Eric Crees (born 1952) was appointed Principal

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

of the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

(London) in 2000. Before that he spent twenty-seven years at the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, twenty as Co-Principal Trombone. He is also a noted brass conductor, composer, arranger and teacher.

Education

Eric Crees was born in London in 1952 and studied at

Wandsworth School Wandsworth School was a local authority maintained boys' secondary school in Southfields, London. Established in 1895, it became a selective grammar school, then an all-ability comprehensive school, before merging in 1986 and finally closing ...

, where he worked with professional orchestras & conductors in the boy's choir. Of particular importance was the school's long association with

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, who wrote a solo part for Eric in '' Children's Crusade''. While at school he was awarded a scholarship to study part-time at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He went on to study music at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

and undertook an extensive period of work with the

Philip Jones Brass Ensemble The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten-piece, for larger halls. It toured and recorded exte ...

. He also won the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society's 'Joyce Dixey Award' for composition. Upon graduation he joined the

Professional life

Professor

As Professor of Trombone at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

he taught trombonists of the next generation of orchestral principals including Helen Vollam,

Byron Fulcher Byron Fulcher (born 1970) is a British musician who is the principal trombone with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. In addition, he is professor of trombone at the Royal College of Music. Early life and education Byron wa ...

and Graham Lee. He was made Fellow of the School in 1991. Crees is also a coach at music colleges & specialist schools both in the UK & abroad, including the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, the Ulster Youth Orchestra and the Pacific Youth Orchestra in Japan.

Conductor and Director

Crees is Director of the Royal Opera House Brass Soloists and for many years was Director of the London Symphony Orchestra Brass. With the LSO Brass they performed regularly at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

and made several recordings, including American Brass and Cathedral Brass for Collins Classics. These featuring many of his arrangements, including Bernstein's Suite from West Side Story which has been commercially recorded four times. Other arrangements include

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

's El Salon Mexico and

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

' Variations on 'America'. Crees also prepared a Performing Edition and directed the LSO Brass in a trio of CDs for Naxos covering the complete instrumental music by

Giovanni Gabrieli Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557 – 12 August 1612) was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift f ...

. In 1994, Crees was invited by Cala Records to arrange a number of pieces for 16 trombones from the London orchestras to record on a CD called "The London Trombone Sound". The popularity of

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

's Adagio and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

's Layla led to more arrangements for The London Horn Sound. Since 2011 Crees has been the artistic director of the live brass ensembl
The Symphonic Brass of London
In 2020, the group released a CD of arrangements "Preludes, Rags and Cakewalks." This album "masterfully collated" the impressionisms of Claude Debussy and the syncopated rhythms of

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

, as well as Auric,

Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and

Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

. The CD is published on the MPR label.

Composer

Recent original compositions include *

Silk Street Silk Street (, Xiushui Street, literally meaning "beautiful water Street"), aka Silk Market or Silk Street Market, is a shopping center in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, that accommodates over 1,700 retail vendors, notor ...

Stomp written for the Guildhall School of Music Big Band * Two Antiphonal Fanfares Frighteners' Gallop for 8 horns commissioned by the British Horn Society * Orage for 16 trombones, written for Bone Lab and premiered at the Dartington Summer School * Processional for PJ written for large brass ensemble in memory of Philip Jones, * The Birth of Conchobar for symphonic brass and percussion commissioned by the Ulster Youth Orchestra * Three Sketches from Rackham for flute and harp. * Flourish for solo trombone * Carillons for six harps.

Juror

Crees is a juror for international competitions, such as the Donatella Flick Conducting competition, the Leonard Berstein Conducting Competition, in Jerusalem, the Narbonne International Quintet Competition, the National Brass Championships, the European Brass Band Championships and the All England Masters Brass Band Championship.

Recordings

*Berg ''Kammerkonzert'' - Abbado, LSO (1985, Sony SMK64504) *Mahler ''Symphony No. 3'' - Tilson Thomas, LSO (1987, CBS M2K44553, deleted) *''American Brass'' - Crees, LSO Brass (1991, Collins Classics; re-issued 2013, Alto/Musical Concepts) *''Cathedral Brass'' - Crees, LSO Brass (1991, Collins Classics) *Gabrieli ''Music for Brass'', Vol. 1-3 - Crees, LSO Brass (1995-7, Naxos 8.553609 etc.) *''London Trombone Sound'' (1995, Cala CACD 0108)

References

External links

Eric Crees Official siteEric Crees' Artistic Director page on The Symphonic Brass of London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crees, Eric 1952 births 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century classical trombonists 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century classical trombonists Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of the University of Surrey British classical trombonists Living people Male trombonists