Category: music

Let’s do better.

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.

Grateful: The International Trombone Association Lifetime Achievement Award

by Douglas Yeo (April 2, 2024)

I’ve been playing the trombone for 60 years. I started on the instrument when I was nine years old, in 1964, and while my end is nearer than my beginning, I never think of myself as “getting older.” Life is a steady rhythm of engaging activities, individual and shared activities, and the blessing of regularly being with family members and friends.

The International Trombone Association was founded in 1972 and I joined it in that same year. I was a senior in high school at the time and in those days, I ordered a lot of trombone music from Robert King Music Sales in North Easton, Massachusetts. Since I didn’t have a checking account at the time, I used to send cash or stamps to Robert King to pay for the music I ordered. That was a different time than today, for sure. In one order of music I received, a flyer about the newly formed International Trombone Association was enclosed, I joined right away (I probably sent cash or stamps for my first membership fee, too), and I’ve been a member ever since. I guess you could say I’m a founding member of the ITA. Over the last 52 years, I’ve been involved in the ITA in a lot of the ways. I’ve written dozens of articles for the ITA Journal, I’ve served on ITA committees (Governance Committee, Board of Advisors), I’ve been a guest artist at many International Trombone Festivals (held in Nashville, TN 1982, Potsdam NY 1999, Ithaca NY 2004, Columbus GA 2013, Redlands CA 2017, Iowa City 2018, Conway, AR 2022, and the upcoming ITF in Fort Worth, TX), and I’ve adjudicated many of the ITA’s annual competitions.

When it was founded in 1972, the International Trombone Association instituted an annual award, the ITA Award. It was given to one trombonist each year in recognition of “an elite level of creative and artistic activity.” The first recipient was Henry Romersa, founder of the International Trombone Workshop (now the International Trombone Festival). The list of recipients over the last 52 years reads like a who’s-who of notable trombonists including Lewis Van Haney (second trombonist of the New York Philharmonic and trombone professor at Indiana University, 1973), Robert King (1975), Thomas Everett (founder of the ITA, retired professor, Harvard University, 1980), George Roberts (the great Hollywood studio bass trombonist, 1983), the great jazz trombonists Urbie Green (1985) and J. J. Johnson (1988), my teacher, friend, and mentor, Edward Kleinhammer (bass trombonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1986), Christian Lindberg (1991) and Joseph Alessi (2002), bass trombonist Ben van Dijk (2003), my Boston Symphony Orchestra colleague Ronald Barron (2005), David Taylor (the great New York based bass trombonist, 2016), my “brother from another mother,” jazz giant Wycliffe Gordon, and Megumi Kanda (principal trombonist of the Milwaukee Symphony, 2020). All of these people have shaped my life; many are friends; others have been trombone heroes of mine.

Douglas Yeo and Ronald Barron, International Trombone Festival, Eastman School of Music, 2014

In 2014, I received the ITA Award and was inducted into this Pantheon of trombonists. It was a tremendous honor and I received it at the International Trombone Festival held at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. One of the things that made my receiving the ITA Award at that time was the fact that my friend and colleague from my years as a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Ronald Barron, received the ITA’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the same time.

The ITA’s Lifetime Achievement Award was one of several awards established by the ITA several years after its founding in order to give recognition to deserving individuals. The first of these new awards was the Neill Humfeld Award for Excellence in Trombone Teaching, established in 1997 (the 2024 recipient of the Neill Humfeld Award is Abbie Conant; the 2024 recipient of the ITA Award is John Fedchock). The Neill Humfeld Award was followed by the Lifetime Achievement Award (established in 2007 to recognize individuals “who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to the trombone profession over a long career”), and the Legacy Circle Award (also established in 2007 and usually recognizes deceased individuals “who have made a profound and lasting impact on the evolution of trombone playing or teaching”). Among recipients of the Legacy Circle Award are Arthur Pryor, Emory Remington, Jack Teagarden, Al Grey, Russell Moore, Bill Watrous, Keith Brown, Joannès Rochut, Lillian Briggs, and Dorothy Ziegler). The 2024 recipient of the ITA Legacy Circle award is John Swallow who was a member of the New York Brass Quintet for many years and with whom I taught alongside at New England Conservatory of Music.

Last week, I was informed that I have been selected to be a 2024 recipient of the International Trombone Association’s Lifetime Achivement Award. My friend, trombonist Benny Sluchin, was also named a recipient of the ITA’s Lifetime Achivement Award and we will accept our awards at the upcoming International Trombone Festival at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a very special feeling to be recognized by ones’ peers for accomplishments over a lifetime. And it will be very special to accept the Award at TCU, where David Begnoche—who was a student at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston when I was teaching there—is trombone professor and host of the Festival, and my friend Ronald Barron and I will play a duet with the TCU trombone choir. Other connections abound: David Yacus, who studied bass trombone with me at New England Conservatory of Music and is now one of the leading sackbut players in the world, will be performing at the Festival. So will my good friend and fellow ITA Award recipient David Taylor. Benny Sluchin has been so helpful to me in various research projects, including my upcoming presentation at the ITF about Joannès Rochut (the presentation is the basis for an article about Rochut that I am writing for the ITA Journal that will be published in early 2025). Benny lives in Paris and we don’t get to see each other very often, so it will be great to see him at the Festival.

Announcement of the International Trombone Association 2024 Lifetime Achivement Award recipients (ITA Facebook page)

I’m very grateful to be recognized in this way—it is not lost on me that I am one of only a few individuals to have received both the ITA Award and the ITA’s Lifetime Achivement Award, a group that includes Edward Kleinhammer, George Roberts, and Ronald Barron—but, in fact, I would not be receiving this award were it not for the hundreds and hundreds of friends, colleagues, and teachers whose lives have intersected with mine. I am a blessed man to have worked, talked, and interacted with so many engaging artists/musicians/trombonists since I started playing the trombone 60 years ago. My students at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Edison, New Jersey, Peabody Institute in Baltimore, at New England Conservatory of Music, Arizona State University, Wheaton College, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have also made a profound impact on me. In a sense, the names of all of these individuals are pencilled in on my Lifetime Achievement Award certificate because without them, I would not be who I am today, I would not have lived the life I have lived, and I certainly would not have made the contributions to the world of the trombone were it not for them informing, encouraging, and challenging me. I say the same for my family, my wife of 49 years, Patricia, our daughters and sons-in-law, and our grandchildren. They have been supportive, patient, caring, and loving through all of my activities. I thank God for all of you.

If you’re going to be at the International Trombone Festival at TCU next month, I look forward to seeing you there. Four days of all trombone, all the time. Sounds pretty good to me!

Biography of Douglas Yeo from the International Trombone Association website, April 2024. In the photo that accompanies this bio and the ITA Facebook announcement of 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, I am holding a buccin (dragon bell trombone, made in the 19th century) during a recital I gave at the Hamamatsu (Japan) Museum of Musical Instruments. The International Trombone Association adopted the buccin as its logo, based on a buccin owned by New England Conservatory of Music.

University of Illinois trombones: two happy announcements

by Douglas Yeo (March 5, 2024)

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has recently made two important, happy announcements that I’d like to share with readers of The Last Trombone.

I have been serving as trombone professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for the last two years, since August 2022. At that time, the UIUC School of Music was in need of a trombone professor when its previous full time trombone professor abruptly resigned in May 2022. I was happy to accept the offer to take on this work while the School of Music conducted a search for a new full time trombone professor. Unfortunately, the search that was held during the 2022-2023 academic year was not successful in hiring a new trombone professor so a new search was mounted in fall 2023. In light of this, I agreed to return for a second year. Today, Dr. Linda Moorhouse, Director of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Music announced that Dr. Jonathan Whitaker has been named professor of trombone at UIUC effective August 2024.

Dr. Jonathan Whitaker. Photo courtesy of Edwards Instrument Co.

I have known Jonathan Whitaker for many years and I am delighted that events have come together to bring him to University of Illinois. Dr. Whitaker’s work at University of Alabama—where he has been professor of trombone since 2009—is well known. He has a proven track record in building and growing the Alabama trombone studio, and his students have experienced remarkable success over the years. Here is something about Dr. Jonathan Whitaker, from the announcement by Dr. Linda Moorhouse:

Jonathan Whitaker joined the faculty of the University of Alabama in the fall of 2009. At Alabama, Dr. Whitaker’s students have been tremendously successful in national and international solo competitions as well as being placed in some of the nation’s top summer music festivals. The University of Alabama Trombone Choir has given performances at the 2010 Eastern Trombone Workshop, the 2011 International Trombone Festival, the 2013 International Trombone Festival, and the 2018 American Trombone Workshop. Dr. Whitaker has also appeared twice as a performer and clinician at the American Trombone Workshop and two International Trombone Festivals. Dr. Whitaker is in great demand as a guest artist and has appeared at some of the most prestigious music schools in the country including The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Yale University, Indiana University, and many more.

As a soloist, Dr. Whitaker can be heard on numerous recordings including the 2018 release of his second solo recording entitled “Paceline” and his debut solo recording entitled “Nature’s Gift” with pianist Kevin Chance. He is a featured soloist on two recordings with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble that include Anthony Barfield’s Red Sky and David Maslanka’s Concerto for Trombone and Wind Ensemble. These recordings are available at jonathanwhitaker.com.

Dr. Whitaker has been very active in commissioning new works for the trombone. In 2019, he gave the world premiere of Scott McAllister’s Atipa-Tcoba at the 2020 American Bandmasters Association Convention with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble. Other notable commissions and premieres include Nicola Ferro’s Mega for solo trombone and wind ensemble (2016) and Jim Stephenson’s Three Bones Concerto (2013), commissioned for the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble along with Joseph Alessi and Peter Ellefson. He also performed the work at the 2013 Eastern Trombone Workshop with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” He is also responsible for the commissioning of Eric Ewazen’s Visions of Light, as well as several other compositions including music for trombone and piano, unaccompanied trombone and trombone choir. Dr. Whitaker also is the author of the trombone version of the popular method, The Brass Gym, and has several published arrangements with Alessi Publications.

In 2012, Dr. Whitaker made his Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist at the New York Wind Band Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with all the wind groups at Indiana University, the Augustana College Symphonic Band, the Purdue University Symphony Orchestra, the Henderson State University Wind Ensemble and performed a premier performance of John Mackey’s Harvest: Concerto for Trombone with the University of Alabama Wind Ensemble in the fall of 2010. He also performed the American premier of Johan de Meij’s T-Bone Concerto with the Murray State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

Dr. Whitaker has performed with the New York Philharmonic on three separate occasions including the orchestra’s 2012 Opening Gala that was broadcast on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS with music director Alan Gilbert. He is currently Principal Trombone of the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Whitaker performs regularly with the Alabama Symphony and has also held positions with the Harrisburg Symphony (PA), Mobile Symphony (AL), Arkansas Symphony, Pine Bluff Symphony (AR), Shreveport Symphony (LA), South Arkansas Symphony, Duluth-Superior Symphony (MN), Owensboro Symphony (KY), Evansville Philharmonic (IN), Richmond Symphony (IN), Jackson Symphony (TN), and the Paducah Symphony (KY).

Dr. Whitaker holds degrees in trombone performance from Murray State University (BMUS) and the University of Minnesota (MMUS), and the Doctor of Music in Brass Pedagogy from Indiana University. Dr. Whitaker’s primary teachers include Ray Conklin, Tom Ashworth, M. Dee Stewart, Peter Ellefson, and Joseph Alessi with additional studies with Arnold Jacobs, Edward Kleinhammer, Michael Mulcahy, Charlie Vernon, and Douglas Wright.

Jonathan Whitaker is a Getzen Artist and performs on Griego Mouthpieces.

We look forward to welcoming Dr. Whitaker to campus this summer. After UIUC’s School of Music Convocation on May 12, I will clean out my office and head home. While one never knows what may happen in the future, I will be closing the door on over 40 years of teaching on the college level. I have greatly enjoyed this teaching work over the years, and I’ve been blessed to work with many talented students who have gone on to do great things to impact our world, in musical and other ways. But at this season of life, I look forward to having more time to devote to activities with my family, and to spend more time researching and writing. That said, I will always be grateful for these two years at University of Illinois. Readers of The Last Trombone know how I have enjoyed that tremendous campus community. I look forward to continuing to celebrate the activities and accomplishments of the students at the University of Illinois trombone studio and I’m absolutely delighted to be handing the keys to the office off to Dr. Jonathan Whitaker. If you are a trombonist looking for a college education at a place where you can be part of a vibrant community with a superb trombone teacher, I urge you to consider applying to the University of Illinois School of Music. With Dr. Whitaker at the helm of the UIUC trombone studio, his big plans will be announced soon and exciting days are ahead for trombone students at Illinois.

And speaking of trombone students at University of Illinois, we have recently announced that the recipient of the 2023–2024 Robert E. Gray Trombone Award is junior tenor trombone music education major Ethan Groharing.

Ethan Groharing, recipient of the University of Illinois 2023–2024 Robert E. Gray Award

Dr. Robert E. Gray was professor of trombone at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1955–1991 and upon his retirement, the Robert E. Gray Trombone Award was established thanks to the generosity of the Gray family, many of Dr. Gray’s former students, and friends of the Illinois trombone studio. The award has been given each year since 1993 to a trombone student at Illinois who embodies the ideals of Dr. Gray—who was a transformative educator, a fine trombonist, founder of the University of Illinois Wind Ensemble, and President of the International Trombone Association— as exemplified in his words:

Take your time in your work. Don’t always push and do what is expedient. Develop an understanding of life and humanity in your degree work. It will make you a better person.

Last year, the award was given to Poorna Kumar, a sophomore (now a junior) tenor trombone performance/community health double major who has served as a drum major for the Marching Illini (University of Illinois’ marching band) for the last two years. I wrote about Poorna, her accomplishments, and her receiving the 2022–2023 Robert E. Gray Trombone Award HERE.

Ethan Groharing, recipient of the University of Illinois 2023–2024 Robert E. Gray Trombone Award

This year’s recipient, Ethan Groharing, has distinguished himself in a number of ways. For 2023–2024, he served as trombone section leader for the Marching Illini. In addition to continued improvement as a trombonist (this semester he is playing both in the UIUC Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony), he has served in leadership roles in the band fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi. Of particular note is Ethan’s recent involvement to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Good mental health is important for everyone, and last year, Ethan worked to raise $500 for the Foundation, which he did. This year, he set the goal higher and he exceeded it, raising $2,000 for this important cause through Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. As part of his fundraising effort, Ethan said he would dye his hair green if he made his goal, since green is the color of the mental health awareness ribbon. Ethan powered past his goal and he made good on his promise to dye his hair, something made us on campus smile and also raised even more awareness for this cause that is so important to him. In addition to a cash award, the Robert E. Gray Award now includes the Robert E. Gray Trombone Award medal that Ethan and other recipients can wear at graduation, and his name is now inscribed on a plaque in the University of Illinois trombone studio along with the names of previous recipients of the award.

Here we have two new things to celebrate at University of Illinois: the appointment of our new trombone professor, Dr. Jonathan Whitaker, and the awarding of the 2023–2024 Robert E. Gray Trombone Award to Ethan Groharing. I’m happy to share this news with readers of The Last Trombone as we look forward to finishing out the current school year in a few weeks and turning the page to an exciting new future for trombones at University of Illinois.

A new edition, a lower price, and a discount

by Douglas Yeo (February 23, 2024)

In late 2021, Rowman & Littlefield published my book, An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player. This book is the product of several years of writing and a lifetime of exploration into the world of low brass instruments.

Since the book hit the market, it has received generous reviews and I’ve been heartened knowing that so many individuals and libraries have purchased the book. Here’s a sample of recent reviews:

To simply list all of the topics in this dictionary is not practical; however, suffice it to say that if a topic is not covered in this dictionary, it might not be worthy of investigation. . . Lennie Peterson’s illustrations are engaging and accurate. . . This is an excellent first step for reference or research. There are exhaustive references to outside sources for further study and the 13-page bibliography is perhaps the most comprehensive resource available. This is one of the books that should be on every teacher’s shelf and in every academic library. ~ International Trombone Association (2022)

This new resource is accessible to both beginning and experienced players and is thorough in its hundreds of listings, ranging from “a piacere” to “zugposaune.” . . I am thrilled to add this resource to my collection. I believe that it is a mandatory addition to the library of any low brass player and will be invaluable to any performer, educator, or student who is interested in taking a deep dive into the history and development of the tuba, euphonium or trombone. ~ International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal (2022)

Excellent illustrations created by Lennie Peterson, an award-winning artist and educator and a professional trombonist, enhance many entries. All in all, a fine overview of low brass instruments that will be valuable to novices and professionals alike. Summing up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. ~ Choice, the Journal for the Association of College and Research Libraries (2022)

Of all the people that could have been chosen for the task of creating a dictionary for the modern lowbrass player, Yeo is perhaps the most appropriate to undertake such a project. As a performer – having served as bass trombonist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra for nearly 30 years – and pedagogue – having held faculty positions at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston University, the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, Arizona State University, and Wheaton College – his name is recognized and respected in the world of modern low brass. Additionally, he is a well-known champion for and practitioner of historical low brass instruments, which, with his practiced eye and knowledge of the history of these instruments, serves the dictionary and its readers well. His interest and yearning for knowledge are clearly the driving forces behind the volume’s success, making it an invaluable resource for any modern low-brass practitioners, students and teachers, amateurs and professionals. ~ Galpin Society Journal (2022)

[This book] offers an absorbing and comprehensive view of our instruments and their craft and lore. . . it is about the present-day instruments and their immediate past, but their predecessors are in here too and are treated respectfully and sympathetically. Douglas Yeo’s definitions and explanations are clear and concise, and the drawings by Lennie Peterson are elegant and surprisingly instructive. ~ Historic Brass Today (2023)

Here is a sample page from the book, with a few of the over 130 illustrations by my friend, Lennie Peterson:

An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player by Douglas Yeo. Page 18 (part of the entry for bass trombone with illustrations by Lennie Peterson).

While I have been delighted with the reception to my Dictionary, it was initially released as a hard cover book with a price point that was higher than I hoped it would be. The price for the hard cover edition, $105, was set by the publisher, and with many people purchasing the book as a textbook, the price wasn’t out of line with a lot of similar texts. Still, I wished the price had been lower. I’d rather sell more copies of my books at a lower price than fewer copies at a higher price—for me, it’s about the ideas I’m putting out for people, not my royalty check.

So I was especially happy when, last year, my editor at Rowman & Littlefield told me that my Dictionary had been selected by the publisher to be reprinted in a paperback edition at a much lower price point. I was also very pleased when my editor told me that printing the book in a paperback edition meant I could make a few changes and corrections to my original text.

I’m glad to announce that the paperback edition of my An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player is now available. The price is $50, half of the hard cover $105 price. You can purchase the hard cover ($105.00), the paperback ($50.00), and the Kindle edition ($47.50) on amazon.com.

But if you’d like to purchase the Dictionary for less, go to the page about my book on the Rowman & Littlefield website, HERE.

Once there, you can order the Dictionary, and when you check out, apply this discount code:

RLFANDF30

Doing so will give you a 30% discount on the book, bringing the cost of the paperback edition down to $35.00. That’s a savings I want readers to know about.

And I want to thank all readers who now have the book in their library. My Dictionary was a labor of love, and it makes me very happy to know that so many people are now exploring the same subjects I cover in the book that have fascinated me for so many years.