Douglas Yeo

Last updated

Douglas Yeo
Born1955 (age 6869)
Monterey, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Bass trombonist
  • Professor
Instrument(s)
Years active1981–present
Formerly of
Website yeodoug.com

Douglas Yeo (born 1955) is an American bass trombonist who played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2012, where he held the John Moors Cabot Bass Trombone Chair. He was also on the faculty of the New England Conservatory. In 2012 he retired from the BSO and accepted a position as professor of trombone at the Arizona State University School of Music, a position he held until 2016. In 2019, he was appointed to the faculty of Wheaton College (Illinois).

Contents

Background

Born in Monterey, California in 1955, Yeo first learned to play the trombone as a child living in Valley Stream, New York and continued while living in the Oak Ridge section of Jefferson Township, New Jersey, graduating in 1973 from Jefferson Township High School. [1] Yeo holds a bachelor of music degree with honors from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master of arts degree from New York University. His principal teachers were Edward Kleinhammer and Keith Brown.

Before joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Boston Pops Orchestra in May 1985, Yeo was a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, (1981–1985), and was on the faculties of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, in Baltimore, and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.. His background has included a four-year tenure with the Goldman Band, and performances with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the Gerry Mulligan Big Band, and orchestras for numerous Broadway shows.

From 1998 to 2008, he was Music Director of the New England Brass Band, [2] which released five compact disc recordings under his direction. In 2006, the New England Brass Band, under Mr. Yeo's direction, won first place in the Honors Section at the North American Brass Band Association [3] National Championship, held in Louisville, Kentucky.

He announced his retirement from the BSO, effective on August 27, 2012, at the conclusion of the Tanglewood 75th anniversary season. He moved to Arizona, where he was appointed Professor of Trombone at Arizona State University (Tempe). [4]

In 2014, he was the recipient of the International Trombone Association's highest honor, the ITA Award, presented to him "in recognition of his distinguished career and in acknowledgement of his impact on the world of trombone performance." [5]

Performance and recording highlights

Historic brass speciality

Douglas Yeo playing a buccin, Boston, 2006 Buccin yeo 01.jpg
Douglas Yeo playing a buccin, Boston, 2006

In addition to playing the bass trombone, Yeo plays bass trumpet, contrabass trombone, and has become a leading exponent of historical brasses such as the buccin, serpent, ophicleide and bass sackbut.

  • In 2005 he played serpent with wind players from the Handel & Haydn Orchestra on the Divertimento in B flat [St. Antoni Chorale] attributed to Haydn and in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas . Also in 2005 he played ophicleide in the first North American performance on original instruments of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet with Chorus Pro Musia [12] in Boston.

Other activities

Yeo has been extensively involved in teaching. In addition to his major positions at Wheaton College, Arizona State University, and New England Conservatory, he has eight times been on the faculty of the annual Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival (Hamamatsu, Japan), and has been guest artist and teacher at the International Trombone and Tuba Festival (Beijing, China), the Dutch Bass Trombone Open (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), and the Nagoya Trombone Festival (Nagoya, Japan).

A prolific writer, Yeo has written more than forty articles on the trombone and orchestral playing for various publications, including International Musician , [18] The Instrumentalist, [19] The Brass Herald , [20] Christianity Today , the Historic Brass Society Journal , [21] the International Trombone Association Journal , [22] and the T.U.B.A. Journal . [23]

He did extensive research in the Boston Symphony archives, resulting in the publication of four photo/historical articles on BSO brass players from 1881 to the present; he mounted an exhibit at Symphony Hall on the history and hobbies of members of the Boston Symphony from 1881 to the present during the 1993–94 season. In 2000, he wrote a trombone teaching curriculum for the University of Reading's (United Kingdom) Music Teaching in Private Practice Initiative of their Department of Arts and Humanities in Education.

He is the co-author, along with Edward Kleinhammer, of Mastering the Trombone (Ensemble Publications), and is author of The One Hundred: Essential Works for the Symphonic Bass Trombonist (Encore Music Publishers), and Serpents, Bass Horns and Ophicleides in the Bate Collection (Oxford University Press). In 2021, he published two books, Homer Rodeheaver and the Rise of the Gospel Music Industry (University of Illinois Press), co-authored with Kevin Mungons, and An Illustrated Dictionary for the Modern Trombone, Tuba, and Euphonium Player (Rowman & Littlefield).

Yeo was the plaintiff in a 1994 court case, Yeo vs. Lexington, that tested important issues in scholastic media law. In 1997 Yeo won on appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals but subsequently lost at the First Circuit Court of Appeals (en banc) [24] and carried the case to the US Supreme Court which declined to hear it. [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphonium</span> Brass instrument

The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word εὔφωνος euphōnos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced". The euphonium is a valved instrument. Nearly all current models have piston valves, though some models with rotary valves do exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trombone</span> Brass instrument played with a slide

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones use a telescoping slide mechanism to alter the pitch instead of the valves used by other brass instruments. The valve trombone is an exception, using three valves similar to those on a trumpet, and the superbone has valves and a slide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuba</span> Brass instrument

The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibration – a buzz – into a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the newer instruments in the modern orchestra and concert band, and largely replaced the ophicleide. Tuba is Latin for "trumpet".

Simon Proctor is a British composer and pianist, known for his works for unusual instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serpent (instrument)</span> Wooden S-shaped early brass instrument

The serpent is a low-pitched early wind instrument in the brass family developed in the Renaissance era. It has a trombone-like mouthpiece, with tone holes and fingering like a woodwind instrument. It is named for its long, conical bore bent into a snakelike shape, and unlike most brass instruments is made from wood with an outer covering of leather. A distant ancestor of the tuba, the serpent is related to the cornett and was used for bass parts from the 17th to the early 19th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cimbasso</span> Contrabass valved brass instrument

The cimbasso is a low brass instrument that covers the same range as a tuba or contrabass trombone. First appearing in Italy in the early 19th century as an upright serpent, the term cimbasso came to denote several instruments that could play the lowest brass part in 19th century Italian opera orchestras. The modern cimbasso design, first appearing as the trombone basso Verdi in the 1880s, has four to six rotary valves, a forward-facing bell, and a predominantly cylindrical bore. These features lend its sound to the bass of the trombone family rather than the tuba, and its valves allow for more agility than a contrabass trombone. Like the modern contrabass trombone, it is most often pitched in F, although models are occasionally made in E♭ and low C or B♭.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Wick</span>

Denis Wick is an influential British orchestral trombonist. He is also an internationally respected brass teacher and designer of brass mutes and mouthpieces. On retirement in 1989 he was awarded the International Trombone Association's annual award; he served as their president 2004–2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass trombone</span> Bass instrument in the trombone family

The bass trombone is the bass instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. Modern instruments are pitched in the same B♭ as the tenor trombone but with a larger bore, bell and mouthpiece to facilitate low register playing, and usually two valves to fill in the missing range immediately above the pedal tones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophicleide</span> 19th century keyed brass instrument

The ophicleide is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the alto, bass and contrabass ranges. Of these, the bass ophicleide in C or B took root over the course of the 19th century in military bands and as the bass of orchestral brass sections throughout Western Europe, replacing the serpent and its later upright derivatives. By the end of the 19th century however, it had been largely superseded by early forms of the modern tuba, developed from valved ophicleides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alto trombone</span> Musical instrument in the trombone family

The alto trombone is the alto member of the trombone family of brass instruments, smaller than the tenor trombone. It is almost always pitched in E a fourth higher than the tenor, although examples pitched in F are occasionally found. The alto trombone was commonly used from the 16th to the 18th centuries in church music to strengthen the alto voice, particularly in the Mass. Alto trombone parts are usually notated in alto clef.

Kenneth Amis is a Bermudian tuba player and composer best known for his association with the Empire Brass. He is also the assistant conductor of the MIT Wind Ensemble, a group he has been involved with since its creation in 1999. In addition, as of 2005, Amis is an Affiliated Artist of MIT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emory Remington</span>

Emory Brace Remington (1892–1971) was a trombonist and music teacher. His unique method made him one of the most well-known and influential trombone educators in history. He was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1923 to 1949, and on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY from 1922 until his death in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contrabass trombone</span> Lowest-pitched instrument in the trombone family

The contrabass trombone is the lowest-pitched instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. While modern instruments are pitched in 12 ft F with a single slide, the first practical contrabass trombones appeared in the mid-19th century built in 18 B♭ an octave below the tenor trombone with a double slide. German opera composer Richard Wagner notably called for this instrument in his Der Ring des Nibelungen opera cycle in the 1870s, and contrabass trombone has since appeared occasionally in large orchestral works without becoming a permanent member of the modern orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Premru</span> American trombonist, composer, and teacher

Raymond Eugene Premru was an American trombonist, composer, and teacher who spent most of his career in London, England.

Tyrone Breuninger was an American trombonist with the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as a euphonium/trombone/tuba teacher from Rowan University, located in Glassboro, New Jersey. Throughout his career, he also did freelance solo performances. His degrees include a Bachelor of Science in music education and an MM of music in performance. He also arranged a version of Georg Philipp Telemann's Sonata in G minor for euphonium.

Gary Alan Kulesha is a Canadian composer, pianist, conductor, and educator. Since 1995, he has been Composer Advisor to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He has been Composer-in-Residence with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (1988–1992) and the Canadian Opera Company (1993–1995). He was awarded the National Arts Centre Orchestra Composer Award in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bassano</span> English conductor

Peter Bassano is an English conductor.

Kerry Turner is an American composer and horn player. Turner is a recognized name in the horn and brass industry. Turner’s major ensembles with whom he performs include the American Horn Quartet, the Virtuoso Horn Duo, and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Turner has performed internationally as a soloist and clinician. Turner also sings tenor in a semi-professional octet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giancarlo Castro D'Addona</span> Musical artist

Giancarlo Castro D'Addona is a Venezuelan - Italian composer, conductor and trumpet player. Gold medal winner at the Global Music Awards in San Diego - California (US).

Igor Krivokapič is a Slovenian composer, retired tubist and instrument inventor.

References

  1. Biography, YeoDoug.com. Accessed March 28, 2023. "Bass Trombonist Douglas Yeo was born in Monterey, California and grew up in Queens and Valley Stream, New York (where he began playing the trombone at the age of nine in the Hewlett-Woodmere school system), and Oak Ridge, New Jersey (where he graduated from Jefferson Township High School in 1973)."
  2. "New England Brass Band" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  3. "NABBA" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  4. Douglas Yeo (August 17, 2011). "Douglas Yeo announces his retirement" . Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  5. "ITA Award Previous Recipients". January 7, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  6. "New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble". Archived from the original on January 12, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  7. "Lawrence Wolfe". Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  8. Viera, Carol. "Air-ev Productions: Music Web Site for Norman Bolter, Carol Viera and the Frequency Band" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  9. "International Trombone Festival". Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  10. Christopher Brubeck Archived February 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Boston Baroque
  12. "Chorus pro Musica" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  13. "Great American Brass Band Festival – June 1–4, 2017 Danville, Kentucky" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  14. "Athena Brass Band". Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  15. "Museum of Fine Arts, Boston" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  16. "National Music Museum – USD" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  17. New Grove II Dictionary of Music Archived September 29, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  18. "The Home Recording Handbook – International Musician". November 1, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  19. "The Instrumentalist" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  20. "The Brass Herald – The Magazine for the Brass Musician" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  21. Society, Historic Brass. "Historic Brass Society > Home" . Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  22. "International Trombone Association Journal". Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  23. T.U.B.A. Journal
  24. United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit Archived June 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  25. Student Press Law Center Archived June 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine