Brett Baker Visits for JMU Tromblow'in

The JMU Brass Band welcomes British trombone sensation Brett Baker on Saturday, January 12, 2019. Baker will be the featured guest artist for Tromblow’in 2019, the 11th annual all-day trombone event hosted by JMU. He will headline the Grand Concert to close out the event, performing a few works from his most recent CD, Contrasts, with the JMU Brass Band.
Gordon Langford’s Rhapsody for Trombone was one of the first commissioned works for trombone and brass band, and has been a staple in the repertoire since its premiere in 1975. Baker will also perform two works premiered on his album: Trombango by Stephen Roberts and Jan Van der Roost’s Contrasts. Both pieces explore new harmonic moods in the brass band and create new demands for the trombone soloist.
Baker is one of Europe’s leading brass soloists, recording over twenty CD’s of repertoire for trombone and brass band. As an advocate for new music, he has a hand in more than one-hundred commissioned works for trombone. Baker currently holds the position of Principal Trombone with the Black Dyke Band, one of the world’s most highly regarded brass bands. In addition to his prolific performance career, Baker serves as Programme Leader for Musical Arts at the University of Salford. He is also an active freelance clinician and conductor throughout Europe. Baker is a true advocate for the trombone, and has held positions with the British Trombone Society and the International Trombone Association.
This marks Brett Baker’s third trip to James Madison University. He previously joined the JMU Brass Band in 2011, in a performance of Johan de Meij’s T-Bone Concerto. Baker was featured with the Brass Band again in 2014, this time at the then Eastern Trombone Workshop (now American Trombone Workshop). Dance Sequence, by Welsh composer Gareth Wood, highlighted a long list of shorter solos for trombone and brass band. The JMU Brass Band is excited to once again make music with Brett Baker. 
​ - Kyle Remnant

---