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| Denis Wick | |
|---|---|
| Name | Denis Wick |
| Caption | Denis Wick in 2010 |
| Birth date | 1931-06-11 |
| Birth place | Birmingham, West Midlands |
| Occupation | Trombonist, educator, instrument designer |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
Denis Wick is an English trombonist, teacher, and designer best known for his long tenure as principal trombone of the London Symphony Orchestra and for founding a widely used line of mutes and mouthpieces. He established a prominent performing career in orchestral, solo, and chamber music, and later influenced brass pedagogy through teaching posts and published method materials. Wick's designs are widely adopted by orchestral players, military bands, and conservatoire students across Europe and North America.
Wick was born in Birmingham, West Midlands and studied at local institutions including the Birmingham School of Music before serving in the Royal Air Force. He took lessons from notable teachers and studied repertoire by composers associated with British orchestral life such as Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, and William Walton. Early influences included performers connected to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Covent Garden opera scene. During this period he encountered pedagogues linked to the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, and gained exposure to repertoire by Ludwig van Beethoven, Giacomo Puccini, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, and Antonín Dvořák.
Wick served as principal trombone with ensembles in Covent Garden and later secured the principal position with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), where he performed under conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, André Previn, Seiji Ozawa, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Marin Alsop, Václav Neumann, Sir John Barbirolli, and Otto Klemperer. His orchestral work spanned recordings for labels and projects involving repertoire by Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, Sergei Prokofiev, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner, Richard Strauss, Camille Saint-Saëns, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Aaron Copland. Wick participated in film score sessions tied to studios and composers such as John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Maurice Jarre, James Horner, and John Barry, contributing to soundtracks recorded at venues like Abbey Road Studios and the Barbican Centre.
As a soloist he appeared with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles tied to festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival and the Aldeburgh Festival. He regularly performed works by trombone solo repertoire composers like Ferdinand David, Nino Rota, Launy Grøndahl, Gunther Schuller, Gian Carlo Menotti, Arthur Pryor, and contemporary figures such as Henri Tomasi, Paul Hindemith, Alberto Ginastera, Eugene Bozza, and Malcolm Arnold. Chamber collaborations involved groups linked to the Melos Ensemble, the London Winds, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the Goldsbrough Orchestra, working with soloists and conductors associated with the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, and international concert series.
Wick held teaching posts and gave masterclasses at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Northern College of Music, and conservatoires in Europe and North America. He mentored students who went on to positions in the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and leading military bands like the Band of the Coldstream Guards. His pedagogical influence extended through workshops connected to the International Trombone Association, festivals such as the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and the BBC Proms, and collaborative projects with professors from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School.
Wick founded a manufacturing line producing trombone mutes and mouthpieces that bear his name and are distributed worldwide through retailers and musical instrument firms connected to manufacturers in Germany, France, Japan, United States, Italy, Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. The product range includes straight mutes, cup mutes, harmon mutes, practice mutes, and a series of mouthpieces designed for orchestral, jazz, and solo styles; these are used by players in orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and by soloists at venues like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Wiener Musikverein. Wick's designs have been discussed in periodicals and organizations including the International Trombone Association Journal, BBC Music Magazine, and trade shows hosted by the Music Industries Association and the NAMM Show.
Wick received honors and recognitions from institutions including the Royal Academy of Music, civic awards from Birmingham, and acknowledgments from international organizations such as the International Trombone Association and conservatoire alumni associations. He has been featured in retrospectives and lifetime achievement programs alongside artists and conductors associated with the London Symphony Orchestra and has been celebrated at events in venues including the Southbank Centre and the Royal Festival Hall.
Category:English classical trombonists Category:1931 births Category:Living people