Whitwell, Craig: Intervening Phrases for Unaccompanied Trombone

Intervening, adj., “extending or occurring between”. Thinking about phrases, their beginnings, ends, what’s in the middle, and how they relate to their surroundings, I wanted to write something that sort of begs the question, “What comes between what?”

This piece is in four short movements that might be thought of more as “sections” rather than “movements”. Intertwined here are lyricism, sudden outbursts, mirrors, non-sequitur tempo changes, and so forth, ranging from serious to fun and a few things in between. I hope you enjoy it.

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.