We were delighted to welcome back our Music Fellow for Brass, top trombonist Mark Templeton, on Tuesday 2 May. Mark spent a busy day in the Music Department, taking rehearsals, giving individual lessons and performing a lunchtime recital. Later, he joined the boys on stage in the Great Hall during the Summer Bands’ Concert, alternating between the roles of soloist, conductor and sometimes band-member too!
During his lunchtime recital, held in the Music School Recital Hall, Mark chose a varied repertoire, including the Baroque Alma Ingrate, written by the Habsburg Emperor Joseph I, Saint-Saens’ Cavatine, and the first movement of early 20th Century Danish composer Grondahl’s Trombone Concerto. He gave informal and informative introductions to his audience, explaining also that he had chosen to play them because they were among his favourite pieces to play. He said to the boys, “Music provides a safe place where you can enjoy yourself, be yourself and have fun.” He also remarked how happy he was to witness the boys clearly enjoying the music they were playing throughout the day. Mark’s recital ended with an amazingly rapid rendition of Arthur Pryor’s fiendishly difficult Blue Bells of Scotland. Head of Woodwind and Brass, Dom Childs, said “The lunchtime recital was truly inspirational and a wonderful opportunity to watch a world-class brass player up close and personal in concert. I don’t believe any of the pupils will have ever seen trombone playing quite like it and I hope it inspires them to become the best instrumentalists they can be during their time here at school.”
The Summer Bands’ Concert, in the Great Hall that evening, was a great success, as the various woodwind and brass ensembles performed for the assembled crowd. Repertoire for the concert was equally diverse. The evening opened in fanfare style with the Brass Ensemble, who played Hymn and Triumphal March from Verdi’s opera, Aida. They followed on with a beautiful arrangement of the traditional tune Londonderry Air, with Mark playing the trombone solo. Later, with the Concert Band, his solo of The Beatles’ Penny Lane was described by an audience member as “wonderfully toe-tapping”!
Dom Childs told us, “Once again, the boys were fortunate to spend the day working with Mark Templeton. However, this time they had more opportunities to rehearse and perform alongside him. His renditions of Penny Lane and Londonderry Air will live long in the memory!”
Director of Music Mr Jonathan Sanders said, “It was extremely encouraging to see and hear so many woodwind and brass-playing boys involved in the Bands’ Concert this week. One highlight for me was hearing the combined forces of all brass-playing boys at the school, including a number of Prep School boys, performing an arrangement of the theme tune from The Incredibles, with our Brass Music Fellow conducting them. It was such an encouragement to see the next generation of brass players in action!”
You can watch highlights from the Summer Bands’ Concert, including performances by Mark Templeton, here.
About Mark Templeton
Mark is Principal Trombone at the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He began playing the trombone at the age of ten and studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he received the Brass Prize in 1996. In the same year he won a place in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and in 1998 he was awarded the International Trombone Association Philharmonic Prize in America.
Mark had a full and varied freelance career after graduating and has played with most of the UK orchestras, as well as various European ones. He was a founder member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Principal Trombone with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra prior to joining the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006.
Mark is also a Professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.