Members: Lorna McDonald, Jayne Murrill, Helen Vollam & Becky Smith
Highly acclaimed trombone quartet Bones Apart has established itself as one of the world's leading chamber ensembles. Since forming in 1999, this unique group went on to win the prestigious Royal Over-Seas League Competition, Rio Tinto Ensemble Prize and Miller Trophy, and has performed at major venues including London's Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Fairfield Halls, Royal Festival Hall, St. James's Palace, St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Bones Apart has also appeared on television and radio, and been featured in articles in Muso Magazine and the Brass Herald among others.
The quartet has appeared as a guest artist at many national and international music festivals including the Cayman Arts Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, International Belgian Brass Academy, International Trombone Festival, Leicester International Music Festival, Lieksa Brass Festival, Music In The Round, Royal Over-Seas League Arts, Sauerland Herbst Festival and the Vilnius Festival. This has involved touring throughout Europe, the United States, Japan and the Caribbean.
The group is keenly involved in education and outreach projects and is often invited to give masterclasses and ensemble coaching at schools and conservatoires. Recent masterclasses have been given at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, Rutgers State University in New Jersey, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Northern College of Music.
Bones Apart has recently become an ambassador for pBone, a new plastic trombone designed to encourage more interest in the trombone and making music. Through this initiative Bones Apart has given a series of highly successful schools workshops demonstrating music and the pBone to primary school children.
Their hugely diverse recital programmes incorporate music of all stylesand genres including baroque, classical, latin, jazz, popular andcontemporary music. Bones Apart has commissioned many works for trombone quartet from composers such as Gary Carpenter, Matthew Taylor, Christian Lindberg, Dan Jenkins and John Kenny.
Bones Apart has recorded a number of CDs - All We Want For Christmas (2012), ten (2009), four4four (2009) and Enigma (2006). The quartet play on Conn-Selmer trombones and are proud to be associated with Wallace Mutes.