No one told Douglas Rosenthal to give up playing music. Not even his patient siblings, who endured many early-morning practice sessions; even they encouraged their brother to follow his passion. As the years passed, that passion evolved from simply playing music to advocating for music, musicians, and music-lovers.
Douglas is based in Washington, DC. He is the Assistant Principal Trombonist of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra/Washington National Opera Orchestra, a position that began his fully-professional career in 2012.
Since then, he has increased his involvement as a union member. He is currently the delegate from his orchestra at the Kennedy Center to the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, and he serves as an Executive Board Member of the DC Federation of Musicians (Local 161-710). Through these roles, he and his colleagues have facilitated a stronger community presence: in providing concerts, in standing with other unions, and in connecting with politicians.
Douglas is also a private lesson teacher of all brass instruments. In 2015, he joined the faculty of Levine Music, a program for people of all ages and skill levels in the DC/Metropolitan Area.
Douglas studied in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the New World Symphony. Both programs gave him strong experience in honing his craft as a performer while also learning how to be a leader, an advocate, and an all-around citizen.
He earned a Bachelor of Music (cum laude) from Northwestern University in 2008, where the trombone faculty included Michael Mulcahy and Charlie Vernon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Randy Hawes of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; and Peter Ellefson, formerly of the Seattle Symphony. He also attributes a great deal of progress to summer studies at Tanglewood, Music Academy of the West, the National Orchestral Institute, Roundtop, Aspen, and the Atlantic Brass Quintet Seminar.
Douglas was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. As a child, he attended public schools of Northbrook and was a member of Midwest Young Artists. He currently makes his home on Capitol Hill in DC with a pug named Jake, who serves as a constant reminder to relax, eat well, and sleep plentifully.