ERIC RICHARDS

Three Scenes for American Trombone and Brass Orchestra
Composed and arranged by Eric Richards
Published by Eric Richards Music Services
Recorded by the University of Georgia Brass Ensemble, Fred Mills, conducting (rough live mix)
Joseph Alessi - trombone soloist
This work was composed in September 2008. The work was commissioned by the USAF Brass In Blue for a series of concerts featuring the trombone virtuoso Joseph Alessi, principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic. 

The opening movement, Stravousa!, (as the name suggests) is a boisterous march that is influenced by two important American musical figures of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky and John Philip Sousa. I view it as a hybrid of Histoire… and The Thunderer with a dash of Pat Metheny’s The First Circle stirred in.

Hymn is a contemplative movement that seemed to compose itself. The soloist “sings” a Dorian chant-like opening which leads into a chorale. This is followed by a “transformative” section influenced by the language of Aaron Copland. The final section of the movement restates the opening chant melody in a bright Lydian modality. Although Hymn is only three minutes in length, my hope for this movement was to depict the spiritual concept of metanoia, the profound change of internal perspective and a desire for repentance only made possible through the grace of a loving and providential Creator.

The third “scene” is titled Un Cancíon De Tres Americas (A Song of Three Americas). It is a rousing, rhythmic dance-like piece in triple meter. The influence of North, Central, and South American musical styles and vocabulary can clearly be heard in this movement. 
Three Scenes SCORE PDF (click here)
Three Scenes SOLO Trombone PDF (click here)

Concerto for Trombone Quartet and Wind Ensemble (excerpts)
Composed and arranged by Eric Richards
Commissioned by The Continental Trombone Quartet
Published by Eric Richards Music Services
Recorded by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Wind Ensemble (rough live mix)
Peter Madsen, Mark Rabideau, Doug Farwell, Steve Wilson, soloists
Carolyn Barber, conducting    
This work was commissioned for the Continental Trombone Quartet (Peter Madsen, Mark Rabideau, Doug Farwell, and Steve Wilson) by a consortium of four university band programs and one solo artist: the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Texas at El Paso, the University of Wyoming and Dr. Doug Farwell of Valdosta State University. The piece was premiered on April 6, 2010 by the University of Texas at El Paso Wind Symphony under the direction of Dr. Ron Hufstader. This piece can be seen as the development of ideas and techniques explored in Three Scenes for American Trombone and Brass Orchestra.
     In regard to movement structure and relationship, the concerto follows a typical three movement global design:
I. Molto ritmico
The compositional goal of the first movement is the exposition and interplay of two primary themes. The solo quartet presents the thematic material and then performs variations and commentary on the themes.
II. Molto expressivo
In much of the music of the Western Common Practice, the musical role of the trombone in ensemble music is closely aligned with the voice, either in terms of support (e.g. doubling) or in function as a representation of the human voice. The intent of the second movement is to explore the beautiful, singing possibilities of the bass trombone. This movement emerged as an aria for bass trombone, trombone quartet and wind ensemble. 
III. Molto fuoco e l’anima
The trombone plays a major role in the various tributaries of Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Brazilian music (e.g. son, mambo, bomba, plena, samba, partido alto, et al), and trombone artists such as Juan Pablo Torres, Raul de Souza, Papo Vasquez, and Conrad Herwig are well known among aficionados of these genres. Since many Latin bands use four trombones as the horn section to compliment the singers and rhythm section, I decided to craft an energetic final movement using the solo quartet in a similar way. My goal was to create something sounding like “Bela Bartok meets Willie Colon.”
ConcTrb4TetWindEns(Richards)_SOLO Trombone 1 PDF (click here)
ConcTrb4TetWindEns(Richards)_SOLO Trombone 2 PDF (click here)
ConcTrb4TetWindEns(Richards)_SOLO Trombone 3 PDF (click here)
ConcTrb4TetWindEns(Richards)_SOLO Bass Trombone 4 PDF (click here)

Prelude on Ein Feste Burg
Composed and arranged by Eric Richards
Commissioned by The Presbyterian Church of the Cross, Omaha NE
Dana Sloan, director of music
Published by Eric Richards Music Services     Finale™ 2011 (Mac) demo
This piece was commissioned for the Trinity Brass of the Presbyterian Church of the Cross in Omaha, Nebraska. The premiere took place as part of Reformation Sunday services in 2004. While there have been several fine performances of this piece, none have been captured to audio...yet. Thus, I offer this mockup generated by Finale™ 2011 (Mac). If you are part of a professional/semi-professional brass group that would be willing to exchange a high quality recording of this piece in return for a free copy, contact me!
SCORE Prelude on Ein Feste Burg PDF (click here)