A SERPENT PHOTO GALLERY

"Douglas Yeo has become the major public defender of the serpent. . ."

The Boston Globe, April 17, 1998

Serpent Night At The Boston Museum Of Fine Arts
A tour of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts' collection of serpents and related instruments with many photos taken during my lecture/demonstration at the Museum.

A Musical Serpent Joins The Boston Symphony
An article by Andrew Pincus of The Berkshire Eagle detailing my love of the serpent, written when I organized a music of Harmoniemusik which included serpent with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Serpentists in Charles Wild's "Choir of the Cathedral of Amiens" c. 1826
A photo essay which accompanies my article of the same name which appeared in the 2001 Historic Brass Society Journal [Vol. 13] which shows a remarkable print of serpent players playing in Amiens Cathedral [France] around 1826 as well as photographs of the choir stalls where the serpentists played which show graffiti of serpents carved into the stalls.

Complete Program Notes to "LE MONDE DU SERPENT"
I have produced a CD recording featuring the serpent. I have included, on my website, a page of expanded program notes for Le Monde du Serpent which has many photos of the recording sessions, composers and arrangers, as well as historical information about the serpent and the music I recorded. The page also contains links to an order form for the CD as well as a page of reviews of the recording.

The 2003-2004 Boston Symphony Orchestra subscription brochure contains photos and brief biographies of several BSO players, an attempt to make the players of the orchestra better known to people who come to BSO concerts. Photographer Michael Lutch took this photo of me on stage at Symphony Hall in Boston which appears in the subscription brochure. I am holding my c. 1810 church serpent in C by Baudouin with (pre-ban) ivory mouthpiece by Keith Rogers of the Christopher Monk Workshop in London. The text which accompanies the photo reads as follows: DOUGLAS YEO (Bass Trombone). When Doug was a senior in high school in new Jersey, he had the privilege of playing bass trombone for the first time as part of the All-Eastern Orchestra, which was held at the old Hynes Convention Centerin Boston. "That experience was such a thrill and...at that moment, I knew than an orchestra career was for me," remembers Doug. He is greatly looking forward to several programs this season - Nielsen's Symphony No. 4, Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5, in which he will be playing the serpent (pictured). The serpent, one of Doug's passions, is a rare medieval instrument that is played by only a handful of musicians worldwide. When Doug is not performing with the BSO, he and his wife Pat like to venture outdoors to ride their 21-gear tandem mountain bike in Acadia National Park in Maine and on paths and trails around Boston. Doug is also a big New England Patriots fan, and is passionate about Gothic church architecture and the works of American sculptor Daniel Chester French."

On April 22, 2002, I had a recording session at Symphony Hall in Boston, the first of three planned sessions for an album of music featuring my playing serpent (to be released in 2004). Assisting me in this session were Deborah DeWolf Emery, piano, and Craig Kridel who played both serpent and (shown in this photo) bells. I am playing my 1996 Christopher Monk Workshop serpent in C (1 key, after Baudouin).

At the recording session of April 22, 2002, Craig Kridel (pictured at left) joined me to record four duets for serpents from 19th century French serpent tutor books. Craig is shown playing his 1981 serpent in C by Christopher Monk (keyless, after Baudouin) and I am playing my c. 1810 Baudouin serpent in C (2 keys).

I was pleased to give a presentation on the serpent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2004. I have visited this many times since I was a young boy (I grew up in the New York City area) so it was especially nice to be asked to give a lecture and performance on the serpent at the Metropolitan Museum. In this photo I am holding my c 1810 Baudouin serpent; on the table behind me are three serpents from the Museum's collection which show some of the evolution of the serpent over the years.

In October 2003 I was asked to perform Simon Proctor's "Serpent Concerto" with the South Dakota Symphony. As part of my trip to South Dakota for that concert, I was asked to give a talk and demonstration of the serpent at the National Music Museum (formerly the Shrine to Music Museum) in Vermillion, South Dakota. This trip was quite nice as I was able to try a number of the museum's instruments including the two ophicleides pictured here.

I have a happy, active and ongoing relationship with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and in 2002, I gave three presentations at the museum: a lecture to the meeting of the American Musical Instrument Society (AMIS) on "Playing Characteristics of Serpents by Baudouin," a lunch time talk on "Serpents by Baudouin," and a talk for the Museum's "Friends of Musical Instruments" group on "The Serpent and Ophicleide: Early Romantic Brasses." This photo shows me during my talk in the MFA instrument gallery, playing my Baudouin serpent. on tables to my right may be found the museum's own Baudouin serpents.

In December 2001/January 2002, I performed Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks" with Boston Baroque, Martin Pearlman, conductor. After the concerts, the ensemble recorded the piece (along with Handel's complete "Water Music") at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. The horn players, from left, are Robert Marlatt (corno 3), Jean Rife (corno 2) and Richard Menaul (corno 1). I am playing my c. 1810 Baudouin serpent in C (2 keys) with bassoonists Marilyn Boenau (bassoon 2) and Andrew Schwartz (bassoon 1) further to the right. Martin Pearlman is conducting; Peter Sykes is playing harpsichord.

In February/March 2002, I was an "in residence" visiting artist with the Clear Lake High School Band in Houston, Texas. While I did not bring my serpent with me for the trip, the students at the school, including my nieces, Laura and Sarah, knew of my serpent exploits and decorated the band room with several posters welcoming me to the school, including this evocative image of a serpent.

In July, 2000, I presented a recital on serpent at the Historic Brass Society's annual Early Brass Festival. The 2000 EBF was held on the campus of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. Here Craig Kridel and I are shown rehearsing a duet by Hardy which we performed as part of the recital.

Soprano Jennifer Ashe and I are shown rehearsing Drake Mabry's "Quatre Tanka" for soprano and serpent which we performed at the 2000 Early Brass Festival.

Jeffrey Nussbaum, President of the Historic Brass Society, commissioned James Theobald to write a new piece for me to premiere at the 2000 Early Brass Festival. Here the composer and I are shown rehearsing his "The Serpent Dances" for serpent and percussion which was performed on my recital at the 2000 EBF.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my time at the 2000 Early Brass Festival was an informal reading session after my solo recital during which several players on various historical brass instruments took part. Shown here (left to right) are: Tra Wageknecht, serpent; Paul Schmidt, serpent; Donald Byer, serpent; Robert Wageknecht, ophicleide; Craig Kridel, English bass horn; Laura Conrad, serpent, and Douglas Yeo, serpent.

I visited my undergraduate alma Mater, Wheaton College (Wheaton, Illinois) in 1999 for a residency which included masterclasses and a recital on trombone, as well as a performance of Simon Proctor's "Serpent Concerto" with the Wheaton College Orchestra. My oldest daughter, Linda, was a student at Wheaton at the time, and we are shown here backstage after the concert where I played the "Concerto" as well as Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique" (during which I got to sit next to Linda on stage).

I participated in the 1999 International Trombone Festival, held at the campus of S.U.N.Y. Potsdam, New York. As part of my time there, I gave a clinic during which I demonstrated the serpent.

As part of a recital I gave at the 1999 International Trombone Festival, I premiered "Temptation" for serpent and string quartet by my Boston Symphony Orchestra colleague Norman Bolter.

Here I am shown playing serpent in the Boston Symphony, in Richard Wagner's Overture to "Rienzi," conducted by James Conlon (summer 2001). Wagner's opera calls for the serpent to play at the bottom of the bassoon section - from front can be seen principal clarinet William Hudgins, associate principal bassoon Richard Ranti and second bassoon Suzanne Nelson.

In the summer of 2001, I joined with students at the Tanglewood Music Center for a performance of the harmonie arrangement of Haydn's "Oxford Symphony" conducted by Stefan Asbury in Seiji Ozawa Hall. I am playing my c. 1810 Badouin serpent in C (2 keys).

In 1998 I presented a recital at Tanglewood featuring serpent in harmonie ensembles, in performance with eight of my Boston Symphony colleagues. This photo was taken backstage of the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood before an interview I gave with Berkshire Eagle music writer Andrew Pincus. I am holding four serpents made by the Christopher Monk Workshop: the largest is the contrabass serpent "George" in CC which was one of the last instruments Christopher Monk made (it was commissioned by the late Phil Palmer in 1990 and I subsequently purchased it from Phil Palmer's wife, Connie, in 2000), my 1996 Monk Workshop serpent in C made by Keith Rogers and Nicholas Perry, a tenor serpent by Christopher Monk called a "serpet" and a small "worm" serpent by Christopher Monk.

One of the most remarkable serpents in the world is the original contrabass serpent, dubbed the "Anaconda," which is now in the Edinburgh University Collection of Historical Musical Instruments. Made in 1840 in Huddersfield, England, by two brothers with the last name of Wood, it was frequently played by Andrew van der Beek in the London Serpent Trio and made a famous appearence at Royal Albert Hall during the November, 1956 Hoffnung Music Festival Concert (when, sad to say, it was badly damaged). Here is the "Anaconda" in situ at the museum, in a crowded case with many other serpents and related bass wind instruments.

Because of my ongoing interest in not only the history but the playing characteristics of serpents, and the fact that I own one of only three contrabass serpents in the world (putting aside the "American Anaconda" which was made by Steve Silverstein of PVC pipe!), I was given a rare opportunity to play the "Anaconda" during a visit to Edinburgh in August 2001 thanks to the generosity of the museum collection's curator, Arnold Myers. The "Anaconda" is awkward to hold in the extreme (it is also very heavy!), but has an undeniable charm and a rare sound. For more about the "Anaconda," including photos and sound clips of Andrew van der Beek playing it, visit the website of the Edinburgh University Museum.

While visiting the Edinburgh University Collection, I used a variety of mouthpieces while playing and testing several instruments. Pictured here are several serpent mouthpieces I used (from left): a wooden mouthpiece which formerly belonged to Christopher Monk, my resin copy of a mouthpiece designed by Christopher Monk, two mouthpieces made for me from historic (pre-ban) ivory by Keith Rogers at the Monk Workshop, the original mouthpiece made for the "Anaconda" (brass, sliverplated) and a copy of the original "Anaconda" mouthpiece made for me out of boxwood by Keith Rogers. Hanging from the stand are several strands of dental floss which are wrapped around serpent mouthpieces in order to get them to fit in the bocal. Also on the stand is a fingering chart for the "Anaconda" made by Andrew van der Beek.

"George," the contrabass serpent made by Christopher Monk in 1990 and which is now part of my collection, was inspired by the "Anaconda." Christopher Monk, however, decided not to duplicate the "Anaconda" but rather make an exactly 2X as large copy of a traditional church serpent. In the late 1990's, Matthew Bettenson asked the Christopher Monk Workshop to make another contrabass serpent, dubbed "George II." While visiting the Monk Workshop in 2001, Matthew came by with "George II" and gave me the opportunity to play it; this was a rare treat for me as I am now one of only a handful of people to have played all three extant contrabass serpents. The photo shows me in the Christopher Monk Workshop in Forest Hills, London, England.

The Christopher Monk Workshop is a fascinating place and this photo shows me in the shop holding a church serpent made by and for Keith Rogers who does much of the work in the shop making serpents. This serpent is quite unique as it is covered by a genuine python skin; it was made by Keith for his own use (the python skin is decades old, having been acquired by Christopher Monk legally from a gentleman who brought the skins back from Africa at the end of the British colonial era). Clifford Bevan, of the London Serpent Trio (see the final photo below) has the first python covered serpent which he named "Monty Python." In the background Keith Rogers can be seen wrestling with my Monk Workshop serpent as he had just rewound the string on my serpent bocal.

During a visit to the Cardiff (Wales) Museum of Welsh Country Life in the fall of 2002, I saw this extraordinary military serpent with 14 keys (12 on the front and two on the back) - the largest number of keys every made for a serpent . This instrument was made, appropriately, by Thomas Key, 20 Charing Cross, London (c. 1830-40) and was used in St. John's Church in Cardiff. Another serpent by Thomas Key with 14 keys is found in the Metropolitain Museum of Art's collection in New York City although it is not currently on display). A military serpent such as this one (and the instrument below) would be held horizontally to facilitate marching or walking while playing.

Francis Pretty was a prolific maker of English Military serpents in the early 19th century. This instrument by Pretty, sold at auction in 2002, was badly damaged (see the photo above, left, that shows unraveling of the leather in the first bend under the bocal, an additional brace between the first and second bow, among several problems) but the bell mount, shown at left, is quaintly engraved with Pretty's self description ("Inventor & Maker") and the location of his shop, "Waterloo Road, Near the Obelisk, London." The instrument has five keys (three on the front, two on the back) and has key guides made of ivory which assist the player in locating the holes. Andrew van der Beek of the London Serpent Trio plays a serpent by Pretty (see photo below of the London Serpent Trio where van der Beek is holding his Pretty serpent). In 2005, the instrument's new owner, Nick Parkes, had it restored by Keith Rogers of the Christopher Monk Workshop. The same instrument is shown above at right. Rogers' restoration was quite comprehensive (including a new bocal mount, replacement of some wooden segments, sealing wormrot throughout, oiling and leathering) but in doing so, he solved all of the major structural problems in this beautiful historical instrument. Having been given new life, it is now being played regularly by Nick Parkes.

A festival celebrating the 400th anniversary of the invention of the serpent was held in England in 1990. This photo shows many of the participants at the Festival including, from right, Paul Schmidt, editor of the Serpent Newsletter, the late Philip Palmer with the contrabass serpent "George," Andrew van der Beek with the original contrabass serpent, the "Anaconda," and the late Christopher Monk.

In 1989, a festival celebrating the 399th anniversary of the invention of the serpent was held at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. As part of the festivities, participants joined the University of South Carolinia Marching Band during a USC football game playing "Under the Boardwalk."

This chandelier, made of 10 serpents, originally hung in a Brussels firehouse (with candles in the upturned bocals) before being moved to the Conservatory in Brussels. Here the chandelier is shown in situ when it hung in the Conservatory - notice the light bulbs near the ceiling which illuminate the chandelier. Surely it is the most unusual use of serpents to be found!

Here is the serpent chandelier shown in its current location, the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels, Belgium.

French serpentist Bernard Fourtet is shown here with an unusual serpent with both a carved head and a carved bocal receiver.

The London Serpent Trio was and remains a prime force in the modern revival of the serpent. The original membership of the group is shown here from left, Alan Lumsden, the late Christopher Monk, and Andrew van der Beek. At right is the fourth member of the trio, Clifford Bevan. Bevan joined the group for quartets and usually played ophicleide, as shown.