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Jon YeagerJon Yeager grew up in a household in which his parents were supportive of whatever their children pursued, and although his father would have preferred Jon go into the medical profession, he nevertheless supported Jon in his decision to dedicate himself to music.

Growing up in southern California, Jon Yeager became very involved in his schools’ bands. He played in every band his school offered, and he served as drum major for the marching band during his junior and senior years.

He was fortunate enough during this time to cross paths with studio great George Roberts and studied with him through high school. With George, Jon learned how to play the bass trombone as an expressive solo instrument. Eventually, as Jon transitioned to college, George would invite Jon to “spell” him during his Sunday performances on Coronado island. Jon tried very hard to emulate George’s sound and style, and he recalls what he considered to be the greatest compliment he received as a developing musician when an older musician confessed that he didn’t realize it was Jon, and not George, playing a tune until he happened to look up.

Jon Yeager went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Humboldt State University, where he played lead trombone in the first jazz band, bass trombone in the second jazz band, and euphonium in the wind ensemble. He then decided to focus on the bass trombone as he earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Performance from the University of North Texas.

Jon is a National Board Certified Teacher and teaches middle school band. He regularly reminds students of the “Rule of the Pencil”: if you miss something once, no big deal; if you miss it twice, you need to write something in your music! He cites one of the greatest teaching challenges as being figuring out how to teach band via Zoom.

 

NOTES:

  • Jon thinks Frank Sinatra was one of the greatest performers of the 20th century
  • He has been very tempted to buy a tuba.
  • He recently started a YouTube channel documenting his experiences restoring a vintage car.
  • Jon is a big dog lover.

Check out the other members of The Charleston Jazz Orchestra HERE

Watch The Charleston Jazz Orchestra in action HERE

 

 

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