News Items
Louisiana State University is pleased to announce one graduate assistantship available for Fall 2023.
The graduate assistantship is a 10-hour assistantship, covering out of state tuition and having a $7,000 stipend to go toward in-state tuition, fees, and living expenses.
Those interested can find more information here or by emailing Dr. Beloglavec.
The International Trombone Association is looking for a Trombone News Coordinator for the ITA Journal and an Online News Coordinator for the ITA website (trombone.net). Ideally, both positions would be combined. To apply, please send a short application letter and CV to vacancies@trombone.net before December 15, 2023.
If you have questions, please contact ITA Executive Director Magnus Nilsson: magnus@trombone.net.
ITA Journal Trombone News Coordinator
Requirements
Work
Starting date: February 1, 2023
In pursuit of diversity, we strongly invite individuals representing underrepresented groups to apply.
To apply, please send a short application letter and CV to vacancies@trombone.net before December 15, 2023.
If you have questions, please contact ITA Executive Director Magnus Nilsson: magnus@trombone.net.
Online News Coordinator
Requirements
Work
Starting date: February 1, 2023
In pursuit of diversity, we strongly encourage individuals representing underrepresented groups to apply.
ITA relies very much on the support, knowledge and experience of its members to further the aims of the Association. As well as volunteer positions on committees and advisory councils, ITA also offers specific jobs on a periodic basis. If you are interested in serving our organization, please contact us at vacancies@trombone.net.
ITA Journal Trombone News Coordinator
Requirements
Work
Starting date: February 1, 2023
In pursuit of diversity, we strongly invite individuals representing underrepresented groups to apply.
To apply, please send a short application letter and CV to vacancies@trombone.net before December 15, 2023.
If you have questions, please contact ITA Executive Director Magnus Nilsson: magnus@trombone.net.
David Krauss, Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, hosts Speaking Soundly, a new podcast that interviews today’s top performers. According to the website, the podcast “brings the lives and stories of high-profile, international, diverse, and vibrant performing artists to listeners.”
On Tuesday, October 25, an episode featuring Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic, was released. Click here to listen to his episode.
Additionally, Denson Paul Pollard, Professor of Music at Indiana University and member of the MET Opera Orchestra, was a recent guest. Click here to listen to his episode.
Speaking Soundly Podcast is produced by Artful Narratives Media and can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you choose to get your podcasts. For further information, contact Co-Founder Jessica Handelman.
The Twentieth Annual Big 12 Trombone Conference will take place from January 13 – 15, 2023. This year’s featured guest artist is Peter Steiner.
Entries for the Big 12 Solo Competitions will be accepted through Tuesday, November 7th. Entries may be submitted via email or postal mail.
For repertoire, rules, and prize information, please visit the website and select “Competition Information.” The website also contains information regarding conference activities, faculty and guest artists, lodging and local travel, and registration.
Please email Professor James T. Decker with further questions.
Caleb Owenby is leading a commission for solo tenor trombone and piano entitled “7 Deadly Sins.” The new work, composed by Ben Dondanville, will take one motif in C minor, and adapt it into seven different short movements representing the seven deadly sins (Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Wrath, and Pride). The work will be approximately 10-11 minutes in length, and geared towards university-level music students.
At the time of this post, 7 open spots are left. The fee to join is $50 and the deadline is October 31, 2022; the anticipated completion date is January 1, 2023.
Mr. Dondanville has composed works for Jeremy Wilson, Nick Laufer, and Ben McIlwain. In 2020, he was awarded a Composer Fellowship with 91 Classical Radio to study with Cristina Spenei.
Please visit the consortium website for further information. If you have further questions, please contact Ben Dondanville.
Kris Garfitt of Great Britain, Solo Trombonist of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, won first prize and the audience prize at the prestigious ARD International Music Competition. Founded in 1952, the competition invites young musicians from around the globe to compete in multiple rounds; works performed range from world premieres to standard compositions for trombone and piano, culminating in a final round with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Jonathon Ramsay of Australia won 2nd prize, while Roberto de la Guía Martínez of Spain won 3rd prize. At the time of this posting, all rounds are available to stream here.
Instrument categories rotate each year, with the 2022 competition also featuring flute, string quartet, and piano. The trombone competition last occurred in 2015, with Michael Buchanan of Great Britain winning first prize.
Garfitt graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2015. From 2016 to 2020, he was a member of the German Radio Philharmonic. In addition to his orchestral career, Garfitt has appeared as a featured soloist with numerous professional ensembles and maintains an active career as a chamber musician.
Betty Glover, one of the first female orchestral trombonists in the United States, passed away on September 27, 2022 at the age of 99.
Glover studied trombone with Ernest Glover at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) from 1941-1944. Shortly after graduation, she won the audition for principal trombone with the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1952, Glover was appointed bass trombone with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a position she held until 1985.
Glover began her teaching career at Otterbein College in 1950, before moving to CCM in 1952. In addition to teaching trombone, euphonium, and orchestral repertoire, she became director of the CCM Brass Choir in 1969, which performed traditional works alongside world premieres. In 1983, the CCM Brass Choir performed on the first transatlantic broadcast from the United States to Europe.
Glover received many prestigious awards, including the 2022 ITA Lifetime Achievement Award. The October 2022 ITA Journal contains a beautiful feature on Glover’s career and impact by Jared Gilbert.
ITA extends its condolences to Glover’s family and loved ones.
Matthew Guilford, bass trombonist with the National Symphony and senior lecturer at University of Maryland, College Park, will be a featured soloist with the UMD Wind Orchestra. On December 9, 2022, Guilford will perform James Stephenson’s Sonata Rhapsody “The Arch” on a program that also includes music by Lance Hulme, William Grant Still, and Carlos Simon.
Stephenson composed Sonata Rhapsody “The Arch” in 2010 for Gerry Pagano, former bass trombonist of the St. Louis Symphony. There are many similarities between the sonata and the St. Louis Arch — for example, the outer width of the arch is 630 feet, while the the piece is 630 measures. The version for wind ensemble was commissioned by Grady McGrannahan as a retirement gift for his father, Mack McGrannahan, former Director of Bands and Low Brass Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Guilford has served as bass trombonist of the National Symphony since 1991 and has taught at UMD since 1993. He has performed with several of America’s leading orchestras including the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony.
The concert will be open to public and will also be available to livestream. Tickets for both options are “pay what you wish.”
David Krauss, Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, hosts Speaking Soundly, a new podcast that interviews today’s top performers. According to the website, the podcast “brings the lives and stories of high-profile, international, diverse, and vibrant performing artists to listeners.” Denson Paul Pollard, Professor of Music at Indiana University and member of the MET Opera Orchestra, was a recent guest and a future episode will feature Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic. Other notable guests include Isabel Leonard, Christian McBride, Emanuel Ax, and Evelyn Glennie.
Speaking Soundly Podcast is produced by Artful Narratives Media and can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you choose to get your podcasts. For further information, contact Co-Founder Jessica Handelman.
Cory Mixdorf, along with pianist Miroslava Panayotova, proudly offers his first solo album, aptly titled Songs & Elegies. With the aim of creating an album that mostly focuses on the cantabile side of the instrument, the repertoire is split into three categories: vocal pieces, elegies, and other song-related works.
Mixdorf uses vocal repertoire often in performance and pedagogy. These “song-stories sung through the trombone” include:
The three elegies recorded here include two original works by Joe Buono and Anthony Barfield, as well as a transcription of Alexander Glazunov’s Élégie, Op. 44, originally written for viola.
The final category are pieces originally written for the trombone that are very song-oriented. Norman Bolter’s The Song of King David depicts the life and struggles of the Old Testament king. Ross Wixon composed The Troubadour in 2011, and harkens back to the medieval singer/poets, but set in a modern harmonic texture. Finally, Susan Mutter’s Song of Survival was written in 2021 as a reflection of Mixdorf’s son’s journey through treatments for medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer.
Songs and Elegies is available on all major streaming music platforms. If a hard copy CD is desired, please contact Cory Mixdorf. This album was funded in part by a Seed Grant at the University of Arkansas, where Mixdorf serves as the Associate Professor of Trombone. Cory Mixdorf is a Greenhoe Trombones Featured Artist.