Members of the Buckeye Trombone Association perform at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Upper Arlington, OH for a trombone Sunday event Oct. 27. Credit: Courtesy of the Buckeye Trombone Association
A newly established music group on campus has provided trombone students with the chance to improve their skills by organizing classes taught by experts of the instrument.
The Buckeye Trombone Association was established this semester to help students improve their playing and establish a more tight-knit community within the trombone studio in the School of Music, Sterling Tanner, a lecturer of trombone and adviser for the Buckeye Trombone Association, said.
“I think that sense of community and family is a big focus, especially for this year, because this is our first year,” Tanner said.
The new organization is open to all students regardless of major, and Tanner said performances are split up by skill level.
Tanner said the ultimate goal for the club is to get big names to come and teach master classes for the students and Buckeye Trombone Association members.
The club recently held a master class hosted Lucas Borges, an assistant professor of trombone at Ohio University.
Jake Pauley, a fourth-year in music education and Buckeye Trombone Association vice president, said these master classes help everyone improve their skills.
“Professor Tanner and Dr. Borges played a song together, and a soloist will go up and they’ll play, and then basically everybody is here to watch the instruction for the masses, as well as for the soloists. It sort of is a lesson that can tie into everyone,” Pauley said.
In addition, Pauley said the club hosts studio classes every Monday, when members can work on solo pieces or rehearse for trombone choir performances.
Tanner said this year is a building year for the club, and next year, the group plans to expand to national and international events such as the American Trombone Workshop, an annual event hosted by the United States Army Band.
“We definitely talked about stuff like more off-site, off-campus concerts and stuff like that,” Pauley said.
Pauley said the club hopes to get its name out in the community through events like a recent performance at Holy Trinity Church in Upper Arlington, Ohio.
The group recently paired with Trombones Plus, a group at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, for a Trombone Sunday, a new community outreach effort the club is focused on doing with different groups across the city, Tanner said. The trombonists team up to rehearse and play through services at local churches.
Pauley said the club makes everything feel more unified and grounded for trombone players on campus.
“We have a lot more consistency and sort of drive to do more performative things now. Before last year, we occasionally had a concert, but now it’s way more structured. We had a concert and then a recital where everybody played. We have master classes coming in and out, and there’s just a lot more going on, a lot more planned out,” Pauley said.
Tanner said that learning from one another and having a community where people are comfortable with each other is the most important aspect of the club.
“Family. Community. That’s it, basically, for me. I want to make sure the guys are set up for success playing the instrument and having the guidance to get better at the instrument,” Tanner said.
