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) Wheaton College is a private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois. It was founded by evangelical abolitionists in 1860. Wheaton College was a stop on the Underground Railroad and graduated one of Illinois' first ...

Background

Born in Monterey, California in 1955, Yeo holds a bachelor of music degree with honors from Wheaton College in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and a master of arts degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. His principal teachers were Edward Kleinhammer and Keith Brown. Before joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra/

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

in May 1985, Yeo was a member of the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

, (1981–1985), and was on the faculties of the

Peabody Conservatory of Music The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

in Washington, D.C.. His background has included a four-year tenure with the

Goldman Band The Goldman Band was an American concert band founded in 1918 by Edwin Franko Goldman from his previous New York Military Band. Both bands were based in New York City. It was Goldman's contention that the New York symphony and orchestra musici ...

, and performances with the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its ...

, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

Big Band, and orchestras for numerous

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows. From 1998 to 2008, he was Music Director of the New England Brass Band, 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 The North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) is among the organizations whose goal is to promote the British brass band in North America. Publication The ''Brass Band Bridge'' is the official publication of the North American Brass Band A ...

National Championship, held in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. 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). 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."

Performance and recording highlights

*He has been a soloist with the Boston and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras; on both occasions becoming the first bass trombonist to perform as soloist with either orchestra. *In 1991, he gave the premiere of Vaclav Nelhybel's ''Concerto for Bass Trombone'' with the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble. *He performed John Williams' ''Tuba Concerto'' with the Boston Pops Orchestra under Mr. Williams, becoming the first bass trombonist to perform the piece. *He gave the first performance of Lawrence Wolfe's ''Wildfire'' with the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Wind Ensemble A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

in 1995. *He has premiered numerous compositions by Norman Bolter including ''Temptation'' for

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

and string quartet, ''Ancestors'' for

digeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying ...

and serpent, and ''La Grotte Cosquer'' for tenor and bass trombones. *His first solo recording, ''Proclamation'', with The

Black Dyke Mills Band Black Dyke Band, formerly John Foster & Son Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and best-known brass bands in the world. It originated as multiple community bands founded by John Foster at his family's textile mill in Queensbury, West ...

, featured premieres of four newly commissioned works: ''Proclamation'' by

Gordon Langford Gordon Langford (11 May 1930 – 18 April 2017) was an English composer, arranger and performer.Obituary in ''The Times'', May 01, 2017 Goff Richards Goff Richards (18 August 1944 – 25 June 2011), sometimes credited as Godfrey Richards,Alan Hovhannes' ''Symphony Number 34'', Opus 310 for Bass Trombone and

Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

. *His solo recording, ''Cornerstone'', of arrangements of hymns and gospel songs for bass trombone and piano, was released in 2000. *In March 2002, he recorded ''Two of a Mind'', an album of solos and duets with British tenor trombonist Nick Hudson, accompanied by the Williams Fairey Band and pianist David Chapman. *In May 1997, he performed

Simon Proctor Simon Proctor (born 1959) is a British composer and pianist, known for his works for unusual instruments.serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

in repertoire spanning over three centuries. *In 1982, 1999, 2004, 2014, 2017, and 2018 he was a featured guest artist and clinician at the International Trombone Festival. *In 1999 he also performed the Christopher Brubeck ''Concerto for Bass Trombone and Orchestra'' with the

. * In 2000, his performance of the finale of the Brubeck Concerto, "James Brown in the Twilight Zone", was broadcast on television as part of the "Evening at Pops" series on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Historic brass speciality

In addition to playing the bass trombone, Yeo plays

bass trumpet The bass trumpet is a type of low trumpet which was first developed during the 1820s in Germany. It is usually pitched in 8' C or 9' B today, but is sometimes built in E and is treated as a transposing instrument sounding either an octave, a sixt ...

contrabass trombone The contrabass trombone (german: Kontrabassposaune, it, trombone contrabbasso) is the lowest instrument in the trombone family of brass instruments. First appearing built in 18′ B♭ an octave below the tenor trombone, since the late 20th cen ...

, and has become a leading exponent of historical brasses such as the

buccin The buccin, or buccin à tête de serpent, is a visually distinctive trombone popularized in military bands in France between 1810 and 1845 which subsequently faded into obscurity. It should not be confused with another instrument also called "b ...

, ophicleide and bass

sackbut The term sackbut refers to the early forms of the trombone commonly used during the Renaissance and Baroque eras. A sackbut has the characteristic telescopic slide of a trombone, used to vary the length of the tube to change pitch, but is di ...

. :*In 2001 he joined the orchestra of

Boston Baroque Boston Baroque is the oldest period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman, to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, dr ...

for performances of

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

's ''L'Orfeo'' (on bass sackbut) and Handel's ''

Music for the Royal Fireworks The ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'' ( HWV 351) is a suite in D major for wind instruments composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. The ...

'' (on serpent), the latter of which released in 2003 on the

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner (recording engineer), Jack Renner and Robert Woods (producer), Robert Woods. ...

label. He joined Boston's

Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...

for performances of Berlioz' '' Symphonie Fantastique'' (playing ophicleide) in 2002 and in the

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

'' of 1610 (playing bass sackbut) in 2003. :*In 2005 he played serpent with wind players from the Handel & Haydn Orchestra on the Divertimento in B flat t. Antoni Choraleattributed to

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

and in Henry Purcell's ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

''. 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 in Boston. :*In June 2005 he presented a paper on serpent and ophicleide players in brass bands at the

Great American Brass Band Festival The Great American Brass Band Festival is a music festival held each June in Danville, Kentucky since 1990. The open-air festival features a wide variety of brass bands, a hot air balloon race, a picnic, and other activities. Each year up to 40,000 ...

's History Conference ( Danville, Kentucky) and also performed a solo on ophicleide accompanied by the Athena Brass Band. :*He presented a recital of music for serpent at the 2000 Historic Brass Festival at the University of Connecticut ( Storrs, Connecticut), has lectured on the serpent at the

Boston Museum of Fine Arts The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, the

National Music Museum The National Music Museum: America's Shrine to Music & Center for Study of the History of Musical Instruments (NMM) is a musical instrument museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. It was founded in 1973 on the campus of the Universit ...

Vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is v ...

, South Dakota and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York City, and is named in the ''New Grove II Dictionary of Music's'' article on the serpent.

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 is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview Ha ...

, Japan), and has been guest artist and teacher at the International Trombone and Tuba Festival (Beijing, China), the Dutch Bass Trombone Open (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, The Netherlands), and the Nagoya Trombone Festival (

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

, Japan). A prolific writer, Yeo has written more than forty articles on the trombone and orchestral playing for various publications, including '' International Musician'', ''The Instrumentalist'', '' The Brass Herald'', '' Christianity Today'', the '' Historic Brass Society Journal'', the '' International Trombone Association Journal'', and the '' T.U.B.A. Journal''. 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 The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

'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 Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

). 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) and carried the case to the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

which declined to hear it.Student Press Law Center

References

External links

* http://www.yeodoug.com * http://www.thelasttrombone.com * https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/faculty/douglas-yeo/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeo, Douglas American classical trombonists Male trombonists Living people New England Conservatory faculty 1955 births Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art faculty Peabody Institute faculty People from Monterey, California Arizona State University faculty 20th-century classical trombonists 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians 21st-century classical trombonists 21st-century classical musicians 21st-century American musicians Classical musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians