Ageing trombonists and other brass players?

[BGuttman]

Dementia can be a big factor in when to hang up the horn. We had a player in one band I didn't deserve to share a stage with. He was a former Principal Horn of the Dallas Symphony. He retired to New Hampshire with his wife (a DSO string player). His wife sat next to him and handled setting up his music stand and music, and for a few years he produced some glorious sound from the Horn section. Unfortunately, dementia being what it is, he eventually couldn't even play. He passed away soon after he left the band. Still, I think his time with the band extended his life. I'm sure it made it more enjoyable.

[DougHulme]

Bruce - an exceedingly good point and a situation I have seen before and no doubt replacated around the trombone world frequently. Music is a great asset to ones health. Dementia worries me as I lost my mother to it so there may be an hereditary angle to worry about... time will tell I suppose. Thats a touching story though about your man from The Dallas Symphony... Doug

[Trombo]

Many factors are important for longevity, but the most important is good physical shape. Therefore, exercise is essential. There was such a Soviet cartoonist Boris Yefimov. He lived 107 years. The secret to his longevity was simple - he squatted 400 times every day. He didn't get sick. True, when he added 50 times and began to squat 450 times a day, he died. Therefore, everything is good in moderation.

[timothy42b]

My mother died of COPD but survived much longer than anyone predicted. We all thought her horn playing may have had something to do with that. (the survival, not the COPD. That came from a lifetime of heavy smoking.)

[tbdana]

Not in their 80s or 90s, but a lot of guys I played with when young are still working and are phenomenal players. Guys like Alex Iles, Alan Kaplan, Bob McChesney, Andy Martin, Bill Reichenbach, Bob Sanders, and the rest of that L.A. crowd are all still working and still at the top of the biz.

Every couple of weeks I play with Jeff Reynolds (bass trombone for the L.A. Phil for almost 40 years). He's around 86 years old, and still plays a mean bass and contra-bass trombone. In fact, there's a trombone choir called PaleoBones full of almost all guys in their 70s and 80s (with a few "youngsters" in their 60s), and they still sound fantastic. Still great players. Maybe not doing all the big work anymore, but still better than most.

I think times are changing, and trombone players are playing very well into very old age, and I don't think that's going to change. The main problem will be that composers, contractors, and others who do the hiring are getting younger, and are looking at new blood in their own age groups, and older players who still play amazingly are simply forced out.