Douglas Yeo

Douglas Yeo was Professor of Trombone at Arizona State University from 2012-2016, a position he assumed after a 27-year career as bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1985-2012. Upon his retirement from ASU, he was given the title of Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Music in recognition of his service to the University. Before coming to Boston, he was a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a free-lance musician in New York City where he played several Broadway shows and was a member of the Goldman Band, and a high school band director.  A graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois–where he studied trombone with Edward Kleinhammer (Bass Trombonist of the Chicago Symphony, 1940-1985)–and New York University, he was also Music Director of the New England Brass Band from 1998-2008, leading it to two National Championship titles in its section at the North American Brass Band Association Championships and recording five CDs with the band, the last of which, “Be Glad Then America,” won the NABBA 2007 "Recording of the Year" award. He has been a member of NABBA's Board of Directors, served a term as Vice-President, and was editor of its Journal, The Brass Band Bridge.

In 2014, Douglas Yeo was the recipient of the International Trombone Association’s highest honor, the 2014 ITA Award, given to him “in recognition of his distinguished career and in acknowledgement of his impact on the world of trombone performance.”

Professor Yeo's five best-selling solo recordings–“Proclamation,” “Take 1,” “Cornerstone,” “Two of a Mind,” and “Le Monde du Serpent”–as well as his DVD, “Approaching the Serpent: An Historical and Pedagogical Overview”–have met with critical acclaim. In 2014, the Arizona State University Desert Bones Trombone Choir released its first compact disc under his direction, “Of Grandeur, Grace and Glory,” and in 2015, the trombone choir released its second recording, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”

Douglas Yeo has authored dozens of articles for many music publications including some of the most prestigious peer-reviewed journals such as the Galpin Society and Historic Brass Society Journals.  As a teacher, he has given trombone master classes on five continents and has held residencies around the world including the Banff Center (Canada), the Hamamatsu International Wind Instrument Academy and Festival (Japan), the International Trombone and Tuba Festival (China) and the Dutch Bass Trombone Open (Holland); his former students hold positions as members of major orchestras and military bands around the world as well as teaching positions at some of the most prestigious universities and conservatories of music. He has been a frequent guest artist at the International Trombone Festival (International Trombone Association) and has been soloist with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras on many occasions, playing solo works of Alan Hovhannes, Christopher Brubeck and John Williams among others. He is a recognized authority on historical low brass instruments including the sackbut, serpent and ophicleide, and has championed these instruments as a performer, scholar and author.

Professor Yeo’s many arrangements for trombone and trombone ensemble are published by G. Schirmer, International Music, and Southern Music. The book he co-authored with Edward Kleinhammer, “Mastering the Trombone,” is published by Ensemble Publications. He is currently writing a comprehensive textbook for Oxford University Press covering all aspects of the trombone–its history, mechanics, pedagogy, literature and players and in 2017, published an annotated orchestral book for Encore Music Publishers, “The One Hundred: Essential Works for the Symphonic Bass Trombonist.” He has also authored the entries for the serpent and buccin (a 19th century form of trombone with a zoomorphic bell) for the new edition of the Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. His website, yeodoug.com, was the first website on the Internet devoted to the trombone, and continues to be one of the most influential websites of its kind, with hundreds of thousands of visitors since it was launched in 1996.

A YAMAHA International Performing Artist, Douglas Yeo has collaborated with YAMAHA in the development of the trombone (YBL822G) and mouthpiece he currently plays.

Douglas Yeo is also the scriptwriter and on-air host of the weekly radio program, "Arizona Encore," produced by Classical Arizona PBS and heard on KBAQ-FM Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm (98.5, Phoenix), live at kbaq.org, and on demand via the Classical Arizona PBS mobile app.