Charles Trussell aka Carlile Vernon, (1860,

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– 1946, Bauple, Queensland, Australia) was a prominent musician in

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

s (British style) both in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He served as band master of a number of bands in both countries and was a significant composer and arranger of brass band music. He also was an adjudicator at brass band contests. He is also believed to have written vocal music. He is not to be confused with American banjoist and composer H. C. Trussell (of Quincy, Ill.) who was also active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Biography

Early life

Trussell commenced his musical education in a school boys band in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from the age of 11 playing

tenor horn The Tenor horn (British English; Alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flu ...

. At 14 he enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as a band boy and served with the 2nd Battalion of the

14th Regiment of Foot 14 (fourteen) is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15. Mathematics Fourteen is the seventh composite number. Properties 14 is the third distinct semiprime, being the third of the form 2 \times q (where q is a higher prime). ...

and later the Prince of Wales Regiment in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. During this time he played

euphonium The euphonium ( ; ; ) is a tenor- and baritone-voiced valved brass instrument. The euphonium is a member of the large family of valved bugles, along with the tuba and flugelhorn, characterised by a wide conical bore. Most instruments have thr ...

and studied

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

Australia

In 1887, after 13 years service in the army, Trussell followed relatives to Australia and settled in Maryborough, before moving to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Shortly thereafter he was appointed conductor of the Latrobe Brass (later Federal) Band. He also became conductor of the Deloraine Band, conducted a church choir, and later on entertained as part of a group called the Federal Minstrels. In 1895 he was married to Minnie Ada Biggins (b.1863 in Tasmania)

New Zealand

In 1895, Trussell moved to New Zealand settling in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

where he was appointed band master of the Newton (later Auckland Battalion) Band. He also judged band contests, the first being the 1897 Goldfields Band Contest in

Te Aroha Te Aroha is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and south of Thames, New Zealand, T ...

. He was a prominent member of the North Island Brass Band Association. During this time, he played cricket for the St. Albans Cricket Club in Auckland. By 1900, he had moved to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and was band master of the Nelson Garrison Band. It was about this time he had composed the ''Alexandra Dance''."Papers Past"
"Nelson Garrison Band"

Colonist A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

, Nelson, 15 December 1899 In 1901 he composed the march ''Joys of Life'' for the national band contest held that year in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

. In November 1903 Trussell moved back to the North Island, to

Waihi Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. The town is at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, close to the western end of the Bay of Plenty. The nearby res ...

. As band master of the Waihi Federal Band he improved the standard of the band to one of the best in the country. During this time his compositional output increased, with several marches written each year (including ''Rimutaka'' (1905), ''Mount Egmont'' (1905), ''N. I. B. B. A.'' (1907)), arrangements of operatic selections for contests (including ''L’ Ebreo'' (1904) and '' La Traviata'' (1906)) and a fantasias ''Concordia'' (1903) and ''The Tournament'' (1906). He also competed in

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

competitions in the region. In April 1907 Trussell hosted the prestigious

Besses o' th' Barn Band Besses o' th' Barn Band is an English Brass band (British style), brass band that has been in existence in the Besses o' th' Barn area of Whitefield, Greater Manchester since at least 1818. A junior section, Besses Boys' Band, was established in ...

from England as part of their world tour. Shortly after this, in May 1907, he and his wife were farewelled from Waihi where the town presented him with a marble clock in recognition of the contribution made to the town. Silver hair brushes were presented to his wife. In the press and in band circles, Trussell had become known as "the New Zealand March King"."Papers Past"
Trussell described as New Zealand March King and N. I. B. B. A. as even better than Rimutaka and Mt Egmont

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly, it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduct ...

, Dunedin, 11 December 1907 Confusion has arisen about a later band master of the Waihi Federal Band. Between 1910 and 1914, and again in 1925, the band master was a Mr. T. Russell. It has been assumed that Trussell and Russell were in fact the same person with Trussell's name being a contraction of T. Russell used for composing purposes. It seems this is a misunderstanding and that Charles Trussell and T. Russell appear to be two different people, as both apparently were conducting different bands in different places at the same time. Mr. T. Russell, like Trussell, appears to have originally come from England, but when he returned in 1925, he is recorded as having come back from England. He also apparently returned to England due to ill health. Charles Trussell would have been both coming from and returning to Australia rather than England at this time.

Return to Australia

In 1907 Trussell moved back to Australia, this time settling in

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is an urban centre within the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River (Queensland), Bremer River, it is approximately 40 km (25 mi) west of the Brisbane central business district. Ipswich is ...

. He was appointed conductor of the Ipswich Vice-Regal Band, a position he held until his retirement in 1923. His wife died aged 58 in 1925 after an illness. He then moved to live near Bauple, Queensland. He continued playing with bands and was active composing and arranging (mostly contest pieces for brass bands) during this time receiving high praise for the quality of his music, especially his various selections from Verdi operas Charles Trussell died on 23 December 1946 aged 85. He is buried in Maryborough Cemetery.

Known works

This list is most likely incomplete. All works listed are composed or arranged for brass band unless otherwise stated. Included are works by the pseudonymous ''Carlile Vernon''. These works are indicated and are believed to be composed by Charles Trussell, but it has also been suggested they are works by Welsh composer William Carlile Bawden (b.1857, d.1925). *Alexandra (Dance) c. 1899"Papers Past"
"Nelson Garrison Band"

, Nelson, 15 December 1899. *Annexation (March) c. 1903 *Aviator (March) c. 1914Copy held in Kerepehi Brass Band library *Bridal Rose (Waltz) c. 1916 *Capiscolus (March) c. 1896"Papers Past"
"Newton Brass Band"

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

, Auckland, 4 July 1896 This is probably not an original composition by Trussell as reported. It is most likely Trussell conducting a performance the piece ''Capiscolus (Quickstep)'' by American William E. M. Petee, 1883. A copy of this piece with Trussell's name stamped on it is held in the Kerepehi Brass Band Library. *Concordia (Fantasia) c. 1903"Papers Past"
"Garrison Band Concert"

Wanganui Chronicle ''The Whanganui Chronicle'' is New Zealand's oldest newspaper. Based in Whanganui, it celebrated 160 years of publishing in September 2016. It is the main daily paper for the Whanganui, Ruapehu and Rangitīkei regions, including the towns of P ...

, Whanganui, 2 May 1903. *Endymion (Waltz) *Exhibition (Overture?) (March?) c. 1899 *The Garrison (March) c. 1899 *Gems of Italian Opera (arr. Trussell) c. 1900 *Grand Junction (March) 1905 Dedicated to the Grand Junction Mine in

*Golden Grain (Waltz) c. 1927 *The Golden North (March) *

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...

(March) c. 1900 *

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

City (March) * I Lombardi (Selection) (by

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

, arr. Trussell) c. 1906, Used as Test piece (A Grade) at

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

Contest 1907p95, Challenging Brass, 100 Years of Brass Band Contests in New Zealand, by S. P. Newcomb, 1980 Powerbrass Music Co. Ltd, Takapuna. * I Masnadieri (Selection) c. 1937 (by

arr. C. Trussell) *Il Bravo (Selection) (by Mercadante, arr. Trussell) c. 1910 *Ingomar (March) c. 1910 *Joys of Life (March), Composed as the A Grade Test March (quickstep) for the

Contest, 1902p68, Challenging Brass, 100 Years of Brass Band Contests in New Zealand, by S. P. Newcomb, 1980 Powerbrass Music Co. Ltd, Takapuna. *Knight Errant (Fantasia) c. 1922"Papers Past"
"Artillery Band" Evening Post, Wellington, 9 April 1923 *L’Ebreo (Selection) (

Apolloni Apolloni is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Achille Apolloni (1823–1901), Italian cardinal * Adolfo Apolloni (1855–1923), Italian sculptor * Ag Apolloni (born 1982), Albanian writer, poet, playwright, scholar and ...

arr. Trussell) 1902, Arranged specially as test piece for the

Contest 1902"Papers Past"
"Garrison Band Concert"

, Whanganui, 2 May 1903 *La Mia Speranza (Fantasia) c. 1901 arr. Trussell) (Some publications spell Speranizo rather than Speranza)"Papers Past"
"Nelson Garrison Band"

, Nelson, 14 May 1902 * La Traviata (Selection) (

arr. Trussell) 1906, Test Piece

Band Contest., Re-arranged to suit Lismore Contest Test piece (sometime between 1907 and 1914) *

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play '' Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea f ...

(Selection) (by

arr. Trussell) c. 1906, Used in 1920 for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

contest *Lyonia (March) c. 1914 *

Maritana ''Maritana'' is a three-act opera including both spoken dialogue and some recitatives, composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a libretto by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873). The opera is based on the 1844 French play ''Don César de Bazan'' b ...

(Selection) (by Wallace arr. Trussell) c. 1927 *Martha Hill (March) 1905, Dedicated to the Martha Hill Mine,

Mount Egmont Mount Taranaki (), officially Taranaki Maunga and also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. At , it is the second highest mountain in the North Island, afte ...

(March) 1905, Composed as the A Grade Test March (quickstep) for the

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was establishe ...

Contest, 1906 *N G B (

Garrison Band) (March) c. 1900 *N I B B A (

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

Brass Band Association) (March) c. 1907, Composed as the A Grade Test March (quickstep) for the

Contest, 1908 *Our Journal (Trio –

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

) *

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

(Selection) (

arr. Trussell) c. 1920, written for the

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

Contest 1920 *The Patagonian (March) 1916, used as the A Grade Test March (quickstep) for the

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

Contest, 1923 *The Pateena Valse (Waltz) (

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

), The title referring to the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

''Pateena'' *The President (March) (composed as Carlile Vernon) *Pride of the North (March) c. 1914 *Princess Royal (Gavotte) (March?) c. 1899 *Queen of the Earth (Waltz) (March?) c. 1917, Possibly the same piece as ''Queen of the South''. *Queen of the South (Waltz) c. 1917, Possibly the same piece as ''Queen of the Earth''. *Reminisences of the Opera (Selection) (arr. Trussell) c. 1900 *Rifle Volunteers (March) c. 1903 *

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

(Selection) (by

, arr. Trussell) c. 1919, Test piece for

Contest 1919 * Rimutaka (March) 1903, Composed as the A Grade Test March (quickstep) for the

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

Contest, 1903, Wanganui wins quickstep at Masterton Contest Rimutaka March listed as being specially composed for the event) *Rouge et Noir (Overture) c. 1918 *Scotch Melodies (Traditional, arr. Trussell) c. 1902, Possibly same piece as ''Scotland's Pride''. *

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

’s Pride (Selection) (Traditional, arr. Trussell) c. 1901, Possibly same piece as ''Scotch Melodies'' * St. Kilda (March) c. 1923 *

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, New Zealand, Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volca ...

(March) c. 1905 *Tiberius (March) (composed as Carlile Vernon) *The Tournament (Fantasia) c. 1906 *

Trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

Tutor (Method Book, published by John E. Dallas and Sons.) (written as Carlile Vernon) *Van Diemen (March) *

(Grand Selection) (arr. Trussell), Quite likely another of his selections composed by Verdi. *Victorine (Intermezzo?) (March?) c. 1903. A March entitled Victorine composed by

William Rimmer (music) William Rimmer (1862–1936) was a Lancashire composer and conductor of brass band music who was particularly well known for his marches. Rimmer was born in Southport in 1862 into a musical family. His father was bandmaster of the Lancashire V ...

exists stamped with C. Trussell. So this is likely to have been mistaken as a composition by Trussell. *Volunteers Parade (Quick March) c. 1903 *

(March) c. 1903/05, Possibly same piece as Annexation March *

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

(March) c. 1926, Composed as the A Grade Test March (quickstep) for the

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Contest, 1927 *Weel May the Boatie Row (March) c. 1901 *With All My Heart (

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

Solo) c. 1925"Papers Past"
"Bandsman Hill (Stan Hill? or Alan Hill?) soloist with Ponsonby Boys"

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

, Christchurch, 28 December 1925

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trussell, Charles 1860 births 1946 deaths Australian musicians Brass band composers New Zealand musicians New Zealand military musicians British emigrants to colonial Australia British military personnel in colonial India