Collaborations continues my exploration of the ever expanding expressive possibilities of the trombone. This album follows two previous releases: A New Day Dawning (MSR CD 1182, 2008) and The Conditions of a Solitary Bird (CD BABY, 2014). The former championed works for trombone and piano and the latter featured unaccompanied works for the solo trombone. This chamber music project, Collaborations, highlights the musicianship of several colleagues with whom I have become associated through my work at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. I am truly honored to have so many fine musicians with whom to grow as an artist and collaborate in the teaching of our students. I am thankful for their dedication and willingness to take part in this project. This recording has been made possible by the generous support of the Eastern Illinois University Council on Faculty Research Summer Research/Creative Activity Award. - Jemmie Robertson, January 14th, 2017, Charleston, IL Program Notes: Pulcinella is a 1920 ballet by Igor Stravinsky [1882-1971]. The music derives from a collection of sketches discovered by the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev [1872-1929], which were believed at the time to have originated from the Italian composer Giovanni Pergolesi [1710-1736]. More recent scholarship attributes these sketches to other composers, including Domenico Gallo, Unico Wilhelm van Wassenaer, Carlo Ignazio Monza, and Alessandro Parisotti. Stravinsky’s contributions to Pulcinella include a masterful re-orchestration of the sketches, a re-ordering of the scenes to encourage a dramatic progression, and the composition of several transition scenes. Pulcinella is regarded as Stravinsky’s gateway piece to Neoclassicism, a style in which Stravinsky embraces the ideals of the Classical era while in many ways divorcing his compositional language from the Primitivism that permeates through pieces such as Le Sacre du Printemps [1913]. This sudden stylistic shift to the ancient ideals of tonic dominance, regular phrase structure, and desire for charming melody nonetheless retains Stravinsky’s trademark wit and obsession with rhythmic invention. In the ballet, Pulcinella, a traditional hero of Neapolitan commedia dell’arte, has captured the hearts of all the local girls. Their enraged suitors plot to kill him, but he outwits them. He substitutes a double, who feigns death and is then “revived” by a disguised Pulcinella. Pulcinella then arranges marriages for everyone. The three movements contained in this transcription occur at the finale, as Pulcinella weds his fiancée, Pimpanella, and the ballet ends with all parties happy. Mark Rheaume is an active composer, trombonist, and writer. He currently serves as the Adjunct Low Brass Instructor for Illinois College and the Music Theory Instructor for Blessed Sacrament School in Springfield, IL. He holds a Master of Arts in Music Composition [2015] and a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance [2012] from Eastern Illinois University. Mark's primary teachers have included Brad Decker, Jemmie Robertson, Allan Horney, and Peter Hesterman. – Note and Bio from Mark Rheaume Symposium is a work for piano and eight soloists. Each speech in Plato's writing serves as scaffolding for its respective solo, in some cases providing form, intervallic content, or even a particular instrumentation. This particular version consists of the sixth movement, Socrates, as a stand-alone piece updated and edited for trombone and piano in April 2016. Symposium was premiered in its entirety on February 25, 2015 by faculty and students at Eastern Illinois University. The recital also featured Dr. Gary Aylesworth, a Professor from the EIU Philosophy Department, who introduced Plato’s literary work in a brief lecture prior to the performance. The piece is dedicated to him, partly in thanks for introducing Plato’s work to the composer. – Note and Bio from Mark Rheaume Pair Up, composed by West Australian composer Myles Wright, was created for a friend of the composer, trombonist Steve Jenkins. Jenkins was performing famous works re-arranged for trombone and percussion and thought it would be apt to include an original work - composed specially for trombone and percussion, in this case, trombone and marimba. "I enjoy the challenge of making two instruments that don't normally play together gel as much as possible." Wright says. For much of Pair Up, the marimba accompanies the trombone but there are moments when these roles are reversed. The instruments engage in a two-way dialogue, often exchanging rhythms and melodies in different registers. The mood varies throughout, ranging from jazz influenced syncopation and harmonies to more quiet, reflective moments. Born in Perth, Western Australia in 1978, Myles Wright studied jazz composition and arranging at WAAPA under Graeme Lyall, where he explored his love of jazz and big band music. Graduating in 1999 he went on to complete a Masters degree in Studio Jazz Writing, studying with Gary Lindsay at the University of Miami. After spending time as a writing participant at the Henry Mancini Institute, in Los Angeles in 2002, he taught composition and arranging for 3 years at the International College of Music in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia followed by music classes at the University of Notre Dame (Fremantle) where he currently teaches Music Appreciation and Music in Theatre. Recently Myles was in New York City recording music for his new project, 'The Manhattan EP'. – Note and Bio from Myles Wright Dido's Lament is a work for alto trombone and piano taken from Henry Purcell's opera, Dido and Aeneas. This transcription includes the recitative "Thy Hand, Belinda" as well as aria, "When I am Laid in Earth." LYRICS "THY HAND BELINDA" Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me On thy bosom let me rest, More I would, but Death invades me Death is now a welcome guest. "WHEN I AM LAID IN EARTH" When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in, in thy breast Remember me, remember me, but ah Forget my fate Discourse was composed by Edward Troupin in 1962 for trumpet and trombone and later transcribed for flute and trombone by Howard J. Buss. This entertaining duo is cast in five short and entertaining movements: Assertion, Reflection, Eulogy, Fantasy and Comedy. The colorful and contrasting sections combine in charming balance to make a memorable concert feature. Edward Troupin (1925-2004) enjoyed an international reputation as a composer of instrumental music. Throughout his long and illustrious career as a professor of music at Ithaca College and later the University of Florida, he inspired numerous young composers. Mr. Troupin received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University with a major in mathematics. Later he earned his master of music degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Ross Lee Finney. Discourse is published by Brixton Publications. Three Dances (1998) for clarinet and trombone by Thomas Zugger is a charming and picturesque composition in which the composer envisions two people dancing with one another. The “lead” in each dance is shared in alternation between the two instrumentalists. The first movement, Jazz Waltz, is in ABA form with the middle section being a 4/4 waltz. The melody is introduced by the trombone and is passed back and forth throughout. In the enchanting second movement, Slow Dance, the musical material undergoes continuous development with the equality of the parts being paramount. The energetic final movement, Irish Jig, opens with an intriguing mixed meter section, which leads into the rousing jig. It concludes with a frenzied accelerando and fugue. Three Dances was premiered in 1997 with the composer on trombone and Kathleen Gardiner on clarinet. Three Dances is published by Brixton Publications. Thomas Zugger (b. 1964) received a B.M.E. in 1988 from the University of Michigan and a M.M. in trombone performance from Michigan State University in 1993. He has taught at Adrian College, in the Walled Lake Michigan School District, and at Ohio State University. He is currently Professor of Trombone at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. A B.M.I. composer, Mr. Zugger’s compositions have been performed at international music festivals. –Notes and Bios for Discourse and Three Dances from the Brixton Publications Editions. Mountain Sketches, performed here on alto trombone and piano, was written for hornist Katherine Carothers McBain in February 2014. She premiered the work with the composer on March 31, 2014, in Charleston, Illinois. Composed during a residency at the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, the piece was inspired by Wyoming’s incredible landscapes. The four-movement work blends elements of classical music and jazz. The first movement, primarily a waltz, features soaring melodies and modern jazz harmonies. The rhythmic second movement includes a Baroque-inspired invention shared between the instruments. The third movement is a nocturne that features a simple melody with complementary harmonies in the piano. A catchy theme and interplaying rhythmic accompaniment characterize the final movement of the piece. Altogether, the work is intended to be fun for both performers and audiences. Paul Johnston (b. 1975) is active as a composer, pianist, and teacher. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Indiana University. Soloists, chamber groups, and jazz ensembles from across the country have performed his work, and Alfred Music has published several collections of his solo jazz piano arrangements. He is at home in a wide variety of musical styles and has performed with leading artists across the country. Since 2004, he has served on the faculty at Eastern Illinois University, where he directs a jazz band, coaches combos, and teaches jazz piano, improvisation, and arranging. Paul has also served on the summer faculty of the Interlochen Center for the Arts for over a decade, and he is an alumnus of Ravinia's Steans Music Institute and the Henry Mancini Institute. – Note and Bio from the composer. a3 – “The challenges of writing for a small chamber brass group such as this are considerable. The most obvious problem is working within the limited harmonic resources. Player endurance is another concern. Achieving textural and tonal variety is a third challenge. a3 (a tre = “for three”) represents this composer’s attempt to not only solve these problems, but to enlarge the regrettably small repertoire for brass trio. Movement 1 is characterized by the use of ostinato figures against which gentle declamatory motives are superimposed. The tender, lyrical theme stated in the trumpet at the beginning of the second movement is exchanged with the trombone at the end of the movement. Movement three is a boisterous allegro in which the first theme is plainly stated and subsequently treated contrapuntally.” – Note from the published Booneslick Press edition John E. Cheetham, Professor Emeritus of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Missouri-Columbia, was born in Taos, New Mexico in 1939. He received his Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of New Mexico in 1962 and 1965, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Washington in 1969. During his tenure at Missouri from 1969 to 2000, he wrote compositions for virtually all media and his works have been widely performed in the United States and abroad. Much of his music has been published commercially and, since 2001, through his own publishing firm, BoonesLick Press. Recordings of many of his works are available on Crystal, Concord, Mark, Pro-Arte, Summit and NPR Classic labels. Dr. Cheetham is a member of ASCAP and has received ASCAP Special Awards yearly since 1988. In 1992 he won the Abraham Frost Prize in Composition and has also been the recipient of a Centennial Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of New Mexico. – Composer Bio from Booneslickpress -- Jemmie Robertson is Associate Professor of Trombone at Eastern Illinois University where he performs with the Eastern Faculty Brass Quintet, directs the Eastern Crossbones Trombone Ensemble and organizes and hosts the annual Midwest Trombone Euphonium Conference. Jemmie performs, tours, and records with the American Trombone Quartet. Jemmie is an active musician in the Chicago area where he has performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Chamber Musicians, Chicago Civic Orchestra and many other ensembles. Jemmie has also performed throughout the Midwest in various ensembles including the St. Louis Symphony, Quad Cities Symphony, Peoria Symphony, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, and many others. Jemmie performs each summer with the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado where he has also performed with the Breckenridge Brass, the Breckenridge Brass Trio, and recently appeared as a soloist in Albrechtsberger’s Alto Trombone Concerto and was a Baroque night featured artist performing the Cesare La Hieronyma and the Falconieri Passacalle on sackbut. Jemmie also served as Principal Trombone of the biennial Santo Domingo Festival in the Dominican Republic from 2011-2015. Jemmie studied at Northwestern University (DM) with Michael Mulcahy, Randall Hawes, and Charlie Vernon; Yale University (MM) with Scott Hartman and John Swallow; at the University of Northern Colorado (BM) with Buddy Baker; and with his father, Dr. James D. Robertson. Jemmie previously was a member of the Virginia Symphony and the USAF Heritage of America Band. Jemmie has two previous solo CDs, A New Day Dawning (2008, MSR Classics Label and iTunes) and The Conditions of a Solitary Bird (2014, CDBaby and iTunes). Jemmie is an Edwards Performing Artist and Clinician on tenor and bass trombone. -- Collaborations was recorded in May and June 2016 in the Eastern Illinois University Doudna Fine Arts Center Recital Hall by Chris Burke, Audio Engineer. Mixing and Mastering took place in the Doudna Fine Arts Center Recording Studio by Chris Burke. Tracks 1-3 were recorded on June 3rd with Shellie Gregorich, producer Track 4 was recorded on May 10th with Paul Johnston, producer Track 5 was recorded on June 1st with Sam Fagaly, producer Tracks 6-10 were recorded on June 2nd with Magie Smith, producer Tracks 11-13 were recorded on June 3rd with Sam Fagaly, producer Track 14 was recorded on May 10th with Paul Johnston, producer Track 15-18 were recorded on May 10th with Sam Fagaly, producer Tracks 19-21 were recorded on June 2nd with Alicia Neal, producer Thanks to: My wonderful EIU colleagues who contributed significantly to this project. Kate Allen for her Graphic Design work on this project. My family for their love and support.