For the Love of Trombone
Don Lucas + a global following.
by Anna Whitelaw (COM ’19)
What does it mean to be musical? For some people, musical expression is something they can’t quite describe. For Don Lucas, Chair of the Department of Brass, Winds & Percussion, music builds a foundation by projecting an instrument’s style in the direction of a musical line traveling in one direction or another in order for it to be defined as “musical.”
Lucas is a master trombonist whose expertise brings him across the world to judge national and international competitions. An educator for 31 years, Lucas attends and often judges the American Trombone Workshop hosted by the U.S. Army Band at Brucker Hall—its headquarters and performance center at Fort Myer in Arlington, VA. The annual, free workshop takes place the second week of March, and has a loyal following convening professionals, students, hobbyists, and the general public to celebrate the musicality of the trombone.
This year, Lucas will be teaching a solution-based masterclass centered on the most common critical problems for trombonists when it comes to technique. Along with the definition of “musical,” Lucas will touch on the principle of staying full duration before moving to the next note, as it pertains to: slide movement, valve movement, natural slurs, and the tone before making a first note.
According to Lucas, when the general public thinks of the trombone, they believe it’s the equivalent of a huge musical cannon that will blow them away, or that it’s a burlesque, blaring, Dixieland instrument. “But in reality,” says Lucas, “we trombone players possess an agility and a finesse that are often forgotten by the majority of composers.”
For Lucas, it was always the trombone. He had a desire to play the instrument before he even understood what it was or what it could do. The musician described a scene during a concert at his elementary school where a Dixieland jazz duo of a trombonist and trumpeter took the stage. When he heard them play, he looked at the trombone and knew “that [was] it.”
The affection was instant, but much of Lucas’ study and instruction has been focused on technique. He explains how he goes about teaching students from all over the world, from China to Rio de Janeiro, Washington D.C. to London. “We all want drastic improvements right away but we usually understand intellectually what we wish to do long before the body develops the capacity to do it,” says Lucas. “Performers need to go much slower, step-by-step, and this is the fastest way to develop.”
He adds that while his students come from different parts of the world, musical advancement is universal. “Some countries put the emphasis on the tongue in starting the notes but I believe the correct approach is to first remove the tongue and just use the air to start the notes. Then when the air is fixed, add the tongue back in. In this correct approach, both the air and the tongue start the note.”
Lucas’ secondary role on campus is as the School of Music London Program Coordinator through BU’s Study Abroad Program. His devotion to the program stems from his own personal experience studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a Fulbright Scholar. The London program was created in the fall of 2003 and since then has grown exponentially. Lucas hopes the program will give students the same kind of cultural and musical opportunities that he was granted.
According to Lucas, the program and the School’s participation in the American Trombone Workshop continue to expand BU’s musical legacy: “We have been leading the way for the top level of students to practice and learn from the best artists in the world and will only continue to do so.”