euphoniumists

[Gorilla Tuba]

The reason all the top euphonium teachers come from military bands is simple... there are practically no other professional places to play euiphonium. That does not mean that you have to be a military musician to be a professional level player. There may be other places for a euphonium player to gain performing experience, but I would suggest that they are very limited.

If you want to teach euphonium at the university level, there are 2 routes:
1. Be an adjunct - usually poor pay and very few benefits. This works well for those who make their "real" living in a symphony or other vocation. In otherwords, don't quit your day job.

2. Do something else, too - The smaller the program, the more "other" stuff you have to do. Usually, a full time, tenure track professor will be teaching around 18 converted hours per week. If you can attract and maintain a studio of 18 euphonium players, then you might do fine. I only know one place with these numbers.

Even doubling with tuba or trombone, these are still pretty high numbers.

In the real world of academia, most applied music faculty also teach other areas. For example, each semester I conduct 1 band, teach 1 academic class, and maintain my studio of 12-15 tuba and euphonium students. I have also seen quite a few that teach theory and tuba, music history and tuba, etc.

Related... what do you do for the department and school? - As a euphonium player can you play in the faculty brass quintet, woodwind quintet, etc? I strongly urge you to take your double seriously. I have a grad student who was a tubist in a DC military band. He switched to euphonium recently because... wll that doesn't matter... he switched. As he is now looking towards jobs, not just degree completion, he is finding that the tuba may still be the ticket that gets him a job.

Euphonium is a great instrument with a growing literature base. In todays market, it is still not going to get you a gig by itself, except in a military band.

I hope this post hasn't come off too pessimistic. I think the euphonium can be a great tool to pave your way through school. I know that I will give huge scholarships to a euphonium player anyday. But before you finish you last degree, you should be proficient in another area such as conducting, music education, musicology or theory.

[Rick F]

I was wondering if you guys knew of some euphonium players who teach in college (not conductors, but teach their instrument...probably with another instrument also) and who wasn't in the military prior to becoming a professor.

There's Gail Robertson who is a fine artist and teaches low brass at Bethune Coolman and is adjunct professor of euphonium and tuba at Univ. of Central Florida. See this link for more info:

http://www.bbbc.net/pages/spotlight/Rob ... tlight.htm

[trop2000]

Ben Pierce! Ben Pierce!

MONSTER euph and tuba player who was not in the military and now teaching at Arkansas. Ben's name doesn't pop up on tubenet too often, but this guy eats international competitions for breakfast on euph AND tuba. True artist, in my opinion, not just competition winner.

For my $.02, a euph/tuba double is much more common today than even 10 years ago (thanks to Ben and others). It did use to be the case that euph/trombone was by far the most common double, but these days euph/tuba double is becomming more popular and viable.

If your performance level on both instruments (whichever two) is high and you are sufficiently degreed, I don't see why your application wouldn't merit as much consideration as anyone else's for college/university positions.

Good luck!

[JWRECU]

Demondrae Thurman, professor of low brass at the university of Alabama would be great. He doubles on trombone. He's freakin amazing. How does doubling on trombone screw w/your playing? im just curious b/c I double on trombone and want to know if I should look out for something?

Most euph players double on trombone b/c they can use the same size mouthpiece as there euph. I use the same rim but a smaller cup on trombone. Hope this helps.

[RyanSchultz]

Adam Frey

euphonium.com

[Carroll]

Kelly Thomas - University of Arizona
Llyod Bone - Glenville State, WV
Jimmie Self - East Tennessee State
Mark Walker - Troy(AL) University

[CrappyEuph]

Rob Pendergast teaches at Bethune Cookman now, and he was never in the military.

Martin Cochran is also a university professor, and he was never in the military either.

Angie Hunter was never in the military, and she teaches and freelances very successfully in Germany.

There are plenty of excellent euphonium players who have never been and will never be in a military band, either due to health reasons or because they just don't want to. If you are a euphonium player and you want to be a college professor, my best advice is to learn tuba, but the more brass instruments you have proficiency in, the better, and you should also be able to conduct. I have seen some job listings asking for a music ed degree and/or some years of public teaching experience. The more versatile you are, the more marketable you are.

That said, understand that I am a euphonium player and just as unemployed as any high school student who reads the TubeNet...so you can ignore everything I've said because I am clearly no expert on euphonium players getting jobs.

[windshieldbug]

I was a euphonium major in college despite the obvious drawbacks, was taught by trombone players, but never picked up an interest... in the end I went way out of my way to get taught by a tuba player, because I heard his former euphonium students play, and they were unbelievable... and ended up loving the tuba so much I changed my major again, and never looked back!

[Carroll]

Mark Brown - Troy(AL) University

Mark Walker is the euphonium/tuba instructor at Troy

Oops, sorry

[BrownHammer]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Brian Meixner yet. He teaches at Slippery Rock and is a fantastic teacher. He also has a great euph cd out. He was never in the military and doubles on trombone and awesomeness.