Emory Remington

Emory Remington
Born	(1892-12-22)December 22, 1892 Rochester, New York
Died	December 10, 1971(1971-12-10) (aged 78)
Occupations	Trombonist and music teacher
Years active	1922-1971

Emory Brace Remington (1892–1971) was a trombonist and music teacher. He was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1923 to 1949, and on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY from 1922 until his death in 1971.

Early life

Born in Rochester, New York on December 22, 1892, Remington began his musical studies in the Boys' Choir of an Episcopal Church. His Father, Fred Remington, a brass instructor who played cornet and trumpet, presented young Remington with a trombone at the age of 14. By the age of 17 he was a member (and regular soloist) with the Rochester Park Band.

As a young trombonist, Remington studied with Gardell Simons, Principal Trombonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In 1917 Remington joined the United States Navy and was assigned to the orchestra at a training station near Chicago. One of his bunkmates in the Navy orchestra was comedian/violinist Jack Benny whom he spoke of with admiration.

Professional career

Upon returning from the Navy, Remington joined the Eastman Theater Orchestra in Rochester, also becoming a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music in 1922. His performing career was marked by tenure as Principal Trombonist with both the Rochester Philharmonic and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, an amalgamation of the Philharmonic and the Eastman School of Music. He remained on faculty there for the rest of his life. As a trombone teacher, he was known to his students as "The Chief". He developed a system of legato warm-up exercises (mentioned by Donald Hunsberger in his book, The Remington Warm-Up Studies (ISBN 0-918194-10-5)).

Remington was fond of singing, and during his lessons, he would sing along with the student's trombone sound. He also encouraged his students to look for music to play that was outside of the common literature for trombone, especially music that would improve the singing characteristics of their trombone playing. His emphasis, whether in warm-up or in practice, was on relaxation and playing in a "conversational" and "singing" manner. This was quite different from the more traditional trombone methods of the time which focused on more marcato and regimented technical studies such as the Arban Method.

Another of Remington's contributions was the Eastman Trombone Choir formed in 1941. A large ensemble of trombonists would gather to play music written for multiple trombones or transcribed from other sources, such as the chorales and fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach. Separating the different musical parts (i.e. SATB: soprano, alto, tenor, bass) into sections of trombonists, and transposing the music into the proper registers for the trombone. Remington encouraged his students to transcribe music for this ensemble, amassing a large library of "new" works for it. The music of J. S. Bach became the backbone of the ensemble. Remington used this music as a tool to train his students in the art of ensemble performance.

Selected sections from his method include exercises designed around sustained long tones, security in the high register, legato tonguing, flexibility or "lip-slurs", and "pattern scales".

In 1954, Remington completed work in conjunction with C.G. Conn in developing the C.G. Conn 88H tenor trombone. The tone color and dynamic range of the instrument have made it popular amongst trombonists and contributed to its continuous production from its debut in 1954 to the present. Conn also manufactured a "Remington" tenor trombone mouthpiece which was available in either silver or gold plate. Remington encouraged his first-year students to switch to this mouthpiece, as it produced a beautiful clear sound with moderate effort. The effect of the 88H combined with the Remington mouthpiece produced a very uniform sound in the Trombone Choir and trombone sections in the large ensembles. As students progressed, they would be encouraged to switch to other mouthpieces to refine their sounds depending on performance conditions.

Remington taught at the Eastman School for 49 years, and died on December 10, 1971. On October 20, 1979, Room 310 at the Eastman School of Music was formally named the Emory B. Remington Rehearsal Room.

Remington (band) was named after Remington's son, David Remington (1926–2007). His daughter, Janet Remington was Principal Harpist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for many years.

Personal life

Remington was married to Laura W. (née Wilbur) Remington (1891–1966) a professional organist and pianist. They had three children.

Sources

• The Remington Warm-Up Studies, prepared and edited by Donald Hunsberger (ISBN 0-918194-10-5)
• Douglas Yeo's website has some quotes about Remington:
• The International Trombone Association has a small history and award in his name:
• Biography at Eastman School of Music