Euph Got to be Kidding Me

  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

  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

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