James David
three imaginary landscapes
Sonata for Bass Trombone and Piano, CCP2 (2018)
World Premiere: March 21, 2018
Faculty Recital at Northwestern State University of Louisiana [Natchitoches, LA]
- J. Mark Thompson, bass trombone
- Chialing Hsieh, piano
March 2019 Update
Three Imaginary Landscapes has received premieres by a number of consortium members and is slated to go on sale to the public in May! You can see clips of George Curran’s excellent performance at the 2018 Southeast Trombone Symposium below.
Gerry Pagano has also recorded the second movement, “Southern Gothic,” on his new CD Solitude.
February 2018 Update
The Sonata is complete! A pursual score and MIDI recording are available on Jim David's website. Consortium members have exclusive performance rights until May 31, 2019.
I have accepted an invitation to premiere the sonata at the 2018 International Trombone Festival in Iowa City, IA on a University Faculty Showcase recital. Stay tuned for other consortium premiere information!
For the second installment of the Collegiate Commissions Project, I chose a multi-moment sonata for Bass Trombone and Piano. In addition to the high difficulty level of many new solo trombone compositions, there also seems to be a preference for concertos with large-ensemble accompaniment. Many of these concertos have piano reductions; however, they are often extremely unwieldy for collaborative pianists and create balance issues with the soloist. I believe the recital-ready multi-movement sonata for bass trombone and piano still has some room to grow as a medium.
Dr. James David, Associate Professor of Composition at Colorado State University has graciously agreed to compose the sonata. When brainstorming possible composers for the sequel to Christian Paarup's Transmogrify, Dr. David was at the top of the list. The first piece of his that I heard was Garden of the Gods, written for Joseph Alessi and recorded by the Columbus State University Trombone Choir on their CD "A Beautiful Noise." I was blown away by the colors Jim was able to get out of a homogenous ensemble. Additional works for trombone include Partiels 2 for solo tenor trombone and electronics, and Paraphrase for Trombone Choir. After reading Jim's self described desire to write for instruments with less repertoire as well as his preference for consortiums, it was a no-brainer and I am ecstatic that he agreed!
As with Transmogrify, a diverse consortium of trombone educators was organized to fund this work. I am extremely grateful to my colleagues who signed on and am excited to see the finished product!