Trombone Band of Brothers

Rotterdam's Amazing Trombone Class

My good old colleague Ben van Dijk (renowned bass trombone player) told his Facebook friends: “our Rotterdam CODARTS Conservatory trombone-class is the winner of this year’s ITA Emory Remington Competition.” That's two first prizes in two appearances!

This Conservatory Class produces some the best trombone players in the world. During my orchestra years managing three Top Dutch orchestras I got to know many of these master trombonists. But what I didn't realise was that they all had the same background, all studied at the same school. It's only when I did some work for the conservatory that the secrets of these players came into view.

The simple reason for this unrivalled quality is that the class is a ‘band of brothers’. The six teachers (all considered among the ‘best in the world’) seem to work even harder on the group process than on individual progress. The students learn most from their ‘brothers’, and are incredible inspiration to each other.

Their regime is not typical of brass players who are often more fond of a few good beers and late night gigs than an early start. Every morning, they gather at 9 for their daily warm-up. Every week they spend 2 hours in a trombone-ensemble led by one of the masters. Every week they attend a 4 hours class playing solo pieces together with piano. Every month these classical players have a jazz masterclass and the tenor players have an option to have lessons from the famous bass trombone teacher Ben van Dijk.

It’s all about doing it together.

If you are lucky enough to pass the auditions it’s almost impossible not to become a top trombone player.

The masters of this CODARTS class are Jörgen van Rijen (1st trombone Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), Pierre Volders (1st trombone Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra), Remko de Jager (2nd trombone Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra), Ben van Dijk (bass trombone Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra), and the two virtuoso jazz trombonists Bart van Lier and Ilja Reijngoud.

Have a look at their website