City of Sheffield resounds to the tune of over twenty trombonists!
Sheffield has always been a city close to my heart. This greatly modernised city has changed so much since I used to live there back in the 70's: the new supertram, the Meadowhall Centre, the renovation of the famous steelworks, now a fabulous entertainment complex. How times change.
One of the more pleasing aspects is the constant array of musical activities on offer for both younger and older generations. Sheffield has always been a haven of good quality music making and I was fortunate enough to benefit from this when I started playing trombone back in the 1970's. I was given so many performing opportunities; my involvement with The Salvation Army Junior Band, the Langsett Music Centre Brass Band and the City of Sheffield Youth Brass Band. Therefore it was a great pleasure for me to return to my roots to conduct a workshop for today's generation of trombonists.
Carter Hall School was the venue for a trombone clinic organised by Steve Hepple (one of the cities fine peripatetic teachers) and it gave me an opportunity to see if today's players are as enthusiastic as I was back in the 70's.
The workshop commenced at 1.00pm and I was happy to see that over twenty trombonists had interrupted their Sunday afternoon snooze to make their way to Carter Hall School.
Trombones Galore! Some of Sheffield's tromboning fraternity.
The afternoon started with a performance by my trombone quartet. The quartet comprises of some of the brass band movements finest players; James Garlick (Principal trombone with the Carlton Main Band) Kevin Gibbs (ex-Principal Trombone of Black Dyke Mills Band) Andy Snell (Bass Trombone with the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) and myself. We chose to play quite a varied programme of music including Dvorak's Slavonic Dance No 8, Debussy's Golliwog's Cakewalk, Sousa's Liberty Bell, Gareth Wood's Four Pieces for Four Trombones and a brief excerpt from Wagner's opera Rienzi.
The quartet recital was immediately followed by a discussion on 'The Importance of Trombone Maintenance' by Bass Trombonist Andy Snell. As a teacher I feel this is a subject which needs far greater emphasis to the less experienced player and it was fascinating to hear Andy's anecdotes and suggestions.
Next on the list was my own recital. Not so many years ago it would have been extremely difficult to organise a thirty minute recital without the aid of a pianist. However, the popularity of the new 'play along' CD has grown to such a level that it was relatively easy to compile a programme of light music. I was able to perform music by Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Allen Vizzutti, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and J.J. Johnson.
The rather 'tame' front row!
After a well earned coffee break the delegates eagerly made there way back to their seats for a workshop entitled 'Back to Basics'. I use this workshop as a keystage in all levels of performance, underlining my approaches to breathing, embouchure and posture. It proved to be a successful session and it was interesting to see how even the most experienced player can lose control of the fundamentals.
The rather 'noisy' back row!
The day rounded off with an enthusiastic massed blow by all the delegates. Music ranged from some rousing Wagner excerpts through to the fabulous Reichenbach arrangement of Scarborough Fair.
The loudest player of the day!
Special thanks must be given to Boosey & Hawkes Musical Instruments Ltd. for supporting the event and I am very happy to say that the workshop will take place again next year.
