.avif)
The trombone is an instrument that powers the entire orchestra. It booms through Beethoven symphonies, conjures Wagnerian storms, and floods the concert hall with the sounds of Tchaikovsky.
Yet for all its might, you rarely hear about its abilities as a solo instrument. That’s something TSO Principal Trombone David Robins wants to change.
‘There’s a misconception that there isn't a lot of solo repertoire available, which is nonsense,’ David says.
He cites Classical-period concerti that composers such as Wagenseil, Albrechtsberger, and Leopold Mozart wrote for alto trombone.
Later in the 1800s, David adds, tenor trombone became more popular.
Today, he estimates there are hundreds of concerti for the trombone – and demand for this solo instrument is growing.
‘The past 50 years have seen the trombone really gain ground as a solo instrument within the orchestra, and the list of works, soloists, and composers is truly immense,’ he notes.
‘There have even been composers from the film industry collaborating with soloists – names such as Nino Rota (The Godfather Trilogy) and Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). We may not be able to do double stops like on a stringed instrument, but I challenge anyone to go and listen to the third movement of Derek Bourgeois’ Trombone Concerto and tell me we can’t be virtuosic!’
‘What’s is this thing?’
To many children, the trombone is ‘that shiny instrument making all those funny sliding noises’. For orchestra-lovers though, the trombone is a sensational and complex instrument belonging to the brass section.
The player’s lips send air vibrating through the mouthpiece and into the tubes. With no keys, the sliding mechanism alters the pitch to induce glimmering melodies out of the bell.
David was still a kid in Queensland when he tried out the trombone, and his first thought upon seeing it was: ‘What is this thing?!’.
He was in Year 5 – the age at which many students in Australia learn an instrument through state school music programs.
‘One lunchtime, my classroom teacher – who was obviously tasked with divvying up the instruments to her students – found me in the playground and announced rather definitively: “David, I think you should learn the trombone!”. I distinctly remember my response: “Okay. What’s a trombone?”,’ David says.
‘Next thing I knew, I was on my way home in the back seat of the family car, with this strange-shaped case on my lap. There was a feeling of sheer excitement that I think only a child can experience when being trusted with something new and apparently important. If only someone had warned me how much practice I was going to have to do!’
And so it began. David’s dedicated practice throughout his studies at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester quickly paid off.
During his time in the UK in the mid-2000s, David performed with the BBC’s symphony and philharmonic orchestras among a string of others .Then he returned to Australia in 2008 to freelance with many of the nation’s major state orchestras.
David’s role as trombonist with the TSO commenced in 2013and he is now Principal.
Outside the orchestra, he tutors young players on their own journey through the University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music and Island Brass Academy.
Interview by Stephanie Eslake.
