Paris, Boston, the Trombone, and Bolero: Joannès Rochut (1881-1952)
Presented by Douglas Yeo
Joannès Rochut played principal trombone in the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1925–1930. Born in Paris, he played in several prominent orchestras in his home city, served in the French Army, toured the United States with “The French Military Band” during the waning months of World War I, and when he returned to Paris after his five years in Boston, he was general manager of the National Orchestra of France. Noted for the publication of his three volumes of Melodious Etudes from the works of the prominent Italien/French singer and pedagogue, Marco Bordogni (published in New York in 1928)—they are the most frequently used study material by trombonists around the world—Rochut also played the trombone solo in what was the third recording ever made of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, with Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Rochut was also posthumously inducted into the International Trombone Association’s prestigious Legacy Circle. Douglas Yeo, who was bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2012, has been researching the life, work, and influence of this well-known trombonist for over 40 years, and his lecture will include a slide presentation, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 1930 recording of Bolero, and Yeo’s own performance of several pieces arranged by Rochut, both for unaccompanied trombone and with piano accompaniment.
About Douglas YeoBorn in Monterey, California, Douglas Yeo grew up in Queens and Long Island, New York, where he began playing trombone at the age of nine. Before his long career as bass trombonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1985–2012), he was a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a free-lance musician in New York City, and a high school band director. For over four decades he served as trombone professor at some of the most prestigious schools of music in the United States including Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (1982-1985), New England Conservatory of Music (1985–2012), Arizona State University (2012–2016), Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, Illinois (2019–2023), and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2022–2024). He has also led master classes, conducted residencies, and given recitals on five continents. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College, Illinois (1976)—where he studied trombone with Edward Kleinhammer (bass trombonist of the Chicago Symphony, 1940–1985)—and his master’s degree from New York University (1979). From 1998 to 2008, Douglas Yeo was music director of The New England Brass Band (1998–2008), and he has been a frequent guest conductor, soloist, and clinician with bands and orchestras in the United States and Great Britain.
Douglas Yeo has been the recipient of numerous awards including the International Trombone Association’s highest honor, the ITA Award (2014), given to him “in recognition of his distinguished career and in acknowledgement of his impact on the world of trombone performance,” the ITA’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2924), and the International Tuba Euphonium Association Clifford Bevan Award for Meritorious Work in Low Brass Scholarship. He has written five books and dozens of book chapters and articles for many publications. His instructional DVD and seven solo recordings have received critical acclaim as have his 12 music arrangements that are published by G. Schirmer, International Music, Southern Music, Ensemble Publications, and De Haske Music. Douglas Yeo is a leading exponent as a researcher and performer on historical bass brass instruments including the serpent, ophicleide, buccin (dragon-bell trombone), and sackbut (early trombone), and his playing appears in museum audio and video guides around the world. He is also a scriptwriter and on-air host of radio programs produced by Classical Arizona PBS.
Douglas Yeo’s website, yeodoug.com (1996), was the first site on the Internet devoted to the trombone, and his blog, TheLastTrombone.com—Occasional thoughts on Life, Faith, and the Trombone—was launched in 2016. Douglas Yeo is an international YAMAHA performing artist.
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