Introductory Comments
Wow! Over a year from initial conception to finished productŠ
When the opportunity first came up to apply for the TTU Quality Enhancement Plan funding for this project last spring, I thought about some of the experiences that I have had as a professional musician and what would be most beneficial for our students in improving the real world aspects of our curriculum. I immediately jumped to the concept of a CD recording - not just an aural document of a concert, but going into a recording session with the idea of using multiple takes and editing everything together to make a quality product that they could be proud of. I have had the pleasure of working with R. Winston Morris on several of his tuba and euphonium projects over the last few years and I wanted to share these experiences with my trombone students; experiences such as: recording sessions, editing, repertoire selection, arranging and composing, mechanical licensing, fund raising, touring to support a recording, print music and audio publishing, CD art design, liner notes. They did it all.
I am very proud to have been involved in this project with such a great bunch of guys. Special thanks go to Jim Lotz, who teaches our recording techniques class. The trombonists, composers, technicians and others who were involved in this are listed at the end of this booklet and I encourage you to read all of those names and learn them. You¹ll be seeing them again.
Now sit back and enjoy the music!
Joshua Hauser, Associate Professor of Trombone
Tennessee Tech University
Summer 2007
Tower Music by Vaclav Nelhybel (19191996)
Published by Schott
Internationally renowned composer Vaclav Nelhybel was born on September 24, 1919, in Polanka, Czechoslovakia. He studied composition and conducting at the Conservatory of Music in Prague and musicology at Prague University and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. After World War II he was affiliated as composer and conductor with Swiss National Radio and in 1950, became the first musical director of Radio Free Europe in Munich, Germany, a post he held until he immigrated to the United States in 1957. Nelhybel was a highly sought after conductor and clinician in the United States and throughout the world. At the time of his death on March 22, 1996, he was composer in residence at the University of Scranton.
Tower Music is for trombone octet. In this piece Nelhybel does a beautiful job of showing the dynamic range of the trombone. The opening statement starts at a very high dynamic. It then it immediately goes into a softer section. In this softer section the use of bell tones in the different parts characterize a bell choir. The work concludes with a variation on the opening theme which adds a very exciting ending to a wonderful piece.
Notes by Ryan Carpenter
March Pontificale by Domenico Bellando (18681922) arr. Hauser
Published by Cimarron Music Press
Little is written about the Italian organist and composer Domenico Bellando, former Professor of Organ at the Conservatorio statale di musica "Nicolò Paganini" in Genova, Italy. It is apparent from a study of his compositions that he must have had some contact with Alexandre Guilmant, organist and composer of the well-known Morceau Symphonique for trombone, because Bellando composed an Elegy for Organ in his memory.
Marche Pontificale, also known as the Grand March, is in a modified rondo form, with a majestic reoccurring theme that is linked by two lyrical themes. In this setting, the bass trombones are put through their paces, playing the part of the organ pedals in virtuosic triplet passages throughout. The choir itself is in four parts until the coda, where the full forces are unleashed, exchanging antiphonal fanfares between the upper and lower voices in 8 part harmony.
Notes by Joshua Hauser
Rollicking Rondo from Music for Trombones by Aldo Rafael Forte (b. 1953)
Published by Cimarron Music Press
Aldo Rafael Forte is an internationally renowned composer with many published and recorded works to his credit. Forte recently retired as Composer/Arranger with the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band at Langley AFB, VA. after 26 years on active duty as Composer/Arranger in the United States Air Force Bands and Music Program. He is now working fulltime as a freelance composer/arranger and is also Adjunct Professor of Composition at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Born in Havana, Cuba, Forte came to the United States at the age of nine and is now a U.S. citizen. He spent his formative years in Huntsville, Alabama and was introduced to music at an early age by his father. Forte credits the encouragement of both of his parents, Dr. Aldo Forte and Maria Forte, with his active pursuit of composition.
His works have been performed and/or recorded by such diverse groups as the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the Filharmonie Bohuslav Martinu Orchestra of the Czech Republic, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and by many bands including those of The University of Georgia, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, The University of North Texas, Kansas State University, the Piedmont Wind Symphony of Winston-Salem, NC, the Mobile Symphonic Pops Band, the University of Alabama, the USAF Heritage of America Band, and "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, to name but a few.
Forte has studied composition with Ross Lee Finney, William Presser, and Robert Jager. He holds music degrees from Tennessee Technological University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Forte is a member of ASCAP and is the recipient of several ASCAP Special Awards. He has twice been awarded First Place in the National Federation of Music Clubs American Music in the United States Armed Forces Composition Competition (2001 and 2005). He has also received composition fellowships from the Cintas Foundation and the Alabama State Council on the Arts and is listed in the The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. Since the year 2000, his music has received more than 300 performances. Forte composes on commission and is active as a clinician and conductor of his music.
Music for Trombones was written for Larry Hoepfinger and the Tennessee Tech University trombone choir. The third movement; ³Rollicking Rondo² is in six parts and in the rondo form. The movement contains elements of jazz and the ³B² section is written in a swing style. Dissonant harmonies and meter changes are present throughout the piece.
Notes by Aldo Forte
In Memoriam by Raymond Premru (19341998)
Published by Ensemble Publications
Ray Premru was a very strong influence on the world of the trombone and a particularly important influence on my life and this recording in particular. Born in Elmira, NY, Ray attended the Eastman School of Music. When his teacher, Emory Remington, discouraged him from playing jazz on trombone because he said that it would ruin his slide technique, Ray bought a used bass trumpet and learned to play jazz on valves, sneaking about in the practice rooms to play with his classmate, bassist Ron Carter. To the best of my knowledge, Ray is still the only person to win the Eastman concerto competition by performing his own composition!
After graduation, he moved to England where he won positions in both the London Philharmonic on tenor trombone and the Philharmonia Orchestra on bass trombone, on the condition that he went out and bought a bass trombone. He decided that performing under then music director Herbert von Karajan in the Philharmonia Orchestra was a better opportunity and he stayed there for the next 30 years. While in London, he performed with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Bobby Lamb-Ray Premru Big Band, and others. In addition, he also found time to continue his composition, writing 2 symphonies, a concerto for orchestra, music for film and television, and numerous other works for large and small ensembles.
In 1988, Premru returned to the US to take a position as Professor of Trombone at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he remained until his death in 1998. It was during this time that I had the opportunity to work with Ray in the Oberlin Trombone Choir. His concept for the group was to double and triple parts as needed so that freshmen were standing next to seniors, learning by the example of our peers.
In Memoriam is included in this recording in memory of my teacher, Raymond Premru, who taught me, both by word and by example, that you can indeed do everything.
Notes by Joshua Hauser
Grooves for Trombone Quartet by Joshua Hauser (b. 1969)
Published by Cimarron Music Press
Joshua Hauser, Associate Professor of Trombone at Tennessee Technological University, holds degrees from Oberlin College Conservatory, New England Conservatory, and the University of Georgia. He is an active performer on both trombone and euphonium, and was a founding member of the Bulldog Brass Society.
Hauser recorded a CD with solo trombone and winds with the Tennessee Tech Symphony Band, Joseph Hermann, conductor, that is available through Mark Records. The Brass Arts Quintet¹s recent recording, ³Serengeti: Brass Arts Quintet and Friends,² includes his award winning composition, Road Rage and features Hauser on Tommy Dorsey¹s Trombonology, arranged for solo trombone with brass quintet.
He has several arrangements published through Music Express Publishing in the Encore Brass Series including his transcription for band of Richard Peaslee¹s Arrows of Time. Hauser is most recently published by Cimarron Press which began a new Tennessee Tech Trombone Choir Series of Music for Trombone Ensembles.
Grooves for Trombone Quartet is a three movement work based around driving (or in this case, grooving) bass lines. All movements have the groove established in the bass trombones and then that bass line is elaborated upon by the other three voices. The first movement, entitled ³Running With the Bulls², is in mixed meter and uses the sound of stacked fourths to achieve a medieval feeling. ³Waltz for a Lazy Afternoon² is a jazz waltz that features the bass trombones who both introduce and close the movement with a jazzy theme. The final movement, ³The Perfect Wave², draws influences from Tower of Power and surf rock to drive the piece to a thrilling conclusion. Grooves was premiered at Tennessee Tech¹s All Star Instrumental Symposium in the Fall of 2006 and was written for the All Star Trombone ensemble that performed with the Trombones at Tech on the closing concert of the event.
Notes by Alex Sears
Salvation is Created by Pavel Tschesnokoff (18771944) arr. DePaolo
Published by Ensemble Publications
Pavel Tschesnokoff was a Russian choral conductor, teacher, composer, and author with a catalogue of over 500 choral works to his credit. Tschesnokoff was born near Moscow on October 24, 1877. He began singing with his church choir at the early age of five. After graduating from the Moscow Synodal School in 1895, he studied composition with Sergei Taneyev. He then went on to study conducting with Sergey Vasilenko and composition with Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov at the Moscow Conservatory.
Tschesnokoff taught choral music at the Moscow Synodal School for 25 years before becoming a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. He was also a composer for the Russian Orthodox church. When communism took hold and greater controls over what composers were allowed to write were instituted, Tchesnokoff stopped composing sacred music completely out of fear for the safety of his family. Pavel Tchesnokoff died in Moscow on March 14, 1944.
Salvation is Created is one in a cycle of ten Communion Hymns, Op. 25, and is based on a cantus firmus chant taken from Obihod notnago peniya, the unison codex that contained the major elements of the Russian Orthodox liturgical repertoire. Salvation is Created is a piece Tschesnokoff never heard performed. Years after his death when communism fell and the Russian Orthodox church once again opened its doors, the church adopted Salvation is Created as its unofficial anthem. This arrangement for trombone ensemble is written for two four-part choirs. In this case a quartet serves as the top choir while the rest of the ensemble makes up the second choir. The trombone ensemble lends its rich blend and vocal qualities beautifully to this choral masterpiece. The original lyrics from the Russian Orthodox Church hymn are as follows:
Salvation is created, for all nations;
so now we praise thee, Lord God Almighty;
O Lord over all, Alleluia.
Notes by Craig Watson
Boneweek Fanfare No. 2 & No. 4 by Brad Edwards (b. 1963)
Brad Edwards is Associate Professor of Trombone at the University of South Carolina and currently holds the position of Second Trombone with the Augusta Symphony. Previously he taught at the University of Northern Iowa and played Principal Trombone in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony. He has served with the United States Air Force Concert Band in Washington D.C., where he was twice featured as a soloist. Other solo credits include public radio broadcasts, presentations of new music, guest recitals at colleges and regional workshops; and concertos with orchestras and wind ensembles. Dr. Edwards has performed with such ensembles as the Charleston Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the brass choir of the National Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the Kennedy Center Opera Orchestra and the Baltimore Opera Orchestra. Brad Edwards currently has published one composition, Blue Wolf (available from ITA Press ), and two books, Introductory Studies in Tenor and Alto Clef, "Before Blazhevich" and "Lip Slurs: Progressive Exercises for the Development of Tone and Technique," both published by Ensemble Publications.
With the BoneWeek Fanfares I wanted write pieces that would be satisfying to listen to and to play. Given that they celebrate International Trombone Week, I also wanted them to have some element uniquely connected to the trombone. For BoneWeek Fanfare No.2, I quoted a Bordogni vocalise well known to most trombonists.
Boneweek Fanfare 4 was also composed for the International Trombone Association. This fanfare is in honor of Sir Malcolm Arnold who was a renowned composer. Boneweek Fanfare No. 4 was written after his death in 2006 to honor his life and achievements. The piece itself is for two trombone choirs, and offers many short solos that are written in the style of Malcolm Arnold¹s solos.
All of the Boneweek Fanfares are available for free on Brad Edwards¹ website. http://www.bonezone.org/.
Notes by Brad Edwards
A Quiet Place by Ralph Carmichael (b. 1927) / arr. Gail Robertson
A Quiet Place is a beautiful contemporary hymn, originally composed by prolific composer and arranger Ralph Carmichael. Carmichael was a primary arranger for popular singer Nat King Cole from 1960 up until Cole¹s death in 1965. While with Cole, Carmichael¹s arrangements ranged in style anywhere from romantic ballads to county-and-westerns to Latin grooves to sacred Christmas music. He has also arranged for such notables as Al Martino, Stan Kenton, and Ella Fitzgerald, and served a few years as the Musical Director for the well-known TV series I Love Lucy. Carmichael is most noted for his contributions to contemporary Christian music, and is generally hailed as a pioneer in the field. He is the founder of Light Records, and his hymns have been recorded by artists including Elvis Presley and the gospel a cappella sextet Take 6.
Notes by Aaron Johnson
The Amazing Adventures of The Escapist by Greg Danner (b. 1958)
Published by Cimarron Music Press
Greg Danner is Professor of Theory and Composition at Tennessee Tech. He holds a BA in Music from Southeast Missouri State University, an MM in Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music, and a PhD in Composition from Washington University in St. Louis. His honors as a composer include the 2005 Composer¹s Guild International Competition for Catch the Wind for children¹s chorus and brass quintet, the 2000 Delius Composition Contest grand prize for Time, and the 1999 College Band Directors National Association Composition for Young Band prize for Walls of Zion.
³To all those who toil in the bonds of slavery and the shackles of oppression, he offers the hope of liberation and the promise of freedom! Armed with superb physical strength and mental training, a crack team of assistants, and ancient wisdom, he roams the globe, performing amazing feats and coming to the aid of those who languish in tyranny's chains! He is -- the Escapist!²
One of the greatest heroes to embolden the page of a comic book, the Escapist was launched in January of 1940, the brainchild of Joe Kavalier and Sammy Clay. While over the many decades since then the character has had less than stellar popularity (perhaps even forgotten by many), it was during the early years the Escapist caught the imagination of the public.
The Escapist radio program began broadcasting on NBC in April of 1941, but not without its share of startup difficulties. Production problems at first threatened the success of the venture. With the United States having just come through the Great Depression and with the escalating war in Europe and the Pacific, there was a severe shortage of musicians. Scouring the flop houses and soup kitchens, the composer found a group of itinerant trombonists who could find no meaningful employment and were not qualified for military service. Although the composer was tempted to throw up his hands in disgust and leave the project, the trombone ensemble gave the Escapist his own identifiable ³sound² and will always be associated with the character.
Collected here from the archived scores are three cues from the original radio program. The ³Main title: Extended Version² is a longer version of the title theme, with a middle section rarely heard on air. The ³smear² or glissando (technical term) effect became the characters musical motto. The ballad ³You Escaped My Heart² was often heard as background to the pathetic love scenes included in many episodes. The song was recorded by Rosemary Clooney but never released. While many thought it had the potential to be a big hit, her agent convinced her that it could ruin her career to be associated with a comic book character. The final selection is the chase scene from the culminating episode of the series (#122), ³The Escapist vs. The Mindbots.² In this episode, two of the Escapists arch rivals, the Saboteur and the Mechanist, have teamed up to create an army of evil robots controlled by the mind of the Saboteur. Only through the Escapists superior abilities are the Mindbots defeated after a breathtaking sequence of escaping their labyrinth and capturing the evildoers.
Notes by Greg Danner
Areté by Glenn Martin (b. 1946)
Published by Cimarron Music Press
Glenn Martin is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University. He currently teaches trombone, orchestration, and theory courses at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and maintains an active schedule as a composer, arranger, clinician, and jazz trombonist. His compositions and/or arrangements have been performed by the United States Marine Band, The Modern Jazz Tuba Project, The Tennessee All Mid-State Jazz Band, and by school and college groups throughout the U.S. He has had pieces published by CPP/Belwin-Warner Brothers, R.B.C. Music, The T.U.B.A. Press, and Jazz Anyone Publications.
Areté was premiered by the TTU Trombone Ensemble at the 2007 Eastern Trombone Workshop in Washington D.C. When I was asked to do this piece for the TTU Trombone Ensemble, the changes were some I had been working with for a good while. As in most jazz pieces, the form is theme and variations. The challenge on Areté was to write a composition for a large jazz trombone group with no rhythm section. Areté is a classical Greek word meaning, "always striving to do your best in all areas of your life.²
Notes by Glenn Martin
Personnel
Trombones at Tech
Dr. Joshua Hauser, Director
Tenor Trombones
Ryan Carpenter, Mt. Carmel, TN
Peter Colin, Munford, TN
William Elliott, Smyrna, TN
*Adam Featherston, Knoxville, TN
Steven Gregory, Murfreesboro, TN
Aaron Johnson, Tullahoma, TN
Fred Nelson, Murfreesboro, TN
Daniel Roubik, Smyrna, TN
Robert Thatch, Rock Island, TN
Bass Trombones
Ryan Hoffman, Oneida, TN
Stephen Pulk, Smyrna, TN
Alex Sears, Murfreesboro, TN
Craig Watson, Smithville, TN
* Graduate Conducting Assistant & Alto Trombone on Tschesnokoff
The Tennessee Tech Trombone Choir was established by Larry Hoepfinger in 1967 and was directed by him for nearly thirty years. Under the direction of Hoepfinger, the ensemble performed numerous concerts and was featured on two concerts broadcast by PBS stations across the country. Kevin Chiarizzio assumed the leadership of the ensemble in the Fall of 1996. In Fall 2000, Joshua Hauser joined the faculty at Tennessee Tech and became the current director of the ensemble, newly rechristened Trombones at Tech.
Trombones at Tech perform several concerts each year both on campus and at high schools and conferences throughout the region. Recent performances include premieres of several new arrangements and compositions for trombone ensemble by Dr. Hauser and student members of the group. The ensemble¹s performance at the opening ceremonies of the 2006 TNMEA conference received rave reviews and contributed to their ongoing mission to encourage knowledge and appreciation of the trombone through the performance of works for multiple trombones. In recent years, they have hosted an annual all-star high school trombone ensemble each fall as well as guest performances on campus by James Box, Brad Edwards, Tom Ervin, and Bill Huber and Slide Company (Chris Dunn, Barry Green, Josh Hauser, and Bill Huber, trombones).
Credits/Acknowledgements/Thanks
Recorded on March 4-6, 2007 on location in Wattenbarger Auditorium at Tennessee Technological University.
Recorded by: Andrew Coggin and Adam Richey
Executive Producers: Joshua Hauser and James Lotz
Producers: Trombones at Tech
Tonemeisters: R. Winston Morris and Greg Danner
Digitally Edited by: Andrew Coggin, William Elliott, and Adam Richey
Edits by: Trombones at Tech
Mastered by: Mark Custom Recording
Graphics by: MarkArt
Cover Design by: Joshua & Kristin Hauser
Program Note Coordination: Adam Featherston
Mechanical Licensing Coordination: Peter Colin, jr. and Alex Sears
This project was made possible through a Tennessee Tech Quality Enhancement Plan grant.
Trombones at Tech would like to thank the following persons and organizations for their support of the Tennessee Tech Trombone Studio and Choir:
The TTU Department of Music and Art, Arthur LaBar, Chair
Jim Lotz for everything involved in the collaboration which will result in our new CD next fall!
R. Winston Morris, TTU Professor of Tuba and Euphonium, for inspiration and ears
Greg Danner, TTU Professor of Theory and Composition, for a great piece and for sharing his Spring Break to serve as Tonemeister
The composers and arrangers who donated their music and talents to this tour and CD project: Greg Danner, Aldo Forte, Glenn Martin, and Gail Robertson
Mark and Jennie Morette for recording and copyright advice
Dan Rudin and Ted Wilson for recording advice and demos
Andrew Coggin and Adam Richey, recording engineers, for taking part of their Spring Break to work on this project
Adam Featherston for jumping in and running rehearsals when Dr. Hauser had to be at Faculty Senate meetings
John Grodrian for subbing for Adam on the tour portion of the project and for driving the equipment van
Kristin Hauser for the M&Ms and cheesecake
³Big O² Donuts, the official donut of Trombones at Tech
Bryan Doughty and Cimarron Music Press for their support of the new Trombones at
Tech series of Music for Trombone Ensembles
The TTU Quality Enhancement Plan, Dr. Ada Haynes, Director
TTU Office of Student Affairs and the Chapter 606/Student Monies Allocation Committee
Dr. Darrell Garber, Dean, College of Education
Dr. Marvin Barker, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
For further information on Trombones at Tech or the TTU Department of Music and Art, please visit us on the web at: http://iweb.tntech.edu/jhauser or http://www.tntech.edu/music
From Left:
Back Row: Aaron Johnson, Ryan Hoffman, Stephen Pulk, Fred Nelson, Ryan Carpenter, Peter Colin, jr, Adam Featherston
Front Row: Joshua Hauser, Alex Sears, Andrew Staheli, Robert Thatch, John Grodrian, William Elliott, Steven Gregory
Not Pictured: Dan Roubik