Bass Trombone Solo

This will be a great challenge for any college or professional Bass Trombone player and the audience will love it. Take on the challenge! Learn More

These colorful unaccompanied musical scenes from the city are excellent study and recital pieces.The 7 short movements depict the composer's experiences during a visit to New York City. The movements are Another Sunrise, Off to a Busy Day, The Lost Key Episode, The Waitin' in Line Blues, Romantic Interlude, Sudden Storm, and Out on the Town. "Tonal, charming and imaginative! The low purchase price and the incisive approach of a skilled composer make this a piece worth seeking out.”- PMEA News Learn More

Written for Stefan Sanders, then bass trombonist with the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the 30th Anniversary of the International Trombone Association. In 3 movements, this colorful work was composed immediately following the important world events of September 11, 2001. It was premiered by Mr. Sanders and members of the University of North Texas Percussion Ensemble at the 2002 International Trombone Festival in Denton, Texas. It is in 3 movements: In Remembrance 9/11/01, Repercussions, and Renewal. Percussion Distribution - Percussion 1: Xylophone, tubular bells (chimes), suspended cymbal, snare drum, police whistle, and Chinese bell tree; Percussion 2: Vibraphone, 2 suspended cymbals, 4 tom toms, bongos, and wood block; Percussion 3: Marimba, tam-tam, lion roar, ratchet, slapstick, wind chimes, and suspended cymbal; Percussion 4: Marimba (to low A), timpani (4), tambourine, 2 cowbells, and suspended cymbal. "Buss’ melodies vary. They are mystic, poignant, heroic, often modal, and at times reminiscent of folk songs. He writes for the percussion ensemble with mastery and features a wide range of instruments. The sound landscape is rich with many moods and timbres. American Phoenix is an attractive addition to a solo program or as a feature piece for a percussion recital. It is rewarding for both performer and audience.” - The ITA Journal, January 2005 Learn More

with Piano

The Bone of Lucifer was written in November 2010 for the wonderful bass trombonist Nuno Martins to play with Mr. SC and the Wildbones Gang. I tried to write a piece that leaves the bass trombonist room to play both with full power and adroit phrasing. Although it traverses a variety of sections, feels, and characters, the piece is essentially a passacaglia over an ostinato of nine pitches that I found to be particularly demonic.

– Jon Hansen

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This concerto, commissioned by music teacher William T. Robinson, was originally scored for Bass Trombone and String Orchestra. This Piano reduction was done by the composer and is a three-movement work approximately nine minutes long, each movement leading directly to the next.

The first movement opens with a slow introduction based on quartal harmony. The main portion of the movement is an allegro that explores changing meters. The second movement is slow, with a mournful character. The modal harmony is centered around D minor. The third movement is in an Afro-Caribbean style. The second and third movements include cadenzas for the soloist.

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with Trombone Quintet

From the arranger:

In early 20th-century Russian choral music, few figures loom as large as Pavel Chesnokov (1877-1944). Trained at both the Moscow Conservatory (where he later taught choral conducting) and the Moscow Synodal School before their merger, his compositions number around five hundred. Do Not Reject Me in My Old Age (Opus 40, No. 5) is somewhat unusual among this output. Rather than being a traditional SATB choral work, it is a sacred concerto for oktavist (a term for a male voice with an extreme low range, sometimes used interchangeably with the term basso profundo) and chorus. It is based on a passage from Psalm 71, in which the psalmist begs God not to abandon him in his old age. While some of the text is rather bleak, the passage Chesnokov uses ends with “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.”

This arrangement preserves Chesnokov’s original key. The solo bass trombone part follows the original vocal solo line, showing the range Chesnokov expected of his singer. Breath marks in the score and parts are designed to line up with the original text in most cases. Tempo makings may be adjusted by the performers to suit needs of breathing while playing brass instruments. Throughout, the piece benefits most from a dark, singing sound from the sensemble.

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with Wind Band

Bass Trombone player Rose DoyleMason and I discussed creating a solo piece for Bass Trombone with wind band accompaniment several years before the piece came to light in 2023.  Her vision was to use Irish folks songs, which reflected her heritage, to create a fun but challenging composition to show off the virtuosity of the bass trombone.  She provided more than a dozen songs to consider, and taught me a great deal about modern Irish folk songs in the process.  From her suggestions, and other research, I chose two songs to form the basis of the composition.  The song “Star of County Down” has been recorded by a number of Irish groups, with a lot more variation between the recordings than I would have imagined.  The lyrics describe the romantic pursuit of a particularly attractive Irish girl, who is described as the “star” of County Down, located in Northern Ireland.  My son, Stephen, shared with me a recording by a band called “The High Kings”, from their album Memory Lane, that shifted effortlessly between 6/8 and cut time, punctuated by 3 repeated chords at each transition.  This recording fired my imagination and the composition process began!  You can hear these transition chords in “Gaelic Rhapsody”, as we move across the time signatures.  Rose suggested a beautiful Irish ballad called “A Chomaraigh Aoibhinn O” for inclusion in the lyrical section of the piece.  The title, and the words are in Gaelic, written by a priest to describe the Comeragh Mountains in County Waterford in Ireland.  There is a beautiful rendition by folk singer Karan Casey available on YouTube.  I am thrilled that Dr. Paul Bauer will serve as the soloist for the premiere of this piece, scheduled for April 2024.  Dr. Bauer was the chairman of the music department at NIU when I was hired in 2005, and I have been grateful for his leadership and friendship ever since.  Likewise, I am grateful to my wonderful students at NIU, and specifically the members of the Wind Ensemble, whose talent and skill will bring the premiere to life.  

Thanks also to the sponsors listed below, who believed in this project enough to support it financially.  

 

Thomas Bough

February, 2024 

Sponsors: 

Rose Doylemason  

Chris Allen, Mankato Symphony 

Tim Foley 

Dr. Steve Wilson, UTEP 

Daniel James Cosio

Dr. Paul Bauer

Jeff Dee 

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Originally for bass trombone (or tuba) and piano, was composed for Charles Vernon, bass trombonist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the 30th Anniversary of the International Trombone Festival. This significant addition to the repertoire is written in an accessible modern style. The musical language is sophisticated, yet appealing to general audiences. Illuminations is cast in 2 contrasting movements: The first, Reverie, is contemplative and lyrical. Beautiful, expansive melodic lines are woven into a gentle, almost mystical, musical fabric. The second movement, Urban Lights, is an energetic rondo that is strongly influenced by jazz, and in one section, funk music. “Thoughtful, tuneful, and rewarding to perform.” – ITA Journal Learn More

Bass Trombone or Tuba solo with Trombone trio “Images” was written for Tomer Maschkowski as a bass trombone solo to be played with a trombone trio. The concept of the piece is to recreate the way our minds might work, when moving through a series of images. Rarely do our minds focus on a “still” photo. They continually move from one “image” to another as they appear through our thinking. Change is a constant. When walking through an art exhibition, the images vary as they are experienced. As we experience life, nothing is static. Consider a similar process, as “Images” moves through your thoughts.

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unaccompanied; For Jonathan Warburton Learn More

In 2018, Spanish bass and contrabass trombonist Javier Colomer will record a new album that includes works for trombone and organ as well as for unaccompanied bass and contrabass trombones. The music on this disc spans four centuries, from Palestrina and Gabrielli through Handel, Schubert, and Faure, among others. The newest piece on the album – a work for unaccompanied contrabass trombone by American composer Frank Gulino – had not been completed at the time

Javier Colomer is an internationally renowned bass and contrabass trombone soloist and teacher who has given recitals and master classes across the globe for more than 25 years. During that time, Javier has performed with orchestras and wind bands both as an ensemble musician and concerto soloist, and presented masterclasses to over a thousand students from some of the world's leading conservatories and universities. He is a past member of the ITA Board of Advisors and also authored “The World of The Contrabass Trombone,” the first comprehensive method book for that instrument. Javier's advocacy of the contrabass trombone as a solo instrument is a natural extension of his experience as a performer and pedagogue, and he continues to regularly commission and premiere new works for the bass and contrabass trombones. Please visit www.javicolomer.com to learn more.

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Bass Trombone solo with Trombone Quintet

For many centuries, large stone figures have brought up more questions than answers about life of the ancient times that they were created. Monolith for Bass Trombone explores and in some cases fantasizes one of those theories. In the piece, the Bass Trombone represents the large mysterious figure and gives up insight to what it has seen over its many centuries of standing watch over the area. The piece is written as a six-part Arch-Rondo Form.

At the beginning of the piece the accompaniment creates a dark mysterious mood depicting a foggy jungle evening. The soloist enters with short melodies that weave in and out of the ominous texture created by the trombone quintet. It is as if you can see the large figure peeking through the breaks in the forest’s canopy above you. As this develops the melody starts to come through the texture as more and more of the Monolith reveals itself. When the Monolith is found its discoverers immediately look it upon as deity of some sort. The second section erupts with an energetic dance depicting a wild bacchanalian worship festival. The worship of this false idol has gotten out of hand. As the debauchery continues the soloist declares it’s frustration of being idolized and is unable to change the fate that has befallen him. At this point hard times have fallen upon the worshippers. The Monolith is witnessing the worshippers pray and beg their idol for salvation. The slow third section is an empathetic mourning for the worshippers as they start to die off from hunger and disease. As conditions worsen the worshippers start to doubt the power of their idol and start a riot. This fourth section is the same energetic dance as the bacchanalia, but it has darker overtones as the Monolith watches helplessly as the people riot and the conflict essentially rips their community apart. The fifth section leaves the Monolith in the middle of sea of carnage. The soloist weaves in and out of the 54 ostinato created by the trombone accompaniment as a lamentation of the people who once stood on the now burnt and bloody earth before him. Nightfall comes and just as it began the piece ends with the opening texture as the Monolith is standing watch, bathed by moonlight, as it has done for centuries only to be discovered and start the cycle all over again.

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unaccompanied: Outings was written for the British bass trombonist Jonathan Warburton, who premiered the work on March 1, 2013 at St. Martin's in the Bullring in Birmingham, England. This accessible work is in two short, contrasting movements: Stroll, and Jaunt. Will works on tuba as well. Learn More

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CONCERTO

“War Games”

I. Toy Soldiers

II. Courtship

III. Marriage

IV. Capture the Flag

I commissioned this concerto in honor of Maestro Charles Schneider, the founding music director of Glimmerglass Opera and recently retired conductor of four symphony orchestras in upstate New York: Schenectady, Catskill (Oneonta), Utica, and Clinton. Maestro Schneider gave me my first job when I moved to the area. In addition to the symphonies and opera, I enjoyed playing under Chuck’s direction for a wide variety of one-nighters with famous musicians, Broadway shows at the Orpheus Theater, and with two ballet companies. His impact on the musical life of Central New York over the past five decades is incalculable. He is currently putting the finishing touches on his own opera, Skaters.

Barbara York likes to find inspiration for her compositions in the life of the person who places the commission, thus the subtitle War Games, taken from my avid interest in tabletop board games.

Toy Soldiers paints a vivid picture of plastic men come to life, patrolling the house after dark, then returning to their game box as the skies begin to brighten.

Courtship and Marriage speak to the sometimes not so subtle “battle of the sexes” we often experience in our relationships.

When I first heard the synthesized sound file for Courtship, I was delighted by its 19th-century parlor music flavor. Ms. York later explained that she wanted to capture the courtship scenes in my Civil War novel, The Unfinished Work. She succeeded beautifully! The movement opens with Jake’s heartfelt emotions as he awaits the arrival of his beloved. When she arrives, a minor dispute breaks out: “I thought you said….” Jake splutters his defense but is cut off with her, “Did too!” Emotion released, his beloved turns to gentle flirtations; but after a brief interlude, her temper briefly flares once again. Jake calms her by pouring out his heart in music.

The mixed meters and minor key in Marriage keep the listener off balance and create a wonderful sense of intrigue: standard strategies from The Wife’s Game Plan?

Capture the Flag percolates with the energy and adrenaline rush of seeking to capture before being captured.

The piano edition was premiered by Frank Meredith and Charles Powers on May 31, 2019 at Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Schenectady, NY.

The band edition was premiered by Frank Meredith and the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble; Andrew Pease, conductor; November 17, 2019 in Oneonta, NY.

Frank Meredith

 

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with 8 part Trombone ensemble Learn More

unaccompanied: 1. Cryin Learn More

unaccompanied:

1. “Second Line” Spiritual Medley

Just a Closer Walk; Blessed Quietness; On the Battlefield for My Lord

2. Men’s Day Medley

Father, I  Stretch My Hands to Thee; This is My Father's World;

Rise Up, O Men of God

3. Freedom Medley

Go Down Moses; Praise the Lord, Hallelujah I’m Here;

I’m So Glad; Glory, Glory, Hallelujah

4. Easter Medley

Christ the Lord is Risen Today; Crown Him with Many Crowns; I'll Fly Away

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unaccompanied

Stuff is the first of four recital pieces commissioned by and dedicated to 78 adventure-seeking tubists representing 30 states and three countries, who fearlessly joined the 2001 Solstice/Equinox Commissioning Consortium. As each solstice and equinox approached during the year 2001, a new piece was sent out to the participants. All four pieces (Stuff, High Autumn, Just a Thought and Endorphins) now exist in multiple versions for orchestral and band instruments and are programmed frequently at conferences and on student and faculty recitals throughout the year.

 

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