Description

This is for chamber orchestra, and was commissioned by the City of London Sinfonia for their brilliant 1^st trumpet player, Nick Betts.  I’ve known Nick a long time and I know his distinctive playing very well.  So that made it easier and more satisfying to write for him, as I knew pretty much exactly how he would sound.  A few people have looked at the solo part and done the builder’s intake-of-breath thing, as there are plenty of notes.  I disagree; it’s not too busy at all, as Nick proved in the performances in 2008, and if I was going to go and hear a Trumpet Concerto, I’d want to hear a lot of trumpet in it.  I like giving clues in what I write, and the foundations of the melodic material for all 3 movements are all there in the first 4 bars.  Nick is such a stylish player, it was a joy to write just what I wanted to hear, and more importantly, what he wanted to play. This is dedicated, with apologies, to the late great Roger Brenner, who was 1^st trombone in CLS for 30 years. The apologies are for because he was on occasion known to complain about the ‘bloody trumpet players…’