London toots its own horn hosting first International Trombone Festival in Canada

More than 500 trombone players from around the world are gathering in London to play music, hone their skills and celebrate their love of the blaring brass instrument.

The 2025 International Trombone Festival has landed in Canada for the first time in its history, hosting a packed four days of events which continue until Saturday.

The festival's location at Western University in London is largely because of a local trombone enthusiast who is hosting the event.

"Mostly we see trombone as an ensemble instrument, and most non-musicians see it as a circus instrument," said professional trombonist and Western professor Denis Jiron to CBC's Afternoon Drive.

"But really it provides a lot of different colours and a lot of different kinds of music," he said. "It can be playful, it can be dynamic, but it can also be really powerful and really dark."

Jiron said he hopes the events will grow the trombone studio at Western and inspire his current students.

"My primary goal is for my students more than anything, because a lot of these students come from small towns all over Canada and just haven't had the opportunity to see world class musicians, regardless of instrument," he said.

"This is bringing artists of all types and calibers here and really exposes [students] to what they should be expecting and what goals they should be trying to achieve."

Trombonists from Mexico, Brazil, Germany, the United States and other parts of Canada are among those who traveled to the festival.

"It's a brilliant opportunity for us all to connect, hear from each other and feed off of that energy of some great playing," said trombone player Nick Sullivan, who traveled from Lethbridge, Alta., for the festival. "There's so much to learn from each other in this opportunity."

On the first night of the festival, more than 100 trombone players gathered on the Alumni Hall stage to play together.

"It's pretty nice to play up there with everybody," said Vancouver trombonist Gerald Rogers. "It's a kind of community that you can't really get anywhere else."

A selection of influential trombonists are also in attendance at the festival including Fred Wesley, who has worked with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, and Christian Lindberg, who Jiron calls "the most important trombonist of the 21st century as far as classical music is concerned."

Events at the festival include recitals, lectures, presentations and competitions, which is open to trombone players and enthusiasts alike. The festival is also hosting its second free concert Friday night at Dundas Place.

"I'd like to invite all of London to come down. You don't have to be a trombonist, and we're not going to play circus music," Jiron said.

"There's a wonderful quote. It's something like, 'Trombones can weep like a choir of angels, or bring the wrath down like the devil himself.'"