Concerto for Contrabass Trombone/Tuba

This video is best viewed on smart phone or tablet (that's why it's in portrait mode). Buy the sheet music with backing track at www.briansadler.org. Transposed for Tenor Trombone too!

Concerto for Contrabass Trombone/Tuba was composed by Brian Sadler and commissioned by Dr. Eric High. Dr. High is currently an Associate Professor of Music at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin and is very active in the low brass community as a performer and published reviewer. Wanting to give the contrabass trombone more modern literature, he turned to composer Brian Sadler after hearing his “Soundtrack for Trombone and Orchestra” being performed in a recital. The idea of not having a piano accompanist, especially while on tours to multiple colleges, appealed to Dr. High and so he asked Brian if he could write something similar for contrabass trombone. The resulting piece is one that is full of excitement and the modern sound of today’s film soundtracks.

This being Brian’s third piece for solo and digital accompaniment (the other two being for tuba and trombone), he wanted to avoid the shortcomings of his previous ventures by having less tempo changes and a more prominent beat for the soloist to perform with. Ostinato 8th and 16th notes from the strings and groove-heavy drum set easily cut above the backgrounds to help keep the soloist on time. The main themes of the piece are introduced early and go through several variations to help keep things interesting. After a brief solo cadenza, the orchestra returns with one final round and after an unsettling rise, the soloist ends the piece with a final blast.