The Eastern Trombone Workshop (ETW) has become one of the largest annual events for trombone in the world. The workshop's mission is to give students, performers, and educators an opportunity to meet and share ideas, talents, and opinions about the world of trombone. ETW regularly hosts participants throughout the nation and abroad. The workshop is held at Brucker Hall—The

U.S. Army Band The United States Army Band, also known as "Pershing's Own", is the premier musical organization of the United States Army, founded in 1922. There are currently nine official performing ensembles in the unit: The U.S. Army Concert Band, The U.S. A ...

's state-of-the-art performance center—located on historic Fort Myer, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. ETW is the only professionally organized and staffed trombone workshop or conference in the United States. Soloists, educators, and students, as well as university and college trombone ensembles from around the world, attend the workshop annually. The workshop hosts a number of solo and ensemble competitions for performers of all ages. Over 1,000 students and professional trombonists have submitted audition tapes for the various competitions sponsored by ETW since 1993. Competitions include the National Solo Competition, the National Jazz Solo Competition, the National Jazz Ensemble Competition, and the National Trombone Quartet Competition. Soloists have the opportunity to perform with the music ensembles from the U.S. Army Band to include the U.S. Army Orchestra, Concert Band, and Blues Jazz Ensemble. All events are open and free to the public. Activities include concerts, master classes, recitals, lectures and clinics by the leading artists of the day. The workshop annually features premier performances of new works and arrangements for tenor and

bass trombone The bass trombone (german: Bassposaune, it, trombone basso) is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to ...

. There are no registration fees.

History

In 1978,

John Marcellus John Marcellus is a trombone musician and teacher. He was Professor of Trombone at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, and past Chair of the Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Department. In addition to his trombone teachin ...

, former principal trombonist with the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

, along with John Melick, former trombone instructor at Towson State University, founded the Eastern Trombone Workshop at Towson State University in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland. In 1981 the workshop moved to

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, under the direction of trombone instructor William Cramer. The

U.S. Navy Band The United States Navy Band, based at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., has served as the official musical organization of the U.S. Navy since 1925. The U.S. Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, perform ...

took control of the workshop in 1986, thus bringing the event to the Washington area. In 1993, U.S. Army Band solo trombonist Scott Shelsea, with support of Colonel Bryan Shelburn, commander of the U.S. Army Band, took hold of the reins of ETW.

External links

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2008 program (pdf)
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Eastern Trombone Workshop The Eastern Trombone Workshop (ETW) has become one of the largest annual events for trombone in the world. The workshop's mission is to give students, performers, and educators an opportunity to meet and share ideas, talents, and opinions about the ...