Conducting the trombones de bâle for the first time at the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Merian gardens in Basel at the beginning of June was tremendous fun. This is quite simply the coolest ensemble I ever conducted! And they’re really good too.
Two of the pieces we performed were written by the founder and leader of the ensemble, Mike Svoboda. Embarkment Fanfare and Introduction with Insight for eight trombones are brilliantly inventive pieces that stretch the possibilities of the ensemble – to the point of adding harmonicas to the instruments to give them a high range and a new sound quality. The rhythmic vitality of the pieces is infectious and it’s always a particular pleasure to enthuse a non-specialist public about new music.
Further performances with les trombones de bâle are planned for May 2019.