Editing and recording overdubs
Thomas visited Tierra Studios in May to listen to tracks, do some editing, and record a few extra trombone parts.
Shots from recording strings at Tierra
These pictures are from March 30, when we recorded the string parts for my new album at Tierra Studios.
More pics from recording my album
Angela Grant from Tierra Studios shot these pictures during a Jan. 2009 recording session at for my new album.
A big trombone day here in Houston
February 10 was a big trombone day here in Houston when Bonetown, Michael Davis and Bill Reichenbach, came and had a clinic and a concert. Those guys can play! We had a really kicking local rhythm section, and I had the good fortune of being part of the second half of the program, when we played some of Michael’s and Bill’s tunes for larger ensembles. Good Fun!
Now I’ve finally felt it, the pressure of playing 1st trombone in the famous chorale in Brahms’ first symphony! I played it with the Houston Symphony a couple of weeks ago, last time I played was years ago in Sweden, and then I was playing bass trombone.
This was a little bit more challenging, but what a great piece of music! Right now we’re in the middle of “Gershwin Glam” with the Houston Ballet, a ballet set to George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F.
Down in Mexico
In early November nine of us from the HGO orchestra went down to Mazatlan in Mexico to play the Sleeping Beauty, Tjaikovskij’s ballet. It was for the Festival Cultural Mazatlan, and the orchestra consisted of both musicians from Mexico and the US.
We had a great time, and it got even better after I got over the food poisoning!
Aida and the Cunning Little Vixen
In April and May I played principal trombone for the Houston Grand Opera productions of Verdi’s Aida and the Cunning Little Vixen by Leos Janaçek. We had a total of 27 brasses in Aida, counting herald trumpets, off-stage brass and the pit brass section. Check out the pictures. How the singers can be heard, with no mikes, over all that noise is a total mystery to me! The Cunning Little Vixen has a very intricate score, lots of tempo- and meter changes. There are some absolutely beautiful sections, and the HGO Orchestra sounded great under the direction of maestro Patrick Summers.
I also played a couple of family concerts with the Houston Symphony, and recorded a demo of Ned Battista’s ballet “Kansas City” with the American Pops under the direction of the composer.