Sad News- Bill Trimble
28/02/10 11:14 Filed in: SJSU
I received word this week that Bill Trimble had passed away from a heart attack on Monday, February 22, 2010 at a Seattle area hospital. He had been ill for the past couple of years and was an amazing fighter as he went through the trials and tribulations of his fight. I spoke with his wife, Fabia yesterday and she said he had kept up his membership in the Musicians Union until last month--evidence that he was determined to keep playing and creating.
He was a pioneer in the saxophone world. Starting the first saxophone performance major on the West coast at San Jose State University, actively getting composers to write for the instrument and influencing two generations of saxophonists through his teaching. He retired from San Jose State in 2005 to a wonderful home on the Kitsap Peninsula across the Puget Sound from Seattle. I was fortunate to get to visit him there and see how happy he was with his family and new home.
He was a huge influence on my musical life--I began studies with him when I was in high school, followed by studies at San Jose State and California State University, Hayward. We have collaborated in saxophone quartets, performed in various groups like the Cabrillo Festival and San Jose Symphony together and most recently he formed the Premiere Saxophone Quartet before he retired.
The SJSU Sax Ensemble was planning to honor Bill and his legacy at SJSU in a Sax Ensemble Alumni Concert on April 10, 2010. We will now honor Bill at this concert by memorializing his musicianship, leadership and influence as a teacher and musician at the concert. If you have any stories you would like to share or as an alumni would like to participate in the concert, please email me.
He was an important part of my life and I will miss him greatly.
R.I.P. Bill!
Bill’s bio
He was a pioneer in the saxophone world. Starting the first saxophone performance major on the West coast at San Jose State University, actively getting composers to write for the instrument and influencing two generations of saxophonists through his teaching. He retired from San Jose State in 2005 to a wonderful home on the Kitsap Peninsula across the Puget Sound from Seattle. I was fortunate to get to visit him there and see how happy he was with his family and new home.
He was a huge influence on my musical life--I began studies with him when I was in high school, followed by studies at San Jose State and California State University, Hayward. We have collaborated in saxophone quartets, performed in various groups like the Cabrillo Festival and San Jose Symphony together and most recently he formed the Premiere Saxophone Quartet before he retired.
The SJSU Sax Ensemble was planning to honor Bill and his legacy at SJSU in a Sax Ensemble Alumni Concert on April 10, 2010. We will now honor Bill at this concert by memorializing his musicianship, leadership and influence as a teacher and musician at the concert. If you have any stories you would like to share or as an alumni would like to participate in the concert, please email me.
He was an important part of my life and I will miss him greatly.
R.I.P. Bill!
Bill’s bio