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Large Tuba and Euphonium Ensembles

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  Symphonia Symphonia was marketed as the first “professional” tuba-euphonium ensemble. The 20 member ensemble was first organized in 1995 by R. Winston Morris and Scott Watson. At the time, Morris was the professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Tennessee Tech where he was one of the pioneers of large tuba and euphonium ensembles. Watson was the professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Kansas and was aiming to create an ensemble that would be able to play intricate music for large tuba-euphonium ensembles.   Members included some of the finest American tuba and euphonium artists including: Brian Bowman, Dan Perantoni, David Werden, Denis Winter, Earle Louder, Fritz Kaenzig, Gail Robertson, Henk Feldman, Jeffery Funderburk, Jerry Young, John Stevens, John Mueller, Larry Campbell, Mark Nelson, Marty Erickson, Neal Corwell, Paul Droste, Rex Martin, Sam Pilafian, Thomas Ashworth, and Timothy Northcut. The group release 3 albums and performed at many conferences in the late 90’s and early 2000s. The g
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American Brass Bands

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  American Brass Bands The North American Brass Band Association was founded in 1983. Over the last 40 years the British-style brass band movement has grown in the US and Canada. Today I’d like to explore the history and achievements of a few of North America’s best brass bands. Fountain City Brass Band The Fountain City Brass Band is based out of Kansas City, MO. The group was founded in 2002 and has won the NABBA championship a whopping nine times, most recently in 2022. While the group is based in Kansas City, its members hail from across the country and hold teaching positions at major universities in multiple states. The Directors include Dr. Joesph Parisi, Dr. Lee Harrelson, and Helen Harrelson. The band has played at many conferences such as the Midwest Clinic, the 2019 International Tuba Euphonium Conference, and the 2023 International Trombone Festival.   This performance of Jan Van Der Roost’s From Ancient Times won the 2016 NABBA Championship. The piece is inspired by Renais
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Janacek loves tenor tuba

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Today I want to focus on something that I only recently discovered. This is a work by Czech composer Leoš Janáček. This piece is likely the most unique piece that I’ll discuss on this blog. The piece is scored for piano soloist and chamber ensemble. The chamber ensemble is made up flute (doubling on piccolo), 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, and a “tenor tuba”. And on top of that odd ensemble, the piano solo is for left hand only! The piece was composed for pianist Otakar Hollman, who was unable to use his right arm due to an injury he sustained during World World I. Watching the score fly by and imagining a virtuosic soloist performing with one hand is fascinating. But since this is a blog about brass ensembles, we’ll focus on this unique chamber ensemble from here on out.   The first movement primarily features the 3 trombones and tenor tuba. The trombones play short minor chords while the tenor tuba sustains long tones. The piano solo is very active while this is going on. It seems to me li
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Conical Jazz - Dopey Monkey

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Dopey Monkey is a chamber ensemble that formed in 2015. The group draws on a large variety of influences from jazz to folk to classical and experimental music. Made up of euphonium player Martin Lee Thompson and tuba player Danielle Price, the group aims to showcase the possibilities of their instruments away from a more traditional concert setting. The group has performed across the world including at various major conferences and festivals in the US, Spain, Scotland, and Norway. They were Dandelion Scotland Musicians in Residence for Findhorn Bay Arts Unexpected Gardens 2022, are Chamber Music Scotland Ensemble in Residence 2022-24 and 2023 chamber music participants of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme alongside percussionist Adrian Ortman. My quartet had the opportunity to meet Dopey Monkey at the 2019 International Tuba Euphonium Conference. They are 2 of the nicest most gracious people we’ve ever had the opportunity to interact with. While Dopey Monkey are known for combin
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Tuba and Euphonium Duos!

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Northern Lights Duo The Northern Lights Duo is a tuba and euphonium duo made up of Norwegian euphonium player Bente Illevold and American tuba player David Earll. The group is notable not only for showcasing incredible playing, but for their commitment to teaching. The group regularly travels to schools to not only perform but give masterclasses, lessons, and lectures.   According to their social media channels, the duo is expected to release an album sometime this spring. Until then, we have a few YouTube videos to enjoy of this great ensemble. Duba Dance is a duo for euphonium and tuba written by Belgian composer and arranger Steven Verhelst. He writes about the piece, “This piece features the typical sound and ideology of two tuba’s. Both instruments are chatting their way through the introduction. In the first movement they try to dance their own typical style. The character of the piece changes when they both start dancing on a ‘Irish orientated’ dance. Imagine 2 tuba’s doing a ‘L
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Pure Euphonium

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  Today is euphonium quartet day! I’m going to be highlighting 3 quartets that featuring the same instrument, our beloved euphonium. These quartets sometimes stray away from using 4 euphoniums but the pieces we’re going to examine today all feature that sweet sweet dark chocolate sound. It’s pure euphonium! I also want to clarify the difference between euphonium choir and quartet. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Ben Roundtree’s piece CHARGE for euphonium choir. That was a piece written specifically for multiple people on the same part. Today the music we’ll listen to is written and arranged with quartets in mind. The textures are thinner and the sonorities are, generally, not as intense at the choir. So with that.. onward. Eufonix Eufonix is essential euphonium quartet listening because they were first. Made up of Aaron Tindall, Danny Helseth, Patrick Stuckemeyer, and the late Kelly Thomas the group was formed in 2008. Unfortunately, the quartet has been dormant since the sudden passing
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