Derek Bourgeois is one of Britain's leading composers for brass and military bands and for solo wind instruments. Early in his career he showed a strong interest in the trombone and wrote a triple concerto for three trombones and orchestra. The idea was that the entire trombone section of an orchestra could come forward and display their abilities as a group and individually. While the premiere audience was strongly enthusiastic about the piece, it was rarely played after that.

In 1988 Bourgeois returned to the trombone as a concerto instrument for the occasion of the first international trombone symposium in London, which was held in 1988. It is a substantial twenty-minute piece in three movements, "Allegro," "Adagio," and "Presto." Because trombonist from the worlds of pop and jazz would attend the symposium as well as classical artists, Bourgeois decided to make his new concerto musically ecumenical, and it was deliberately tailored to have an appeal wider than the usual classical audience. The third movement, in particular, was a great hit. The concerto was written for the Swedish player Christian Lindberg, who premiered it.

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