Legendary Ten Trombones Perform at Glencairn Museum

Sunday afternoon, those fortunate enough to attend the concert of Posaune Decouple left with a smile on their faces. It is a rare opportunity to hear a group of distinguished musicians who are among the best trombone players in the world. Every audience member felt the musical passion of these ten virtuosos emanating throughout Glencairn Museum's Great Hall as the trombonists played eight classical arrangements and two popular encores.

"In the cathedral setting, every note rang like a golden orb of sound, like sunshine for the ear," commented Bob Busch, amateur trombone player from Lower Makefield Township.

The pure sound of three bass and seven tenor trombones filled the Great Hall as the musicians performed works of Hermann, Strauss, Brahms, Elgar, Biebl, Beethoven, Wagner, and Atherton. The musicians weaved musical dynamics, seamlessly blending solos with the rest of the ensemble.

In "Ave Maria" by Franz Biebl (arranged by Whitaker), two antiphonal trombones resonated from the back of the Great Hall, performing as a duo, and then joined by the rest of the musicians on stage. The melodies flowed through the Great Hall like a ribbon of satiny sound.

"These are my musical heroes," commented audience member and Temple University student Sean McCusker (Lower Moreland H.S. 2011 graduate), who is majoring in music education with a trombone concentration. "The biggest names in the trombone world are here under one roof. They have different backgrounds and they come from various orchestras around the world. This is an unbelievable gathering of talent." Back in 2006 McCusker was inspired by the performances from the first Posaune Decouple concert when he was in middle school.

Four Posaune Decouple performers currently play with the Philadelphia Orchestra: Nitzan Haroz, Matthew Vaughn, Eric Carlson, and Blair Bollinger. Joseph Alessi plays with the New York Philharmonic. Carl Lenthe and M. Dee Stewart are with the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Christopher Clark plays with the U.S. Marine Band. Weston Sprott plays tenor trombone with the Metropolitan Orchestra. Darrin C. Milling traveled from Brazil where he is the principal bass trombonist with the Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra.

Lenthe, who conducted various selections during the concert, arranged this year's program. The musical works were chosen to honor the late Glenn Dodson, the ensemble's founder and a former principal trombonist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. This is the third gathering of "Posaune Decouple" (an adaptation of "Ten Trombones") for an appearance at Glencairn Museum. The musicians first gathered with Dodson in 2006, and then they played in 2008 as a memorial tribute to him.

The ensemble performs exclusively at Glencairn, through its affiliation with Lachlan Pitcairn, a musician, patron of Philadelphia's classical music scene, and long-time friend of Dodson.

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