Denis Wick Memorial Concert
Thursday June 5th at 1.00pm
Regent Hall, Oxford Street
There will be a concert to celebrate the life in music of the great trombonist Denis Wick, who died at the age 93 this February. It will be at 1:00PM at the Salvation Army Regent Hall in Oxford Street. The performance will feature many star trombonists, including Matthew Gee of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Houlding of the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen, Isobel Daws of the Philharmonie, Luxembourg and Brett Baker of Cory Band. Students from the RCM, Guildhall School, Trinity Laban and a trombone ensemble from the RAM will also be featured. Conducting duties will be taken by distinguished trombonists Dudley Bright and Eric Crees.
Denis’s son Stephen said “I am so pleased that we are featuring so many talented young players in this concert to celebrate Denis and his work. He was always immensely dedicated to producing the next generation of trombonists.”
Amongst the performers there will be many of his ex-students as well as the successful young trombone quartet Slide Action and the prize-winning brass quintet Connaught Brass.
The music performed will include pieces written for Denis, music arranged by him and works recorded by him. Composers featured include Gordon Jacob (his Trombone Octet and Trombone Concerto) Buxton Orr (his Sketches for Trombone Quartet) and Holst (The Moorside Suite arranged by Denis for Brass Quintet). One of Denis’s favourite composers was Korngold and Christopher Houlding, one of Denis many very distinguished ex-students, will play Peirrot’s Tanzlied from Die tote Stadt, accompanied by Elliot Launn.
The grand finale will be played by 16 trombones, featuring valve and alto trombones as well as the regular instruments. They will feature in arrangements taken from the Bones Galore album originally recorded in 1969, which featured Denis on alto trombone, an instrument for which he had a special fondness. Many will remember his stunning performances with the LSO of the Berg Three Pieces for Orchestra where he created a magical sound with his pianissimo alto trombone entries.
The concert is free and all are welcome to attend.
