by Douglas Yeo

Hello, and welcome to “The Last Trombone.” Here are a few words to give you a little context about what you’ll find here.

Who is “The Last Trombone”?

I’m Douglas Yeo, a trombonist, teacher and author living in Illinois. A detailed biography may be found on my website, yeodoug.com, but here are a few salient points that will give you an idea about who I am. I was born in Monterey, California and grew up in Queens and Valley Stream, New York, moving to New Jersey when my father changed jobs after my sophomore year in high school. I’m a graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois) and New York University. After several years of free lance playing in New York City and two years as a high school band director in Edison, New Jersey, I was bass trombonist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1985 and bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1985-2012. Upon my retirement from the BSO, Arizona State University approached me about taking on their position of Professor of Trombone at ASU and I did so from 2012-2016. The word “retirement” is a misnomer; I think I am busier than ever, but enjoying spending my time in reading and research and writing several books and many articles, traveling with my wife, especially to enjoy the great beauty of the American west, and spending time with our daughters and their families. In 2018, my wife and I moved to the Chicago area in order to live closer to our two grandchildren. From 2019 to 2023, I was trombone professor at Wheaton College and from 2022 to 2024 I was trombone professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As you can see, I keep flunking retirement. And I love that.

What is this blog all about?

Since 1996, my website yeodoug.com has been my primary vehicle for communicating my ideas about life, faith and music. When it was launched, it was the first website on the Internet devoted to the trombone and since that time, it has received millions of site visits. I’ve never used social media of any type, but when I left ASU (well, I no longer teach there full time, but School of Music Director Heather Landes did confer on me the title of Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Trombone, a title with no salary or duties), many people asked if I would be go on social media so they could keep up with my activities.

But, frankly, the social media platform doesn’t particularly interest me for a number of reasons. However, after a lot of thought, discussion and prayer, I decided that a blog format would allow me to engage people in things that are important to me. Hence The Last Trombone was born.

What will you be talking about in “The Last Trombone”?

The subtitle of this blog is “Occasional thoughts on Life, Faith and the Trombone.” My Christian faith – my expression of faith was born in the reformed Protestant tradition – informs all that I think, say and do. In this blog, I will put out thoughts about the whole of life, my Christian faith (including how that faith intersects with life), and the musical activities I engage in, especially those relating to the trombone. The three photos above give a little snapshot into my musical world, including my work as a soloist with orchestras (the photo on the right shows me playing Christopher Brubeck’s Bass Trombone Concerto with the Boston Pops Orchestra), and my interest in historical instruments like the serpent, sackbut and ophicleide (the photo in the middle shows me giving a lecture-recital at the Hamamatsu Musical Instrument Museum in Japan). The form of the blog will be free-wheeling, with text, photos, links, and videos.

How often will you post a new blog entry?

The short answer is, “When I have something to say.” I’m involved in a lot of writing projects. I have deadlines from publishers that I need to meet, and spending time with my wife, family and church is the most important thing to me. So I will post to this blog when I have time and something I want to share. My general goal is to post something at least once a month. Time will tell if I can keep up that schedule, but I am committed to this and am excited about the possibilities of having this new vehicle to communicate ideas to  others.

Photo credits (left to right): Timothy Hutchens, Kazuhiko Shima, Michael Lutch.