Andrew McGuire
MUSE 250
Dr. Palmer
12/7/15
Hail to the Chief
Emory Remington is accredited with being one of the frontrunners in
advanced trombone technique. While he was a performer, he was also was a very
highly sought after instructor. His students even now are still highly sought after
because of the technique they bring. All of Remington’s technique stems from
singing. He started his musical journey out as a member of a boy’s choir. With his
father being a brass instructor, it is no wonder at all that he became a trombonist.
From an early age, he was a performing artist, with an ensemble and as a soloist.
During the First World War he joined the Navy as a trombonist for their
orchestra. From 1917 to 1922, he served as member of the Navy Orchestra. Upon his
return he was made a member of the Eastman Theater is Rochester. He also gained a
position amongst the faculty of the Eastman School of Music. This position, as an
educator, he kept for his entire life. Overall he taught at the school for forty-nine
years. While at Eastman he became known to his students as “The Chief.”
As an educator, Remington was an innovator in trombone technique. He
initiated a very song like approach to his technique. In his lessons, he is
remembered as singing the entire time during his student’s lessons. He was big on
only using as much air that was needed to produce a tone. Some describe it as a
conversational type of breathing. In doing so, this avoids a lot of tension that can be
created when holding more air than what is necessary to build a full phrase. This
happens when we feel a sense of building or blocking air in the lungs. The air then
becomes stales, and we limit the actual amount of air we can take in.
As well as being an innovator of technique, The Chief was also a big
proponent of Ensemble music being written for trombone. While at Eastman, he is
credited with being the founder of the Eastman Trombone Choir. In this role, he
actively sought out music that could be rewritten for trombone choir. He was also a
big advocate for students seeking out music and rewriting music themselves. He is
remembered as being a avid fan of J.S. Bach. Bach wrote a large portion of music that
the Chief ending up using as ensemble music for his trombone choir. This music
comes the form of some of Bach’s Chorales as well as other written works.
Having such an influence on the world of trombone, he was sought after by
C.G. Conn to help develop a trombone. The trombone they came up with was the
88H. Even to this day, this trombone is extremely popular amongst players because
of the tone it produces and the range of dynamics one can achieve while playing the
instrument. He also helped in developing what is known as the Remington
mouthpiece. Remington advocated for his students to use this mouthpiece as the
students began their studies with him in their first years at Eastman. This
mouthpiece gave his students a nice sound with minimal effort on their part. This
allowed for an ease in playing. It also created a oneness is sound amongst the
Trombone Choir as well as different orchestras the studio mates may be in together.
The Chief has left a legacy not quite like any other. He was an advocate for
beautiful playing, and song like tone production. This gives trombonists the largest
access to their technique they can achieve. Through the concept of the trombone
choir and his arrangement of different pieces he will likely be remembered as a
reputable performer as well. His legacy is so great that even after his student’s
students are gone people will still remember him. Eight years after his death the
Eastman School of Music renamed one of their rehearsal spaces after his legacy.
Room 902 is now known as the Emory B. Remington Rehearsal Room.
Bibliography
"Emory Remington." Eastman School of Music. 2015.
http://www.esm.rochester.edu/about/portraits/remington/.
"Emory Remington." Emory Remington. March 14, 2015.
http://www.windsongpress.com/brass players/trombone/remington.htm.
Everett, Micah. "Rediscovering and Reapplying the." The Reforming Trombonist.
June 19, 2015. Accessed December 9, 2015.
https://thereformingtrombonist.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/rediscoverin
g-and-reapplying-the-conversational-breath/.
Laanen, Renee. "EMORY B. REMINGTON." Trombone Page of the World. 2015.
http://www.trombone-usa.com/remington_emory_bio.htm.
Zacharella, Alexandra. Slip Sliding Away: Decoding the Mystery of Trombone Legato.
Mid West Clinic – Chicago. December 14, 2011. Conference Handout.