Jeremy Wilson left the University of North Texas College of Music in 2007 to join one of the best orchestras in the world. Jeremy Wilson
Now in his fifth season with the Vienna Philharmonic, Wilson has made his third trip back to his alma mater to perform in concert. In the meantime, the trombonist finished that master's degree started when Europe made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
During his appearance today with the UNT Symphonic Band, Wilson will perform a composition by another UNT alumnus and trombone wunkerkind, James Kazik's Concerto for Trombone.
Wilson said he's looking forward to playing the piece. He's performed the concerto before. Today, he'll perform an adaptation of the same piece arranged for the band.
"I feel like I know the piece, and I like it," Wilson said. "It's nice to be able to play a trombone concerto by a trombone player. He knows what the instrument can do. He lets me sing, he lets me shout. I get to whisper, you know. And I get to play the full range of what the instrument can do."
Some contemporary concertos end up falling flat, Wilson said.
"With some composers, it's almost as if they are sitting there going, 'OK, now I'm going to write a trombone concerto. What's the highest note a trombone can play? What's the lowest? Oh, yeah, let's add in a glissando.' It's like they know the trombone can gliss so they just use glissando wherever." IF YOU GO
• Who: Vienna Philharmonic trombonist Jeremy Wilson and the UNT Symphonic Band• What: Concerto for Trombone by UNT alumnus James Kazik; Grace Kim, pianist and winner of the UNT Concerto Competition, performs Mendelssohn's Concerto for Piano No. 2. Dennis W. Fisher conducts.• When: 7:30 p.m. today• Where: Winspear Hall at the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 N. Interstate 35E.• Details: Tickets are $10 to $8. For reservations, call 940-369-7802 or visit www.thempac.com .
Kazik's piece makes use of the instrument's abilities - including that famous "gliss,"which refers to the trombone's ability to slide from one note to the next.
But Wilson insists this concerto makes good musical sense.
"I wouldn't say that the piece is ridiculously easy or anything, but everything makes sense. Even the glissando makes sense," Wilson said. "He uses it for a reason."
Kazik earned his graduate degree in trombone performance when he attended UNT from 1997 to 2001. He composes and arranges music in addition to his full-time job in the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own." He lives and works in Washington, D.C.
Kazik wrote Concerto for Trombone in 2003. It was commissioned by Paul Compton, a professor at Oklahoma State University.
"When you're writing new music, there's an imitative way about it," Kazik said. "I've studied a lot of the classical repertory, and this piece ended up being a tribute to music I really like."
He tips his hat to composers Charles Gounod and Derek Bourgeois in the piece.
Kazik rarely, if ever, works with a soloist who performs his compositions.
"Last year, [UNT trombone professor] Vern [Kagarice] said, 'Jeremy is coming down to play your piece, and wouldn't it be great if the Army paid your way here to be part of it?' I said something to the effect of 'I don't see that happening,'" Kazik said.
Kazik was interested, though, and flew down on his own dime. He said he'll be on hand to answer Wilson's questions about the piece, and he also talked with students studying wind literature under UNT Wind Symphony conductor Eugene Migliaro Corporon.
"As a composer, you can be obsessive-compulsive about how your music is played," Kazik said. "If you're like that, your blood pressure is going to go up and stay up. You have to remember that the musicians have a job to do. They want to shine, too. Sometimes, it's about who's playing your piece, who's conducting it. It's not just about what you wrote.
"You have to remember that this piece you wrote is going to have a life of its own. That's the process."
LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877. Her e-mail address is cbreeding@dentonrc.com .
