by Douglas Yeo (May 6, 2024)
The academic and performing arts worlds are roiled today by the recent exposure of the latest in a long, sordid string of despicable acts of harassment and assault by male brass instrument players against female colleagues in symphony orchestras and against female students at colleges and universities. To the frat house mentality brass boys who dismiss these concerns with a shrug, my or anyone’s words of condemnation may not mean much as you sit in your cave of self-justification while continuing to destroy lives—until you find yourself dismissed from your job, your reputation ruined, or in jail. But as husband to my wife who plays baritone horn, the father of two daughters who play bass trombone and trumpet, and grandfather to my granddaughter who looks forward to learning to play trombone this summer, I’d like to encourage my fellow men who understand the seriousness and importance of this issue to join with me and others and go further than simply making statements of support.
Let’s back up our words with action. Be an advocate for women who work in the male-dominated world of brass playing. Respect boundaries. Don’t look the other way when you see an abusive situation unfolding. Speak up. Intervene when tasteless, inappropriate jokes are told. Disrupt stereotyping. Listen to, believe, and help victims. Have the courage to call out perpetrators and let them know that you will not play their dirty game; that what they are doing is evil, reprehensible, and wrong; that you won’t run in their circle; that you are not one of them. Don’t be silent. Report misconduct.
Let’s do better.
The Last Trombone – Douglas Yeo 