Whitwell, Craig: BLT for Unaccompanied Trombone

This piece was written for a friend of mine, fellow vegan Brendan Lai-Tong. I used his initials for the title BLT. With a title like that, I knew it had to have three movements. And it had to be fun as well as reflecting Brendan’s personality. The first movement (Rhythmic) has been described as “a rhumba, tango, cha-cha thingy”. The second movement (Peaceful) evokes an ocean setting, and it contains a “seagull” effect and a couple quarter-tones. The third movement (Rondo) has an alert theme, with episodes of (a) a 3/8 dance, (b) recap of first movement material with motorcycle effects, and (c) the use of natural harmonics.

Craig Whitwell, born 1948, Santa Rosa, California. Began playing professionally in high school. BA, San Jose State University, studying trombone with Bob Szabo. MA, University of Pennsylvania, studying composition with George Crumb and Richard Wernick. Developed a long career in software engineering and didn’t compose during that time. Recently retired and began writing music again, picking up where he left off, for unaccompanied trombone.