Yamaha Xeno Trombone Quartet

The Yamaha Xeno Trombone Quartet is comprised of Alistair Kay, Peter Sullivan, Alain Trudel and Douglas Yeo.

Alastair Kay, one of Canada's finest trombonists, has performed for the last 28 years with some of the best orchestras, entertainers, and jazz artists around. His virtuosity and versatility have made him the first-call for most of the studio, musical theatre, and jazz gigs in Toronto.

For the past 15 years Al has played lead trombone with Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, and has worked with great jazz artists and entertainers including Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennet, Phil Woods, Mel Torme, Renee Rosnes, Diana Krall, Lionel Hampton, Slide Hampton, Bill Watrous and many others. Al was honoured in 1997 by winning Jazz Report Magazine's "Jazz Trombonist of the Year". He has been heavily involved with Toronto's musical theatre productions, and is currently playing the show "The Lion King". Past shows include "Ragtime", "Fosse", "Crazy For You", and "Chicago".

Classical experience includes playing principal trombone with many local orchestras, including seven seasons with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Touring Orchestra. He has also worked with the National Ballet of Canada, the Toronto Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and many contemporary music ensembles. Al is busy as a soloist as well, playing standard classical and his own jazz repertoire with orchestras, concert bands and brass bands.

Peter Sullivan came to the Pittsburgh Symphony during the 1999-2000 season. In 1985 he joined the Montreal Symphony and in 1990 was appointed to the position of Principal trombone. Formerly he was a member of the Calgary Philharmonic and the Toronto Symphony. Mr. Sullivan has an active schedule as soloist and chamber musician. He has given solo recitals throughout Canada, in Europe and in the United States. He has performed with the Summit Brass and the Music of the Baroque of Chicago. Since 1993 he has been a member of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra, a group comprised of orchestral musicians from North America's leading orchestras.

Trombonist, conductor, composer, arranger and educator, Alain Trudel is a complete, multi-faceted musician. Today, he maintains an international career in all of these activities but it was a trombonist that his dynamic career began. He performed professionally from the age of 15 and his career as a soloist was launched at the age of 18 with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Charles Dutoit.

He has been invited to perform as soloist with many different orchestras including the Ochestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, The National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Hong-Kong Philharmonic, The Austrian Radio Orchestra, The Orchestre Nationale de Lorraine (Metz, France), The Tivoli Festival Orchestra, the New Hampshire Symphony, the Nevada Symphony, The UNAM Sympnony Orchestra (Mexico), the National Radio-Television Orchestra of Poland and the Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal.

His concerts have been broadcast by radio, television and internet networks on five continents. There is a documentary on his work entitled "Alain Trudel's Mission" (which was nominated for a Genie Award) and his performing and musical consulting are in evidence in the film "Trombone: the Voice of God."

Bass Trombonist Douglas Yeo was born in Monterey, California, and grew up in Valley Stream, New York (where he began playing the trombone at the age of nine) and Oak Ridge, New Jersey (where he graduated from Jefferson Township High School in 1973). Before joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra/Boston Pops Orchestra in May 1985, he was a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1985 and he was on the faculties of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor of music degree with honors from Wheaton College in Illinois and a master of arts degree from New York University. His principal teachers were Edward Kleinhammer and Keith Brown. In addition to playing the bass trombone, he plays the bass trumpet, contrabass trombone, serpent and ophicleide when called for in the orchestra. In 1998, he was named Music Director of The New England Brass Band which has released two compact disc recordings under his direction, “Christmas Joy!” (1999) and “Honour and Glory” (2001).

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