSON
Jiggs Whigham’s album, Not So
Standards is indeed not the same old
standards you would have heard a
hundred times before. Each of the six
tracks has a modern spin, which sets
it apart from any other version I have
heard previously.
Recorded live at the Nighttown Club
in Cleveland, it boasts six one-takewonders
from the trio of creative minds
that is the Jiggs Whigham International
trio.
Opening with the dulcet tones of Jiggs
himself, the first track Days of Wine
and Roses is a master class in melodic
soloing. Flying around the trombone
with ease, he shows why he is classed as
one of the world’s top jazz musicians.
Following this is an extended piano
introduction into track two, Autumn
Leaves. Florian Weber’s ethereal
introduction give this otherwise
overplayed tune a new lease of life,
setting the base for the whole track.
Jiggs shows off his own compositional
prowess in track 3, entitled Steve, a
gentle ballad-like chart dedicated to the
late great British pianist and composer,
Steve Gray.
In contrast to the previous tune, track
4 starts with the rhythmical presence
of Decebal Badila on bass, playing the
repetitive pedal under the well-known
song, Some Day my Prince Will Come.
After the introduction, the piece
launched into its well-known jazz waltz
feel, with Decebal providing a solid
rhythmic and harmonic foundation
for Florian and Jiggs to blow over.
Decebal’s solo near the end of the
track is as virtuosic as any front line
player and shows how important it is
to feature players who would otherwise
remain hidden in the depths of a rhythm
section. Perhaps the most ‘standard’
sounding track on the album is track 5,
Milt Jackson’s Bags Groove. A favourite
for jazz educators owing to its simplistic
12-bar blues changes and easy to
remember head, the trio have managed
to turn this well-known tune into an
interestingly groovy foot tapper.
Track 6 is Sonny Rollins’ Saint Thomas
as you have never heard it before.
With an interesting take on the tune,
they create an exciting and different
version of this classic melody.
If you have a spare hour or so, this
album is definitely worth a spin.
I would recommend putting the kettle
on, making a nice cup of tea and sitting
down to fully appreciate this wonderful
trio, as it demands your full attention
to catch all the fantastic nuances and
intricacies it has to offer.
PETER MOORE
(TROMBONE) AND
JAMES BAILLIEU
(PIANO)
WIGMORE HALL
RECITAL: MONDAY
30TH JANUARY –
1:00PM
REVIEWED BY JOSH CIRTINA
The BBC Radio 3 Monday lunchtime
recital series has gained great popularity
in recent times thanks to the featuring of
internationally renowned artists every
week – and Peter Moore with pianist
James Baillieu were no different!
To begin the recital was a thrilling world
première of a new commission by James
Maynard, a colleague of Peter’s as 2nd
Trombone in the London Symphony
Orchestra. Urban Variations opens
with a 6-note theme that the composer
sketched in his Beijing City Guidebook
after hearing a ‘hawker’ on the street.
The following movements are variations
upon this theme and are based on a
park in St John’s Wood in London and
the hustle and bustle of New York
City. Maynard writes so descriptively,
captivating the audience immediately
from the initial declamatory yet solemn
theme, all the way to the frenetic and
chaotic last movement. Moore really
showed off his mastery of the trombone
throughout this work, in my opinion
totally capturing the composer’s
intentions.
In a sudden juxtaposition, Peter and
James followed this with Schumann’s
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73. The two
musicians here so masterfully
interpreted this romantic work,
originally written for clarinet and piano
in 1849. They both performed with the
highest levels of control and sympathy
towards the music.
To follow was Axel Jørgensen’s
Romance Op. 21 for trombone and
piano and Henri Duparc’s La vie
anterieure from 1884. These works
both feature wonderfully smooth and
swooping melodies, which really suit
the soloist and his accompanist. Peter’s
rich sound has a singing quality that
few rarely achieve and this is heard in
particular in his slow, melodic playing.
Moore truly spoils the audience with his
ability to play with such sensitivity and
maturity that belies his age.
For me, the highlight of the recital
was Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata in G
minor Op. 19 (3rd movt.). Originally
written for the cello, it is understandably
something of challenge to play this
on the trombone, yet Moore displayed
effortless virtuosity throughout the
entire range during this performance,
with unparalleled musicality.
We were next treated to further evidence
of the impressive talents of pianist
James Baillieu, alongside Peter, in
Hindemith’s Sonata for trombone and
piano, a piece renowned for its fiendish
piano part. Both musicians performed
with exceptional ability and really
succeeded in bringing this work to life
in very exciting ways.
32

GEAR REVIEWS
OKURA BASS TROMBONE MUTE
REVIEWED BY SION JONES
The Okura bass trombone practice mute is available on their
website okuramute.com. It’s a compact mute, looks great and
weighs less than a large chicken egg; so far so good.
Firstly I have to admit, I have not found myself using a
compact practice mute for actual practice, as I don’t think they
are good enough. I think that they are handy things to have in
your trombone case for the time you need a warm up or blow
a few notes when you find yourself in a ‘quiet zone’.
However, I do find the current compact practice mutes too
expensive to buy for what they are worth in quality or for
what I would personally use them for.
As the Okura is available on their website for €49.50, so
around the £50 mark with shipping, it is already cheaper than
the more well known brands. Gladly, it’s a good one.
The sound is good for a practice mute, it resonates well and
is quiet enough not to be heard. The intonation is good across
all ranges and that is without an option to change the tuning.
Therefore I do believe that it would work for the quick warm
up scenarios as well as for some longer practice sessions.
The biggest selling point for me is the weight; it really
does feel like there is no mute in the bell, so the large egg
comparison is a serious one!
If this mute was double the asking price, there is no way I
would buy it. If the mute lacked the qualities I’ve mentioned
above but the same price then I still would not buy it.
The difference is, the Okura is better, cheaper and so in my
opinion the better value for money practice mute out there.
Also available on their website is a piccolo trumpet, trumpet,
French horn mutes and a new tenor trombone practice mute all
in the same £50 bracket.
BLAIR BOLLINGER MODEL
SHIRES BASS TROMBONE
REVIEWED BY SAM FREEMAN
I’m not someone who tends to change my set-up around.
I have two bass trombones and one tenor; I tend to use my
Elkhart 62H for orchestral work, and my Conn-Greenhoe
62HG for most other things - shows, sessions, commercial
playing, big bands and so on. As the latter is the only trombone
I’ve ever bought new, I felt it would give me a good reference
point against which to test the Shires.
I turned up at Phil Parker’s - who weren’t expecting me - and
was given a warm welcome and a room to play around with
both instruments.
Starting with gentle slurs inside the bass clef, I found the
trombone to be easy blowing, and this trend continued when
working down the register. I comfortably played down to a
pedal B and found the sound to be open at the very bottom.
Unlike other Thayer
valves I’ve previously
used, I was pleased
to find they weren’t
completely without
resistance, and
therefore they felt
more natural. I did
sometimes struggle
with their speed,
although I’m sure a few different oils could change this,
and admittedly it is rare you’d require this speed in standard
repertoire. The sound in this register is very centred, but didn’t
quite have quite as much ring as my 62HG.
Conversely, I found the sound in the upper register to be a little
woolly and quite hard work. However, I had exactly the same
issue with my 62HG when it was new. Perhaps this is because
so much of the manufacturing focus is about the bottom-end
- I guess the clue is it’s a ‘Bass’ trombone. I did a couple of
recording tests and found I could get roughly the same sound
and phrase shape on both trombones, but it felt completely
different on my chops. I’m sure that after a couple of weeks of
playing, it would feel normal. With more commercial playing,
the trombone felt nimble and zingy where needed and I have to
say that the tuning throughout the entire test was excellent.
I’m a big believer in finding what works for you. I’m happy
with my current set-up, but if I was in the market for a new
trombone to replace my 62HG then the Shires would be a
strong contender and whilst I use different instruments for
different gigs, I’m sure that it would work perfectly in an
orchestral situation too. After all, that’s what Mr. Bollinger
uses it for. This is a seriously good trombone, but if you’re
considering purchasing then go and try it yourself. You are
the best judge of what you like most, and I think when you’re
looking at spending £6295* for a trombone (which is almost a
week’s wages for most of us bass trombonists!), it’s important
for you to be certain it’s the right instrument for you.
*Available now at Phil Parker Ltd.
Test Repertoire: Warm – up slurs/tongued exercises
• Suite V Sarabande (Bach)
• subZERO Concerto (Schnyder)
• Jazz Crimes (Redman)
• Monody for Bass Trombone (D. Freeman)
• My Funny Cello Suite (Nightingale)
• Symphony I movement IV (Mahler)
• Tannhauser Overture (Wagner)
• The Creation (Haydn)
• Dance of the Knights (Prokofiev)
• Uptown Funk – Bass line, and ‘horn’ riff (Mars)
• I’ve Got You Under My Skin (Riddle)
• Soul Bossa Nova (Jones)
• Brass Scene Kid (No BS Brass Band)
33

Photography courtesy of Betina Skovbro
SPRING WINTER 2017 2016 THE TROMBONIST
G & T
BY MATTHEW GEE & MARK TEMPLETON
Another instalment of G & T sees
plenty of big names and some
equally as big rep. being performed
all over the UK. Without further ado:
LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL:
MNOZIL BRASS
One of the finest brass ensembles in
the world return with their latest show
Cirque. They are literally unmissable
and with the enigmatic (is that the right
word?) Zoltan Kiss leading the charge
it is sure to be memorable. Who knows
exactly what this show has in store,
but if their plethora of YouTube clips
is anything to go by it is going to be
another smash. May 5th, 19:30.
BRIDGEWATER HALL, MANCHESTER:
BBC PHILHARMONIC AND THE HALLÉ
ORCHESTRA
Two of the UKs finest orchestras team
up to deliver Arnold Schoenberg’s
colossal Gurrelieder under Sir Mark
Elder. This will be a visual and aural
spectacle, with huge brass forces and an
equally large choir thrown into the mix.
A truly epic way for both orchestras to
close their respective seasons.
June 4th, 18:30.
LEEDS, NOTTINGHAM, HULL,
LIVERPOOL AND GATESHEAD:
OPERA NORTH
Following on from their critically
acclaimed Ring Cycle, Opera North
concert-stage Puccini’s final opera
Turandot. This is a cracking opera with
great trombone parts, played by an inform
orchestra under maestro Alexander
Markovic. Expect sell-out performances.
LEICESTER/LONDON: PHILHARMONIA
ORCHESTRA
With Gustav Holst being a trombone
player, you’d expect his trombone parts
to be well written, but his writing for all
brass in The Planets is brilliant. April
22nd, De Montfort Hall and 22nd April,
Royal Festival Hall, 19:30 and 15:00
respectively.
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, LONDON:
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Walton’s First Symphony is a riot for
brass and contains a full spectrum
of what a trombone section can do;
brilliantly written choral passages,
crisp rhythmic motifs and menacingly
powerful melodies. Hear it for yourself.
June 6th, 19:30pm.
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, LONDON:
ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET
Here is a real treat for you. The ENB will
be performing Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo
and Juliet with choreography by Rudolf
Nureyev. The score alone contains
some of the most tragically beautiful
music, but to see it performed as it was
intended, costumes, sets etc, will be
glorious. August 1st – 5th.
CARDIFF/SWANSEA: BBC NATION
ORCHESTRA OF WALES
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring is a good
workout for the trombone section. This
piece requires lots of precision and good
section radar. Throw in a few cheeky
high notes, some searing chords and
some wicked rhythms and you have a
twentieth century classic. June 8th, St
David’s Hall 19:30, June 9th, Brangwyn
Hall 19:30.
brass. April 26th The Lighthouse, and
April 27th Colston Hall, both 19:30.
THE BARBICAN HALL, LONDON:
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony is pretty
bonkers. There are quotes from Mahler,
Glinka, Wagner and most noticeably
Rossini (William Tell). There are several
little solos for first trombone and a
slow, rich one in the 2nd movement
which needs a big, warm sound. Despite
some very angular harmonies, this is
a really accessible piece and being
Shostakovich’s last symphony, definitely
worth a listen. May 7th, 19:00.
THE BARBICAN HALL, LONDON: BBC
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Minimalist music doesn’t often feature
in G&T, but Dr Atomic by John Adams,
telling the story of Oppenheimer and
the first atomic bomb, is a powerful and
engaging opera. Lots for the bones to do,
some tricky rhythms and a great shout up
for first trombone. John Adams himself
conducts. April 25th 19:00.
That concludes G&T for another issue.
Hope something takes your fancy.
Tweet us if you go to any of these gigs
and what you thought of them.
Follow Matt by visiting
www.matthewgee.info or on Twitter
@Geetrombone
Follow Mark on Twitter
@mbonetempleton
GLASGOW CITY HALLS: BBC SCOTTISH
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The two days preceding the big
Trombone festival in Glasgow, hear
trombone concertos by Jan Sandström,
Kalevi Aho and Christian Lindberg, POOLE/BRISTOL: BOURNEMOUTH
played by Christian, Jörgan van Rijen SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
and Simon Johnson. Top players and I always love playing Mahler Five. It
Follow interesting the rep. BTS – on this Twitter: has to @britishtrombone be one of the doesn’t and Like have us as on many Facebook glory moments to receive regular dates for your diary.
highlights Submit your of own the decade. events June on the 22nd BTS and website as www.britishtrombonesociety.org the second or third symphonies and but they will be included on social media, the BTS
MT
MG
23rd, website 19:30. and right here in the magazine. there is some sublime writing for the low
34

WHAT’S ONWHAT’S
22ND APRIL 2017 - 7.30PM
PETER MOORE SOLO
Barbican Hall
www.lso.co.uk/whats-on/icalrepeat.detail/2017/04/22/590/-/national-youth-brass-bandof-great-britain.html
28TH APRIL 2017
1.15PM RECITAL
2.15PM MASTERCLASS
AT DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL,
Victoria Rooms, Queens Road, Bristol. BS8 1SA.
‘Inspired: a Life of Breath’ composition competition.
http://lifeofbreath.org/event/inspired-concert-andmasterclass/
ON
22ND APRIL 2017 - 7.30PM
COLDSTREAM GUARDS AT CADOGAN HALL
in aid of Combat Stress-Mark Templeton Soloist
7TH JUNE 2017 - 7.30PM
CONCERT AT THE PINNER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Pinner Parish Church, Pinner. HA5 3AA
http://www.pinnermusicfestival.co.uk
Follow the BTS on Twitter: @britishtrombone and
like us on Facebook to receive regular dates
for your diary.

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Each of these membership options include exclusive access to bonus
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DESIGNS
create websites, logos etc. with
10% OFF any new design.
TAILSHOP
5% OFF your first order
IMAGE 1ST
discount on professional photography
WORTH £50
Q-PARK
prebooking code for an additional
10% OFF prebooking
discounted rates in car parks across
the UK.
Health and
well-being
HEARING
RESOLUTION
10% DISCOUNT
on RRP’s for protection products
HMCA
DISCOUNTED RATES
for medical plans, dental plan,
hospital cash plans, personal
accident plan, travel plan,
life cover, income protection
and vehicle breakdown products
For details of how to obtain these exclusive discounts, please visit our website – www.britishtrombonesociety.org/membership.