Review

Jim Hopson
Futility in Seven Positions:
Trombone Choir Trombone Octet 8-part trombone ensemble: 6 tenor, 2 bass trombones

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2019
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts.

Primary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 8 trombones

With movements entitled “Way of the Blade,” “Book Learnin,’” “Courting Disaster,” and “Disco,” Jim Hopson’s Futility in Seven Positions is a humorous showpiece for trombonists and non-trombonists alike. It features a narrator who tells common trombone-related jokes, passages that mock common warm-ups that many trombonists do, and a disco version of the Tuba Mirum solo from the Mozart Requiem.

Aside from a few tricky passages, the parts are not too difficult for most college level trombonists. The first trombone part spans a range up to c². The lower of two bass trombone parts is written down to EE. All five tenor trombone parts are written on tenor clef, perhaps a challenge for some ensembles. Otherwise, Futility will likely prove easy to rehearse and fun to perform.

The parts and score are well edited with a plethora of rehearsal marks and instructions as to how to incorporate the narration. While some may find this brand of trombone humor off-putting, Jim Hopson’s Futility in Seven Positions might ideally serve as a work of comic relief for an otherwise more serious trombone ensemble concert program.