I’ve recently been looking for works for trombone in mixed chamber ensembles and have been reminded how difficult it can be to find something without having a specific idea of what it is you’re looking for. Searching “trombone in mixed chamber ensemble” on Google results in Jonathan Sayre Allen’s excellent dissertation on the topic and not much else of substance. Here are the steps I went through to compile my list of (mostly) contemporary music for trombone and mixed chamber ensemble.

Bonus: I’ve shared many of my findings below in a searchable database.

Word of Mouth

Talk to other musicians: friends, teachers, colleagues you meet at festivals and workshops. Probably one of the best ways to find new music. Friends can make suggestions with insight into your likes and dislikes, teachers can make suggestions based on the same plus your ability level, colleagues from festivals may have exposure to works you may not have an opportunity to hear otherwise.

Trombonists on the Internet

You probably know of a slew of trombonists already. Visit their websites and see what they’re playing. Then expand and try discovering some new trombonists. For my purposes I was focusing on twentieth and twenty-first century repertoire so I looked to trombonists who specialize in that music. Some of the players have their own websites, some do not, but simply doing an internet search on them can bring up projects in which they’ve participated.

Youtube

Search for pieces or players on the internet. Many times you will find live performances (or studio recordings with added images). Using Youtube’s recommendations can lead you to other similar pieces. I discovered 9 by Donika Rudi by watching a video of Benjamin Marks (which is how I learned about the composer Aaron Cassidy).

Recital Programs

Recital programs are also a good source of repertoire. You can find them in school libraries and websites, and in issues of the Journal of the International Trombone Association (you must be a member to access the publication).

Composers

Search the composers you like. Find their websites or their pages on their publisher’s sites. Maybe they have a piece you didn’t know about.

Publishers

Many publishers maintain catalogues of their composers organized by types of works. With enough patience you can make your way through, composer by composer, and cull the repertoire for which you’re searching.

Music Publishers Association of America (Directory)

Boosey & Hawkes

Carl Fischer

Chester Novello/Schirmer

Edition Peters: Trombone

Edition Peters: Contemporary

Peer Music

Ricordi

Schott Music

Music Stores

Browse music stores. The big problem with them being that you can’t tell much about the music from the little information they usually provide. Another issue is separating those sheet music distributors that hock cheesy arrangements from those that stock a nice assortment of good works.

Hickeys

musicroom

Music Sales Classical

Catalogues and Databases

Some organizations compile data for you, some of it more searchable than others. And I’ve found few in English.

Australian Music Centre

Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt (their website promises to have their archives accessible online soon)

ircam

le site des amateurs de Musique Contemporaine





Trombone in Mixed Chamber Music Database

The database is a work in progress and contains works to which I found references, and, when possible, links to information on the composer and the piece, how to obtain the sheet music, and links to recordings and videos.