School of Music faculty member wins top award from the International Trombone Association

The International Trombone Association has bestowed its ITA award, presented each year to an individual who has greatly influenced the field of trombone, to Douglas Yeo, faculty member in the ASU School of Art in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. The ITA Award recognizes the highest level of creative and artistic output in areas such as performance, composition, arranging, teaching, conducting, research and/or service.

"We are delighted that Douglas Yeo, professor of practice, has received this distinguished award," said Heather Landes, director of the ASU School of Music. "It is not only a testimony to his dedication, teaching and many contributions to the trombone field, but also recognizes the tremendous opportunities that we offer the serious musician at ASU."

Douglas Yeo joined the faculty at Arizona State University (asutrombonestudio.org) as professor of trombone in 2012 following a 27-year career as bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), where he studied trombone with Edward Kleinhammer, 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.

Yeo's five best-selling solo recordings as well as his DVD, "Approaching the Serpent: An Historical and Pedagogical Overview," have met with critical acclaim. He has authored dozens of articles for music publications, including some of the most prestigious peer-reviewed journals such as the Galpin Society and Historic Brass Society Journals as well as the International Trombone Association Journal. As a teacher, he has given trombone masterclasses 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 (Beijing) and the Dutch Bass Trombone Open (Holland) and he has been a performer and presented papers at numerous International Trombone Festivals.

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 has also recently authored the entries for the serpent and buccin (a 19th-century form of trombone with a zoomorphic bell) for the forthcoming new edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, and his trombone, serpent and ophicleide playing is heard on museum audio guides in the United States, Europe and Great Britain. 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 its launch in 1996.

Yeo is an international YAMAHA performing artist; he collaborated on the design of the YAMAHA YBL822G bass trombone and YAMAHA Douglas Yeo Signature Series Mouthpiece that he currently plays.

Public Contact: 
Deborah Sussman Susser
Communications and Media
480.965.0478
deborah.susser@asu.edu

Media Contact:
Deborah Sussman Susser