Commissioned by Dr. Drew Leslie, Colorado State University and premiered by him at the 2025 International Trombone Festival
Program Note
Aquelarre, or “Witches’ Sabbath,” is a dramatic and virtuosic soliloquy for unaccompanied tenor trombone inspired by the 1798 painting by Francisco Goya of the same name. Utilizing specialized trombone techniques and contemporary notation, this work is intended to provide advanced undergraduate or early graduate student trombonists with an introduction to contemporary writing for the instrument. In six short sections based on a six-note motif and six minutes in duration, the playful work quotes trombone orchestral excerpts referencing witches and the devil by Berlioz (Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath), Mussorgsky (Night on Bald Mountain), and Stravinsky (Infernal Dance of King Kastchei) as well as oblique references to famous solo trombone works. This work was commissioned by Dr. Drew Leslie, professor of trombone, Colorado State University and was premiered by him at the 2025 International Trombone Festival