Eric Crees
Biography

Eric Crees was born in London and studied at Wandsworth School, where, in the famous boys’ choir, he worked with many distinguished professional orchestras and conductors. Of particular importance was the school’s long association with Benjamin Britten, who wrote a solo part for him in the Children’s Crusade.

While still at school he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and as a student undertook an extensive period of work with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. Having won the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society’s ‘Joyce Dixey Award’ for composition, he graduated from the University of Surrey with first class honours and joined the London Symphony Orchestra, where he spent twenty-seven years, twenty as Co-Principal Trombone. In September 2000 he was appointed Section Principal Trombone at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In addition to the concert and recording work, he has performed on many of the most iconic film soundtracks, including the first four of the Star Wars series, Superman 1 & 2, Raiders of The Lost Ark, Braveheart, Aliens, Who Killed Roger Rabbit, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter 1, 2 & 3, Willow, Krull, Die Another Day, Rat Race, Life of Brian, An American Tail, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Long Walk to Freedom, Darkest Hour, as well as dozens more.

As director of London Symphony Orchestra Brass for many years he regularly conducted them at the Barbican Centre and internationally. He has made five CDs with the ensemble: two originally for Collins Classics, American Brass and Cathedral Brass (re-released as Brass Americana and Sacred Brass on Alto), featuring many of his arrangements, which are also available on LSO Live and three of a world première recording by Naxos Records of the complete forty-three instrumental ensemble sonatas and canzonas of Giovanni Gabrieli, for which he made a new performing edition, available from Brass Wind Publications.

In 2011 Eric edited the complete works that the Belgium composer Paul Gilson wrote for La Fanfare Wagnérienne a brass group based at the Brussels Conservatory at the turn of the 20th century, using the brass instruments that Wagner used in his Ring Cycle. Extraordinarily, these works have not been performed for 100 years. He has made a world première recording of them on the Musical Concepts label with Guildhall Brass released in May 2013.

Since joining Covent Garden, he has directed the Royal Opera House Brass Soloists in concert at the Floral Hall to great critical success and made two recordings for Brass Classics, On The Town and The Twelve days of Christmas, which includes many of his carol arrangements sung by the Chorus of the Royal Opera House.

He has also written acclaimed arrangements for The London Trombone Sound and The London Horn Sound, for Cala Records, and has worked for many of the world’s most distinguished ensembles and brass bands in concerts, recordings, television and radio broadcasts. His symphonic version of Bernstein’s Suite from West Side Story has been commercially recorded four times. Three of his arrangements have been featured on a Chicago Symphony Brass CD on CSO Live.

Recent original compositions include Silk Street Stomp written for the Guildhall School of Music Big Band and played at a festival of youth big bands at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Two Antiphonal Fanfares performed at the Lord Mayor’s banquet at the Mansion House, Frighteners’ Gallop for 8 horns commissioned by the British Horn Society, Orage for 16 trombones written for Bone Lab and premiered at the Dartington Summer School, The Birth of Conchobar for symphonic brass and percussion for the Ulster Youth Orchestra, Three Sketches from Rackham for flute and harp, Flourish for solo trombone and Carillons for six harps for the Royal Academy of Music Harp Ensemble.

In order to develop and extend his work for the large ensemble, he has formed The Symphonic Brass of London, a hand-picked group of Britain’s finest brass and percussion players who have performed at home and abroad to great acclaim. In January 2014 they released their first CD of French and Spanish music, A Bridge over the Pyrenees, and their second, Preludes, Rags and Cakewalks, featuring the music of Joplin and the influence of ragtime on Debussy, Satie, Milhaud and Auric, was released in January 2020.

Eric is also an internationally renowned teacher and is Professor of Trombone, B.Mus. course tutor, Conductor of Wind, Brass and Percussion, and arranging and composing lecturer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he was made a Fellow in 1991. In September 2014, Eric was awarded Conferment of Title to Professor in acknowledgement of his national and international standing and outstanding contribution in performing, recording, arranging, composing, the publishing of scholarly editions, teaching and academic leadership. He is a frequent coach at music colleges and specialist schools both in the UK and abroad, as well as the National Youth Orchestras of Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, the Ulster Youth Orchestra and the Pacific Youth Orchestra in Japan. Many of his students now hold important orchestral and teaching positions throughout the world. He gave a Masterclass at the Paris Conservatoire in May 2019 and has recently conducted concerts featuring his arrangements with the brass of the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, the Tonhalle Orchestra and Boys Choir in Zurich and the Royal Air Force Central Band. In April 2023, as well as giving two masterclasses, Eric directed a concert of his own symphonic brass and percussion arrangements to a large and enthusiastic audience in the Richard Jakoby Saal at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany.

Although it is based in Brussels, in July 2023, the International Confederation of Music Publishers, decided to hold their AGM at the legendary Abbey Road Studio 1 in London’s St John’s Wood. As a musician who has played there literally hundreds of times in some of the most iconc film, classical, and rock scores, Eric was invited as a guest speaker to share his thoughts and experiences with the audience. To accompany his talk, he played excerpts from LSO recordings  directed by Previn, Khatchaturian, John Williams, as well as his own version of the theme from The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini for sixteen trombones, originally made for the album The London Trombone Sound.

As a juror Eric has served on many international juries including the Donatella Flick and Leonard Bernstein ConductIng competitions in London and Jerusalem and in November 2021 Eric was a member of the Jury for the Swiss Brass Band Championshps in Montreux. In September 2022 he was President of the Trombone Jury at the prestigious 71st ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

In March 2014 the International Trombone Association presented him with the prestigious ‘Neill Humfeld Award for Teaching Excellence 2014’ ‘In recognition of his distinguished teaching career and with deep appreciation for the inspiration and example he has provided for trombonists of our time’.


Performing live with the Symphonic Brass of London, 2014
Album recording with the Symphonic Brass of London, 2019
ARD International Trombone Competition Jury, Munich (Bayerischer Rundfunk), 2022. Left to right: Fabrice Millischer, Hansjorg Profanter, Eric Crees (chair), Antoine Ganaye, Abbie Conant, Jonas Bylund, David Bruchez, Toby Oft. (Photo [c] Daniel Delang)
Recording the Harry Potter score with John Williams
In the Stravinsky Hall, Montreux, with fellow jurors at the Swiss Brass Band Championships, 2021
Eric conducting the Guildhall trombones
Eric promoting Schilke Trombones
Eric conducting West Side Story
With the LSO trombones and tuba, 1999
Eric with Pierre Boulez, 2000
With LSO trombones and Jerry Goldsmith at Abbey Road, 2000
Performing at Hayes Galleria, 1993/94
Performing at the Pacific Music Festival, Sapporo Japan, 2000

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