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At my last tuba quartet gig, one of the members said that he talked to an out-of-town colleague who was surprised (shocked!) to find out that he got paid for quartet gigs.

Over the last 1X years, we have worked hard to make the tuba quartet a viable performing ensemble in Dallas. We developed our own book, used the contacts we had, developed our own contacts, played odd venues... we did whatever we could think of. We have played local TV morning shows, drive time commercial radio and local public radio trying to develop our audience.

Our initial gigs were in a hardware store. Granted, it's a great hardware store, Texas sized, but we've played in countless other types of venues from "high society" birthday parties (for people whose names you probably have heard) to store-openings and concerts.

Here is a picture of part of the crowd from the gig last Saturday, we were told the attendance is just under 500, and they all stayed for the two hour performance. It was a very appreciative audience... and we got paid.

This is our fourth or fifth year at this venue. This concert series starts in July with different types of ensembles playing in an outdoor setting. They have scheduled us as the closing performance for the last three years because the audience actually looks forward to hearing us.

Our pay is just often union scale but we still take the short, cheap gigs when we can get them. The first gigs included playing Christmas gigs in stores and we built up the repertoire, the venues and the pay.

My point: opportunities are there. Harvey Phillips opened the door for all of us to be working tuba/euphonium players (as entrepreneurs) but we have to take the initiative.

You do not have to play for free: your skill and your time have value; the product you offer can be pleasing to a surprising number of people and retail stores will pay for that.

Here's a picture of the Dallas Wind Symphony Quartet "in action" at the gig.

Pictures courtesy Michael Presley, Wolfe City, TX.

Members of the DWS Tuba/Euphonium Quartet are: (l-r) Brian Davis (Hirsbrunner euph), David Strand (Canadian Brass euph), Alex Cauthen (Yamaha YFB621), Jason Wallace (MW 45 SLP)

Nice post. Curious, though: Is that a MW 2145 SLP (CC), or a 45 SLP (F)? Looks like a 45...

Looks to me like it is the F tuba.

I have recently gotten more interested in quartets, and trying to promote that kind of group. Anybody got any hints/secrets on where to find work?

It is the 45 slp. MW has too many models for me to keep up with.

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Where to look for gigs? Try any successful retail establishment. Shoot for a holiday gig, start early, be positive, sell the group and the experience.

Pictures and recordings are helpful in selling the group.

The great thing about a tuba/euphonium quartet is that it doesn't overpower. A brass quintet, in a closed environment, will dominate the room, the t/e quartet is just thick, sonorous background music.

I've heard this quartet on numerous occasions & they're superb. Too bad Elliot's closed their Grapevine store; it was real close.

Great!

The only barrier to getting paid for tuba gigs is your own thinking. With the old (Metropolitan Chicago Area Tuba Society) aka Metro-Cats we would get paid for performing at football game halftimes for a local college that didn't have a marching band. I think we used to get a $1000 per per game and used that money to fund scholarships in a local tuba solo contest for HS students we held.

We also used to occasionally play at UIC hockey games (after having one horn take a hockey puck to the bell I was really glad I used beater horns for that gig).

We even had 25 tuba's including UofM tuba prof Fritz Kaenzig in front of home plate doing the Star Spangle Banner for a Cubs game. I don't remember what we got paid for that, but we did get good seats and after the game had one heck of a BBQ at Richard Frazier's house in Wriggleyville.

As a method of advertising, try major league baseball games. They have auditions for playing the National Anthem, a decent group will win a spot without problem.

When you play, take pictures, have someone video it, post it on a website. Use that in your ads, it gives you validity.

Major league teams occassionally use music groups, they have used Dixie bands for years, why not get them to break the mold? You'll have to have a book that will cover the length of the gig. Get inventive.

Hey Alex -- this is a GREAT POST! Really fine guerrilla marketing ideas flowing around. Even sounds almost like the general "spaghetti theory": throw enough spaghetti at the wall and some of it will stick. ....

I also really like the automation of your formatting. If one lead doesn't seem to work, it appears to be no sweat off your brow -- just run right along to the next opportunity. If you could get your audition DVD into X-number of hands of decision makers [if you don't already], who knows how far this could go?

Really enjoyable to hear this type of thinking. Even if there may be diminishing interest in classical-type music formats, it's funny how resurgent it is on some other fronts. And that there should be some viable, tangible, visible reward for all our developed skill and preparation is a great touch. Great job -- you guys really seem to fill out a picture of success that's a good small group model in many ways -- for big towns or small.

I love Brian Davis

I love Brian Davis, too... but I am also fond of Alex.
Aw, shucks!

p.s. I am Ryan McGeorge