Neal Di Biase Trombone Hovhaness Saint Vartan Symphony Trombone Solo

Neal Di Biase was a professional trombonist born in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania on May 3, 1918. His father was a musician who started Neal on trombone at an early age, requiring him to practice a minimum of 2 hours a day while still in grade school.

Neal won a position in the Pittsburgh Symphony orchestra at age 19 playing second chair to his trombone instructor, Ottavio Ferrara. By age 20, Neal had taken on the first chair and Ferrara, the 2nd. The local paper in 1938 commented on this change of chairs by saying that "Di Biase was embarrassed, however his teacher was proud."

Di Biase played first trombone in the Pittsburgh Symphony under Reiner until WWII when he went into the Merchant Marines. After the war Di Biase was in New York and auditioned for the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. He won the 1st trombone chair and performed with this organization from 1944 until it folded in 1954.

In the early 1950's my trombone instructor, Mr. Otto Blankle, who was then playing in the West Point Band, began taking trombone lessons from Mr. Di Biase.

After the NBC Symphony was dissolved Neal began playing studio recording and freelance work in New York.

In about 1970, Di Biase retired from music (he was 53) and started into real estate. In 1988 he moved to Deltona Florida, where he lived comfortably with his wife Virginia until his passing on January 7, 2000.

There are very few photos of Neal Di Biase and even fewer recordings of him playing solo. After extensive research I was able to find a 1937 photo of him with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a later recording of him playing solo.