Trumpet artist Graham Ashton just returned from France where he performed and recorded with
Michäel Matthes, organist at Troyes Cathedral. The resulting CD – In Recital – features the following works:
Musique pour Le Vent du Nord
Josquin des Prez, arr. Ashton
Parts Upon a Ground
Henry Purcell, arr. Ashton
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
J.S. Bach
Sonata in F
G.F. Handel, arr. Ashton
Carillon de Westminster
Louis Vierne
Sonata for trumpet and organ
Roger Steptoe (premiere recording)
Toccatas in g minor and e minor
Johann Pachelbel
Fantasia Upon a Ground after Purcell
Graham Ashton (premiere recording)
We’re experiencing a lot of growth at Edwards this year. As a result, we can’t keep up with the 6-8 week trombone delivery estimates we’ve listed on our product pages. A more realistic timeframe for complete horn delivery is 8-12 weeks. We are ramping up production, but we want to do it slowly in order to maintain our build standards.
The good news is that your money is sitting in your bank during those 8-12 weeks; we don’t charge you until the horn ships. So if you’re in the market for a new Edwards, you might consider getting your order in sooner than later.
Your patience with us through this year of growth is appreciated. We will continue to do our best to improve our delivery.
Congratulations to Javier Nero for winning this year’s Carl Fontana Jazz Trombone Competition! Javier played extremely well at the recent ITF (as did all the finalists) and won a T302 for all his hard work. He is a student of Conrad Herwig at Juilliard.
We recommend all young trombonists take part in the ITA Competitions. Winners take home shiny prizes, but the benefits in preparing music for a recording are more valuable. And if you make it to the live round, all the better. Performing for an audience of trombone players will definitely help when it comes time to go out on the audition circuit.
We’d like to congratulate Raymond Flores, a student of Luis Fred at the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico, for winning this year’s Edward Kleinhammer Competition. Raymond sounded fantastic performing in the finals on his B454. He was awarded a new Getzen 1052. Congratulations, Raymond!
Joseph Alessi will premiere Daniel Schnyder’s Concerto for Tenor Trombone and Orchestra with the Nashville Symphony during the International Trombone Festival this summer. The ITF organizers have put together the following video featuring the the two discussing the new work and Alessi performing a few highlights.
Aspiring orchestral bass trombonists will be thrilled to hear that James Markey (New York Philharmonic) and Denson Paul Pollard (New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) have collaborated to record excerpts from the orchestra and opera rep. The CD, appropriately titled The Bass Trombonist’s Listening Guide: Excerpts from the Opera and the Orchestra, will soon be available at Hickeys and CDBaby.
Update: Dave’s Kennedy Center performance is now available online. His portion of the concert starts at 29:30.
Dave Taylor dropped us a line this week to tell us about some performances and masterclasses on his calendar. After performing at Slide Factory today, he’ll be heading back to the States for the Mayor’s Arts Awards at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. From Dave:
“I’m soloing at the Kennedy Center representing the Post Classical Ensemble on a Schubert piece, Der Doppelgänger (doing a lot of Schubert these days). They offered me a small string orchestra. I chose six basses instead. They loved it! I told them I wanted the audience to think I was standing in the middle of a forrest.”
Dave will be in Hannover, Germany, on July 24-26 to teach and perform. This event is open to all tenor and bass trombonists. Contact Christopher Nimz for more information.
We take a lot of pride in building great instruments for our customers. And when those instruments help them win jobs, well, you can imagine how it makes us feel. Edwards players have fared very well at auditions since we opened the doors in 1989. And recent results have been overwhelmingly positive as many of them have won positions in excellent orchestras.
Recently, Samuel Schlosser won the Milwaukee Symphony’s second trombone audition on his Edwards T350-E with a 321CF bell, rose dual radius tuning slide, T-BCN hand slide and a T2 brass leadpipe. He also won the audition for second/assistant principal trombone for the Cincinnati Symphony, which qualifies him for a trial week in May.
John Thevenet also won a position in the Milwaukee Symphony. He’ll be joining the orchestra as its bass trombonist. John plays a B454 with a 987CF bell, rose tuning slide, B-DBN hand slide and a B2 brass leadpipe.
How are they doing it? First and foremost, they are extremely talented musicians dedicated to their craft. But our horns also play a part. Finding the correct instrument fit enables a player to breathe into the instrument and create what they want musically.
And while these two trombonists won jobs on time-tested equipment, we are always looking to forge ahead with new designs to meet even more musicians’ needs. We are thrilled with the success of the Alessi horn and how it is fitting into sections. The National Symphony Orchestra tenor section is all on the T396-A. What a sound it is coming from that section!
Congratulations to Sam, John and all of the other Edwards players that have found success in this crazy field we call work. I look forward to being a part of your future!