`Outrageous Fortune’ (Symphony for Trombone, Actor and Orchestra) – Receives it’s Premiere at the Trombonanza Festival, Santa Fe, Argentina
Treatro Municipal, Santa Fe, Argentina
OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE (symphony for trombone soloist, actor and symphony orchestra) – PREMIERE
In 2025, Clarke re-imagined his symphony OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE from wind orchestra to symphony orchestra. OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE‘s premiere was given at the Trombonaza Festival in Santa Fe, Argentina, with trombone soloist Brett Baker and the Orquesta Sinfónica Provincial de Santa Fe under the baton of maestro Silvio Viega – Nigel took on the actor’s role for this performance. The premiere was given to a capacity audience in the beautiful Santa Fe’s Opera theatre on the 8 August 2025.
OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE is a melancholic drama, bleak and sardonic in style. It follows programmatically the story of Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. The score is prefaced with the bard’s despairing words: “Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind”.
Hamlet is a tale of conspiracy, betrayal, suicide, revenge and murder, and also a ghost story. Both the trombone soloist and the actor take on the role of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE reflects the protagonist’s despair, his self-doubt and self-loathing and his advance towards mental breakdown. Hamlet’s character is full of bitterness, but alongside this he shows profound wisdom beyond his years. Nigel set two of Hamlet’s soliloquys to music: “O that this too too sullied flesh would melt” and “To be, or not to be, – that is the question”.
OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE was originally written and dedicated to Brett Baker, Natalie Grady, Reed Thomas and the Middle Tennessee State University Wind Ensemble (MTSU).
Poster outside the Teatro Municpal, Santa Fe
Rehearsal for `Outrageous Fortune’
Rehearsing `Outrageous Fortune’ Silvio Viegas (conductor), Brett Baker (Trombone), Nigel Clarke (composer) and the Orquesta Sinfónica Provincial de Santa Fe
`Outrageous Fortune’ premiere at the Teatro Municpal, Santa Fe 8 August
Brett Baker with Silvio Viegas, Nigel Clarke and the Orquesta Sinfónica Provincial de Santa Fe
Nigel with maestro Silvio Viegas after the concert
Ruben Carighi (Trombonist and Trombonanza Artistic Director), Nigel Clarke (Composer), Silvio Viegas (Conductor), Brett Baker (Trombone Soloist) and James Gourlay (Tuba Soloist in the Concert)
