TrumpetMaster - View Single Post - Great Concert in Arizona Tonight (Feb. 5)!

Derek Reaban · 02-06-2007, 11:20 AM

I made it over to Gammage last night to hear the concert. I was very pleased to see how many people were in attendance!

The orchestra began with Alleluias for Orchestra by Stephen Yarbrough, a piece I was not familiar with, but I really enjoyed it! The orchestra sounded great.

I read the program notes before the start of the concert, and Chick’a’Bone Checkout by Christian Lindberg (Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra) is a tribute to the city of Chicago. It is organized in seven movements with no pause between movements and features alto, tenor and bass trombone:

1. Vivid City (Stormy, husky, brawling, city of big shoulders)
2. Fort Dearborn (One of the smallest battles in history: 60 Indians dead within 90 minutes)
3. The Chicago Butcher (You better make sure it reaches Bennigans at Michigan Avenue…fresh and tender!)
4. The Frogs at Hawthorn Woods (The moon is full, the brain is silent…but the bullfrogs make me surrender!!)
5. Prohibition (Exultation from Scarface, one of the most infamous bootleggers of them all)
6. Morning with Orange Juice (A moment of simple joy and happiness)
7. Wind and Mortar (Dig and dream, dream and hammer until your city is finished)

It opens with Charlie on Alto Trombone with a flurry of multiple tonguing on a single note. The technical demands of this piece were amazing. The fact that Charlie was covering 4-5 octaves (maybe more) was astonishing. The virtuosity that he displayed was amazing (he made everything look so easy). And his first note on bass trombone (after all of the work on alto) was simply pristine (a pianissimo entrance in the cellar!).

For me, the highlight of this piece was every time that Charlie played in the melodic choral sections. I was simply captivated with his sound. It didn’t matter which horn was in his hands, his impeccable sound floated out to the audience so easily. Each horn had its unique characteristics, but Charlie’s characteristic sound remained the same (literally glasslike) in the melodic sections. I could listen to his sound all day! Wow.

He could let it fly too, and hearing a fortissimo bass trombone at the front of the orchestra in my seat (6 rows back in the center) was quite an experience!

He received a standing ovation and acknowledged the trombone section (what nice parts in the orchestra!). We brought him back out 2 more times which gave him the opportunity to pick up each of his horns! Everyone got a kick out of that.

All in all, this piece certainly lived up to the high praise that I had read about. Bravo Charlie! Thanks for coming to Arizona to share this music with us!

02-06-2007, 11:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
Derek Reaban Mezzo Piano User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Tempe, Arizona Posts: 616	Re: Great Concert in Arizona Tonight (Feb. 5)! I made it over to Gammage last night to hear the concert. I was very pleased to see how many people were in attendance! The orchestra began with Alleluias for Orchestra by Stephen Yarbrough, a piece I was not familiar with, but I really enjoyed it! The orchestra sounded great. I read the program notes before the start of the concert, and Chick’a’Bone Checkout by Christian Lindberg (Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra) is a tribute to the city of Chicago. It is organized in seven movements with no pause between movements and features alto, tenor and bass trombone: 1. Vivid City (Stormy, husky, brawling, city of big shoulders) 2. Fort Dearborn (One of the smallest battles in history: 60 Indians dead within 90 minutes) 3. The Chicago Butcher (You better make sure it reaches Bennigans at Michigan Avenue…fresh and tender!) 4. The Frogs at Hawthorn Woods (The moon is full, the brain is silent…but the bullfrogs make me surrender!!) 5. Prohibition (Exultation from Scarface, one of the most infamous bootleggers of them all) 6. Morning with Orange Juice (A moment of simple joy and happiness) 7. Wind and Mortar (Dig and dream, dream and hammer until your city is finished) It opens with Charlie on Alto Trombone with a flurry of multiple tonguing on a single note. The technical demands of this piece were amazing. The fact that Charlie was covering 4-5 octaves (maybe more) was astonishing. The virtuosity that he displayed was amazing (he made everything look so easy). And his first note on bass trombone (after all of the work on alto) was simply pristine (a pianissimo entrance in the cellar!). For me, the highlight of this piece was every time that Charlie played in the melodic choral sections. I was simply captivated with his sound. It didn’t matter which horn was in his hands, his impeccable sound floated out to the audience so easily. Each horn had its unique characteristics, but Charlie’s characteristic sound remained the same (literally glasslike) in the melodic sections. I could listen to his sound all day! Wow. He could let it fly too, and hearing a fortissimo bass trombone at the front of the orchestra in my seat (6 rows back in the center) was quite an experience! He received a standing ovation and acknowledged the trombone section (what nice parts in the orchestra!). We brought him back out 2 more times which gave him the opportunity to pick up each of his horns! Everyone got a kick out of that. All in all, this piece certainly lived up to the high praise that I had read about. Bravo Charlie! Thanks for coming to Arizona to share this music with us! __________________ Derek Reaban Tempe, Arizona