News from Philly
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From the local Philly Paper-Carol Jantsch Wons Philly Job!
Congrats to Carol!
Here's an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. . . .
She's breaking through the brass ceiling
Female tuba player is the Phila. Orchestra's newest addition.
By Peter Dobrin
Inquirer Music Critic
When he was here recently leading the Philadelphia Orchestra, Simon Rattle was so smitten with a young substitute musicianin the back row that he arranged to have her audition with his Berlin Philharmonic.
Sir Simon, it turns out, is too late.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has hired Carol Jantsch for its vacant tuba spot, making her the only - and possibly the first - female tuba player in a major full-time American orchestra.
Jantsch won the orchestra's audition late Wednesday night, beating out 194 other hopefuls.
Before she can break through the brass ceiling in the male-dominated realm of tuba-playing, however, she has a little unfinished business back in Ann Arbor, Mich. Jantsch, a soft-spoken woman whose fair-complexioned face has something of a Vermeer quality about it, is still in school. After winning the job here, she will return to the University of Michigan, where she is expected to graduate in April.
She's only 20 years old, making her the youngest member of the Philadelphia Orchestra - less than a quarter of the age of the orchestra's oldest musician.
All of this - Jantsch's unusual age, the gender break-through, her universally admired musicianship - adds up to a historic moment for the orchestra.
"I think it means... the rejuvenation of the orchestra in the best way," music director Christoph Eschenbach said yesterday. "That she is a young woman on that very un-woman-like instrument is a fact that is really extraordinary, and that she is so young and accomplished is a miracle almost."
This is not only Jantsch's first orchestra job. It is her first job of any kind. The post pays well over $100,000 a year, though orchestra administrators declined to say specifically what her salary might be.
Is she surprised at landing such a plum job?
"I thought I had a chance," said Jantsch, who has yet to negotiate her contract in Philadelphia but expects no obstacles. "This is probably the best job I could ever hope for."
This best job almost didn't happen.
Jantsch points out that orchestras only have one tuba player, and some of those spots take decades to turn over. Her predecessor in Philadelphia, Paul Krzywicki, held the job for three decades, from 1972 until 2005.
With no professional experience on her resume, Jantsch says the first response from the Philadelphia Orchestra was a rejection letter. It discouraged her from even auditioning. Players of her age do land big-orchestra jobs, but more often they spend their 20s in smaller orchestras before working their way up to the more prestigious ensembles of New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
Then, Jantsch sent a CD of her playing to Bar Harbor Brass Week, a summer brass workshop whose music director is Blair Bollinger, who happens to be bass trombonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and chair of the tuba audition committee.
Bollinger heard her CD and invited her to audition in Philadelphia.
It probably helped that Jantsch was playing the first movement of Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto - on tuba. It is a fistful of notes for a nimble violinist, but absurdly tough on tuba.
"I listened and I thought, 'Wow, this is good. This is really good.' It was some of the most amazing tuba playing I've ever heard. It was technically clean and musically eloquent," Bollinger said.
He passed the recording on to other members of the audition committee.
"I think they found it amusing, if nothing else," Jantsch said.
In the last few weeks, in her tryout at the Rattle concerts, Jantsch has already forged an impressive presence for herself. Her sound is solid and resonant but blends sensitively with other sections of the orchestra.
"It seems to me she was just born with the instrument, she's so at ease with it," Eschenbach said. "She plays it like a flute."
Soft-spoken, even mild and deferential in conversation, Jantsch, who grew up in Ohio, is the daughter of a doctor and a voice teacher. She started on piano at age 6, moved to euphonium at 9, and settled on tuba at 12.
What does she like about the tuba? "I guess that I'm the only one and I can do my own thing, that I have a role all by myself."
She comes across as laid-back. She almost acts as if this job of a lifetime had just landed in her lap. But she says she's quite ambitious, and her teachers agree.
"She has a real interesting mixture of personality traits. She's sensitive - and very determined," said Fritz A. Kaenzig, her University of Michigan tuba teacher.
Jantsch acknowledges - though modestly - her pioneering role: "It feels good to be the first something, I guess," she said.
Few female tubists have had success in orchestras. Constance Weldon played for a time with the Kansas City Philharmonic and the Miami Philharmonic (both now defunct) and did a stint as acting principal tuba of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.
A fair number of woman play tuba today, including Velvet Brown, a Penn State professor of tuba and euphonium, who calls Jantsch's win in Philadelphia a "wonderful occurrence."
But none, except for Jantsch, occupies a chair in a full-time orchestra, say a number of tuba players.
"It has been truly a man's world," Kaenzig said. "The real reason probably is the demand of lung capacity." Women don't generally have as large a lung capacity as men, he said. "Carol is an exception. She has 4.7 liters [she has measured it on medical equipment], the same as I do, and that's just enough to get the job done. She is so determined musically she gets the air in any way she can."
If brass players have a reputation for macho banter and a certain amount of antics, Jantsch should have no trouble keeping up. She once won a tuba-throwing contest at a tuba conference in Finland, casting an old instrument into a lake, landing first prize in the women's division.
Jantsch tried out in Philadelphia for three weeks in the fall and three more weeks this month, and will probably join the orchestra for concerts in the summer and then full-time in the fall.
As for Berlin, it turns out the match wasn't meant to be.
After Rattle made contact with Berlin and the audition materials arrived, Jantsch noticed a rather important detail.
The Berlin Philharmonic requires a tuba player who plays a B-flat tuba.
And Jantsch?
"I play C."
© 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com
Here's an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. . . .
She's breaking through the brass ceiling
Female tuba player is the Phila. Orchestra's newest addition.
By Peter Dobrin
Inquirer Music Critic
When he was here recently leading the Philadelphia Orchestra, Simon Rattle was so smitten with a young substitute musicianin the back row that he arranged to have her audition with his Berlin Philharmonic.
Sir Simon, it turns out, is too late.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has hired Carol Jantsch for its vacant tuba spot, making her the only - and possibly the first - female tuba player in a major full-time American orchestra.
Jantsch won the orchestra's audition late Wednesday night, beating out 194 other hopefuls.
Before she can break through the brass ceiling in the male-dominated realm of tuba-playing, however, she has a little unfinished business back in Ann Arbor, Mich. Jantsch, a soft-spoken woman whose fair-complexioned face has something of a Vermeer quality about it, is still in school. After winning the job here, she will return to the University of Michigan, where she is expected to graduate in April.
She's only 20 years old, making her the youngest member of the Philadelphia Orchestra - less than a quarter of the age of the orchestra's oldest musician.
All of this - Jantsch's unusual age, the gender break-through, her universally admired musicianship - adds up to a historic moment for the orchestra.
"I think it means... the rejuvenation of the orchestra in the best way," music director Christoph Eschenbach said yesterday. "That she is a young woman on that very un-woman-like instrument is a fact that is really extraordinary, and that she is so young and accomplished is a miracle almost."
This is not only Jantsch's first orchestra job. It is her first job of any kind. The post pays well over $100,000 a year, though orchestra administrators declined to say specifically what her salary might be.
Is she surprised at landing such a plum job?
"I thought I had a chance," said Jantsch, who has yet to negotiate her contract in Philadelphia but expects no obstacles. "This is probably the best job I could ever hope for."
This best job almost didn't happen.
Jantsch points out that orchestras only have one tuba player, and some of those spots take decades to turn over. Her predecessor in Philadelphia, Paul Krzywicki, held the job for three decades, from 1972 until 2005.
With no professional experience on her resume, Jantsch says the first response from the Philadelphia Orchestra was a rejection letter. It discouraged her from even auditioning. Players of her age do land big-orchestra jobs, but more often they spend their 20s in smaller orchestras before working their way up to the more prestigious ensembles of New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
Then, Jantsch sent a CD of her playing to Bar Harbor Brass Week, a summer brass workshop whose music director is Blair Bollinger, who happens to be bass trombonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and chair of the tuba audition committee.
Bollinger heard her CD and invited her to audition in Philadelphia.
It probably helped that Jantsch was playing the first movement of Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto - on tuba. It is a fistful of notes for a nimble violinist, but absurdly tough on tuba.
"I listened and I thought, 'Wow, this is good. This is really good.' It was some of the most amazing tuba playing I've ever heard. It was technically clean and musically eloquent," Bollinger said.
He passed the recording on to other members of the audition committee.
"I think they found it amusing, if nothing else," Jantsch said.
In the last few weeks, in her tryout at the Rattle concerts, Jantsch has already forged an impressive presence for herself. Her sound is solid and resonant but blends sensitively with other sections of the orchestra.
"It seems to me she was just born with the instrument, she's so at ease with it," Eschenbach said. "She plays it like a flute."
Soft-spoken, even mild and deferential in conversation, Jantsch, who grew up in Ohio, is the daughter of a doctor and a voice teacher. She started on piano at age 6, moved to euphonium at 9, and settled on tuba at 12.
What does she like about the tuba? "I guess that I'm the only one and I can do my own thing, that I have a role all by myself."
She comes across as laid-back. She almost acts as if this job of a lifetime had just landed in her lap. But she says she's quite ambitious, and her teachers agree.
"She has a real interesting mixture of personality traits. She's sensitive - and very determined," said Fritz A. Kaenzig, her University of Michigan tuba teacher.
Jantsch acknowledges - though modestly - her pioneering role: "It feels good to be the first something, I guess," she said.
Few female tubists have had success in orchestras. Constance Weldon played for a time with the Kansas City Philharmonic and the Miami Philharmonic (both now defunct) and did a stint as acting principal tuba of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.
A fair number of woman play tuba today, including Velvet Brown, a Penn State professor of tuba and euphonium, who calls Jantsch's win in Philadelphia a "wonderful occurrence."
But none, except for Jantsch, occupies a chair in a full-time orchestra, say a number of tuba players.
"It has been truly a man's world," Kaenzig said. "The real reason probably is the demand of lung capacity." Women don't generally have as large a lung capacity as men, he said. "Carol is an exception. She has 4.7 liters [she has measured it on medical equipment], the same as I do, and that's just enough to get the job done. She is so determined musically she gets the air in any way she can."
If brass players have a reputation for macho banter and a certain amount of antics, Jantsch should have no trouble keeping up. She once won a tuba-throwing contest at a tuba conference in Finland, casting an old instrument into a lake, landing first prize in the women's division.
Jantsch tried out in Philadelphia for three weeks in the fall and three more weeks this month, and will probably join the orchestra for concerts in the summer and then full-time in the fall.
As for Berlin, it turns out the match wasn't meant to be.
After Rattle made contact with Berlin and the audition materials arrived, Jantsch noticed a rather important detail.
The Berlin Philharmonic requires a tuba player who plays a B-flat tuba.
And Jantsch?
"I play C."
© 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com
Cheers,
Paul Lewis
Community/Church Musician
Paul Lewis
Community/Church Musician
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Posaune2
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News from Philly
The Philadelphia Inquirer did a story on Carol in today's paper. You can read it here:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/b ... 965758.htm
There are a few factual innaccuracies concerning the audition process, but on the whole, I have to say it is nice to see such positive coverage for a change.
Eric Carlson
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/b ... 965758.htm
There are a few factual innaccuracies concerning the audition process, but on the whole, I have to say it is nice to see such positive coverage for a change.
Eric Carlson
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windshieldbug
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Rick Denney
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No, but it does tell me about the relative importance of musicianship versus just about any other factor when it comes to making the choice.Jarrod wrote:Does this mean people over 21 without a major orchestra job should quit?
(I haven't read the whole thread, and I'm sure I'm repeating what has already been said.)
Dobbins's article quoted phrases like "technically clean and musically eloquent" and "amazing" and "she's so at ease with it" and "she plays it like a flute." These comments came from non-tuba players (the maestro being one of them). I don't hear anything about having a particular earth-moving sound, or about higher-faster-louder. It was the musicality that seemed to win the day.
Every now and again, someone with an other-worldly level of musical talent graces the tuba world. They immediately get the good gigs, partly because of that talent, partly because they were driven to exploit it fully, and partly because they persuade others that they will work out. There are others who are still amazing, but still of this earth, who have to be content with what remains.
Rick "not that good at anything" Denney
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Rick Denney
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Joe Baker
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Steve Marcus
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Rick Denney wrote:
Plan your meeting, Rick. In the Summer Schedule at Mann Music Center, Carol be playing Shostakovich 5, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, a bunch of movie themes (including Star Wars but not, unfortunately, Jabba the Hutt), Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Shore's The Lord of the Rings Symphony, Marche slave, Romeo & Juliet, 1812 Overture, Le Corsaire Overture, the 14 tuba notes of Dvorak Symphony No. 9 (hey, it's part of the job), etc.
In the 2006-2007 schedule, Carol will be playing Tchakovsky's Francesca da Rimini, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky 6, Kernis' "Color Wheel," Sibelius 2, Vaughan Williams 6, Hindemith's Nobilissima visione, Death & Transfiguration, Albeniz' Suite espagnola, Debussy Noctures, Fountains of Rome, Suite from Firebird, Dvorak 8, Copland 3, Shostakovich Suite from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Bruckner 9, Stravinsky's Suite from The Fairy's Kiss, Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead, Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, La Mer, Messiaen's Les Offrandes oubliees, Ein Heldenleben, Sheherazade, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Enigma Variations, Bartok's Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, John Adams' Harmonielehre, Symphonie fantastique (wonder who will play 2nd tuba?), Mahler 2, etc.
What a great, full season for a tubist! Have lots of fun, Carol!
... will have to arrange a meeting in Philly to coincide with a concert
Plan your meeting, Rick. In the Summer Schedule at Mann Music Center, Carol be playing Shostakovich 5, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, a bunch of movie themes (including Star Wars but not, unfortunately, Jabba the Hutt), Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Shore's The Lord of the Rings Symphony, Marche slave, Romeo & Juliet, 1812 Overture, Le Corsaire Overture, the 14 tuba notes of Dvorak Symphony No. 9 (hey, it's part of the job), etc.
In the 2006-2007 schedule, Carol will be playing Tchakovsky's Francesca da Rimini, Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Tchaikovsky 6, Kernis' "Color Wheel," Sibelius 2, Vaughan Williams 6, Hindemith's Nobilissima visione, Death & Transfiguration, Albeniz' Suite espagnola, Debussy Noctures, Fountains of Rome, Suite from Firebird, Dvorak 8, Copland 3, Shostakovich Suite from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Bruckner 9, Stravinsky's Suite from The Fairy's Kiss, Rachmaninoff's Isle of the Dead, Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, La Mer, Messiaen's Les Offrandes oubliees, Ein Heldenleben, Sheherazade, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Enigma Variations, Bartok's Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, John Adams' Harmonielehre, Symphonie fantastique (wonder who will play 2nd tuba?), Mahler 2, etc.
What a great, full season for a tubist! Have lots of fun, Carol!
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Barney
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Yep, posted a couple of minutes apart, so each person wasn't aware of the other.cc_tuba_guy wrote:That looks like the exact same article.
BUT.... In case you've missed it, take the time to take the link: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/b ... 965758.htm
It includes a picture of Carol with a PT-6P, AND a link to an excerpt of her recording of the first movement of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto... from an audition tape for Bar Harbor which got her invited to the Philly audition.
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Joe Baker
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I am speechless. Absolutely dumb-struck. I've never heard playing like that before in my life.Barney wrote:cc_tuba_guy wrote:... audition tape for Bar Harbor which got her invited to the Philly audition.
Ms. Jantsch -- if by any chance you lurk here -- you are my new hero.
________________________
Joe Baker, who can say only that anyone hoping for a seat in a major orchestra should listen to this, and ask -- honestly -- how they stack up.
"Luck" is what happens when preparation meets opportunity -- Seneca
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MikeMason
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Ok. Seriously.I truly hope Carol doesn't abandon her soloing.She has magic.She could break through the "tuba is a joke"ceiling as well...From just that short clip from the link,i'm hearing star power...
Pensacola Symphony
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
Troy University-adjunct tuba instructor
Yamaha yfb621 with 16’’ bell,with blokepiece symphony
Eastman 6/4 with blokepiece symphony/profundo
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Steve Marcus
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gwwilk
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Exactly my words to a fellow tubist--and female--at our community band rehearsal last evening. I'll be first in line to buy her CD's when they appear!Joe Baker wrote:
Ms. Jantsch -- if by any chance you lurk here -- you are my new hero.
________________________
Joe Baker, who can say only that anyone hoping for a seat in a major orchestra should listen to this, and ask -- honestly -- how they stack up.
Jerry Wilkins
gwwilk@gmail.com
gwwilk@gmail.com
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Steve Marcus
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Mike Roylance played his Master's Recital at DePaul University after he had won the audition for Boston Symphony.Steve Marcus wrote:Carol is scheduled to present a solo recital at the International Women's Brass Conference at Illinois State University in Bloomington/Normal, IL June 14-17.MikeMason wrote:I truly hope Carol doesn't abandon her soloing. She has magic.
Since Carol doesn't graduate from University of Michigan until April, when is/was her Senior Recital?
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Steve Marcus
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The newspaper article about Carol is winding its way through AP and other wire services, appearing in newspapers around the country, and perhaps the globe.
The article appears on page 6 in today's Chicago Tribune, along with the color photo of Carol and her PT-6S that originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
When was the last time that a tuba player made national or international news that was brought to the attention of the general public?
Maybe never before.
The article appears on page 6 in today's Chicago Tribune, along with the color photo of Carol and her PT-6S that originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
When was the last time that a tuba player made national or international news that was brought to the attention of the general public?
Maybe never before.
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Posaune2
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News from Philly
For those of you planning to try to hear Carol with the orchestra, she will probably not be playing the summer season at the Mann Center. She is still working out details of her school schedule, but might be playing Tchaikovsky 4 in a few weeks, and St-Sns #3 in May.
I will try to keep you all posted when things are a little more settled.
Eric Carlson
I will try to keep you all posted when things are a little more settled.
Eric Carlson
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Chuck Jackson
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Seems to me when I was at an age when I was still in the hunt (19-20) there was another phenom who won a job at 18: Sumner Erickson. I had the same feelings as Steve: total awe. It is a beautiful thing when someone shows artistry at that age. Boogles the mind. But then again, violinists have been doing it for centuries, maybe we are starting to catch up. I remember when the Holy Grail of undergrad recitals was the Vaughn-Williams, now high school kids do it with ease, and don't get me started on "Encounters". I remember listening in disbelief to Roger Bobo play it. Now, piece of cake for most college people. My, how things change in 25 years.
Chuck'who doesn't consider 45 as old on any count, but certainly has felt his age with this story"Jackson
Chuck'who doesn't consider 45 as old on any count, but certainly has felt his age with this story"Jackson
I drank WHAT?!!-Socrates
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JHardisk
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This is more than overdue.. Congratulations to Carol! I heard her play when she was just finishing high school at Mendez. She sounded just as fantastic as she does now. Hard work pays off, and she exemplifies that.
A side note: Philly has a history of hiring younger players in its auditions. The bass trombone player, Blair Bollinger was just out of Curtis when he won his job. And if I'm not mistaken, former trumpet player and now principal in Chicago, Chris Martin was 21 or so when he won his job with philly.
Hearing so much about Philly makes me miss home... I can't wait for a return visit to hear the orchestra with its new tubist!
A side note: Philly has a history of hiring younger players in its auditions. The bass trombone player, Blair Bollinger was just out of Curtis when he won his job. And if I'm not mistaken, former trumpet player and now principal in Chicago, Chris Martin was 21 or so when he won his job with philly.
Hearing so much about Philly makes me miss home... I can't wait for a return visit to hear the orchestra with its new tubist!
~John Hardisky
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Rick Denney
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Flirtation? I think you are projecting!Joe Baker wrote:Hey, now, Rick -- you stick to nagging pedantism! Flirtation with college-aged low-brass cuties is MY racket!!
______________________________
Joe Baker, who knows where his real strengths lie...
Rick "who remembers talking about musicality, not being cute, and who has never seen Carol Jansch in any case" Denney