Emory Remington Trombone Choir Competition

For ensembles of 8 or more trombonists (no euphoniums, tubas or percussion allowed)

First Prize: Featured performance at the 2018 International Trombone Festival at the University of Iowa

General Rules and Requirements

Recording Guidelines

  • Applicants must strictly follow the Recording Guidelines for the 2018 ITA Solo and Ensemble Competitions to avoid disqualification.

Competition Rules

  • The competition repertoire should be uploaded as two separate audio files (Gabrieli and Verhelst.) Accepted file formats include: MP3, OGG, M4A, WMA, WAV, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, AIF. Video entries are not accepted for this competition.
  • There may be no editing within each submitted audio file.
  • The submitted file must not contain any identifying information. The audio files should be named: “RemingtonGabrieli.mp3” and “RemingtonVerhelst.mp3” (.wav, etc.)
  • Each work must be performed with a minimum of 8 trombonists. The same personnel may be used for both works, or a larger ensemble may be utilized for one of the submitted recordings. However, if different sized ensembles are utilized, all of the performers in the smaller ensemble must also play in the larger ensemble.
  • No guest soloists are allowed.
  • No age requirement or school affiliation required.
  • The winning ensemble must utilize only the players who made the sound file recording in their ITF performance – no additional players or substitutions are allowed without the written approval of the Competitions Committee.
  • Winning conductor has total control over the content of their ITF program (within time constraints.)
  • 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017 Remington Competition winners are not eligible for the 2018 Emory Remington Trombone Choir Competition.

Repertoire Requirements

  • Giovanni Gabrieli – Sonata Pian ‘e Forte from Sacrae Symphoniae (1597), Ch.175, ed. Marcellus (KBE) *Please note: the tempo marking should read “quarter note = 72”, and ensembles should choose a tempo they feel is most appropriate
  • Steven Verhelst – River Bells (available at https://www.stevenverhelst.com/product/the-rivers-bells-trombone-octet)

Past Winners

Year Winner School
1971 Ball State University Trombone Choir*  Bernard Pressler, conductor
1972 Catholic University Trombone Choir*  John Marcellus, conductor
1973 University of Oklahoma Trombone Choir*  Irvin Wagner, conductor
1974 Bob Jones University Trombone Choir*  Stan George, conductor
1975 Crane School of Music Trombone Ensemble*  John Upchurch, conductor
1976 Marcellus-Melick Trombone Ensemble*  John Marcellus & John Melick, conductors
1977 Bay Bones*  Billy Robinson, conductor
1978 Texas Tech University Trombone Ensemble*  Robert Deahl, conductor
1979 East Texas State University Trombone Choir*  Neill Humfeld, conductor
1980 Eastman School of Music Trombone Choir*  John Marcellus, conductor
1981 University of Oklahoma Trombone Choir*  Irvin Wagner, conductor
1982 Florida State University Trombone Choir*  William Cramer, conductor
1983 Ball State University Trombone Choir*  Wesley Hanson, conductor
1984 no competition
1985 North Texas State University Trombone Choir*  Vern Kagarice & Royce Lumpkin, conductors
1986 Manhattan School of Music Trombone Ensemble*  Harold Janks, conductor
1987 Eastman School of Music Trombone Choir  John Marcellus & Raymond Premru, conductors
1988 University of Northern Colorado Trombone Choir  Buddy Baker, conductor
1989 no competition
1990 Chicago Trombone Choir  Jay Friedman, conductor
1991 Eastman School of Music Trombone Choir  John Marcellus, conductor
1992 no competition
1993 University of Illinois Trombone Choir  Elliot Chasanov, conductor
1994 University of North Texas Trombone Choir  Vern Kagarice, conductor
1995 University of Texas at Arlington Trombone Choir  Andy Russell, conductor
1996 Blech Forest Trombone Ensemble  Abbie Conant, conductor
1997 Texas Tech University Trombone Choir  Don Lucas, conductor
1998 Juilliard School of Music Trombone Ensemble  Joseph Alessi, conductor
1999 University of North Texas Trombone Choir  Vern Kagarice, conductor
2000 Trombonly  Heinz Fadle, conductor
2001 Eastman School of Music Trombone Choir  John Marcellus, conductor
2002 University of Texas Trombone Choir  Nathaniel Brickens, conductor
2003 Texas Trombone Octet Jimmy Clark, conductor
2004 Texas Tech University Trombone Choir Don Lucas, conductor
2005 Rotterdam Conservatory Trombone Choir Pierre Volders, conductor
2006 Trombone Class Musikhochschule Hannover Jonas Bylund, conductor
2007 University of Texas Trombone Choir Nathaniel Brickens, conductor
2008 Oklahoma State University Trombone Octet Paul Compton, conductor
2009 Codarts Trombone Ensemble, the Netherlands Pierre Volders, Jörgen van Rijen, and Ben van Dijk, conductors
2010 UdK Trombone Choir, Berlin, Germany Stefan Schulz, Andreas Klein and Rainer Vogt, conductors
2011 Eastman Trombone Choir John Marcellus, conductor
2012 Hannover Trombone Class Jonas Bylund, conductor
2013 Amsterdam Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Trombone Class Pierre Volders, conductor
2014 Rostock Trombone Class, Germany Jamie Williams, conductor
2015 Copenhagen Trombone Class (Royal Danish Academy of Music), Denmark Jesper Juul, conductor
2016 Royal Northern College of Music Trombone Choir (UK) Simon Cowen and Katy Jones, conductors
2017 Northwestern University Trombone Choir  Christopher Davis, conductor