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I was unable to attend as I had hoped and was wondering if people could share their impressions of the conference. I imagine since it is in it's first year, there might be some things that could be improved but I was more interested in the positives. How were the master classes and what were some things that people took away from their participation?

'The Horn Guys' exhibit with Steve Ferguson was bound to be a hit. To see and hear the horns only previously seen on a website or in a catalogue must have been fun. Were there exhibitors besides 'The Horn Guys'?

I would also like to hear what people thought of SEATEC.

I was one of the organizers and my biased opinion was that it was excellent. Chris Olka, Kim Russ, Terry Paananen, and I worked very hard to pull this off. Our guest artists, Gail Robertson, Danny Helseth, Willie Clark and Chris Olka were superb. The tuba quartet recital on Friday night was one of the best recitals I have ever attended. Most of the quartet charts were arranged by Gail Robertson and they were amazing.

The Saturday afternoon student/community recital was great. There was a nine-year-old boy who played the tuba and had a quality tone that a lot of adult tuba players wish they had. Several university students performed and everyone one of them did a great job and couldn't have reflected better on their teachers. Finally, Nate Lee and Ben Berlien (http://www.pugetbrass.org/band_detail.p ... mentSeat=1) played a basson duet better than any bassoonists could.

The Saturday night recital was also very good. Chris Olka played his first solo on the big YamaYork and his faciltiy on such a big horn was astounding. Gail Robertson's solos were absolutely wonderful. Danny Helseth's performance of the Jan Bach was the best I've ever heard. If you are going to the Army Conference you will get a chance to hear Danny that you should not pass up. Curtis Peacock (http://www.cwu.edu/~music/tubaeuph/peacock.html) played one of his own compositions that was a big hit.

The masterclasses were exceptional. Willie Clark talked about what it takes to be a successful freelance musician. Gail taught us how to arrange tuba quartets, though I doubt any us of will ever be as good as she is. Chris Olka demonstrated low register playing that was jaw-dropping and gave us very specific tips on how we could improve our low registers. (Before the mass reading sessions started, there were a lot of tuba players trying out the techniques Chris suggested and I noticed immediate improvement.) Danny Helseth talked about the commonalities between the practices of successful athletes and successful musicians. He really should write a book about this.

Steve Ferguson brought a lot of great instruments, mouthpieces, music, etc. He is a really nice guy. If I had any less self control, I would have left the conference with a new F tuba and a cimbasso (and probably a divorce). The Miraphone piston F that Steve brought is a very nice tuba. The low register is very good, the high register is good, the middle register is good and when you want it to, it will definitly light up the hall.

Yamaha brought some tubas and a euphonium, including an example of the little 621 BBb. If I needed a walking around tuba, I would definitley think about that one.

Greg Wilson from Metropolitan Music gave a demonstration on rotary valve maintenance that drew a big crowd. BTW, Greg is a repairman and tuba player.

Bryan Doughty and Cimarron Music sent us two huge boxes of tuba and euphonium music to sell, including some very nice tuba quartet music.

My final thought for this post. Tuba and euphonium players as a group are just nice people. It was a lot of fun hanging out betweent events and at the end of the day with everbody. There will definitely be a second annual Seattle Tuba-Euphonium Conference. We will let you know the details as soon as we have them worked out. In the meantime, you can read about what you missed on our web site: http://www.SEATEC.org. (You can also make donations to the conference throught the web site.)

Mark wrote:Chris Olka demonstrated low register playing that was jaw-dropping and gave us very specific tips on how we could improve our low registers. (Before the mass reading sessions started, there were a lot of tuba players trying out the techniques Chris suggested and I noticed immediate improvement.) Danny Helseth talked about the commonalities between the practices of successful athletes and successful musicians. He really should write a book about this.

Chris knows a few things about playing in the low register. The problem with writing a book is trying to visualize exactly what is going on. If this book were done in color with a lot of photographic examples, it would be a hit. I'd even volunteer my photography chops if a book like this were to move forward.

Matthew Gilchrest wrote:

Mark wrote:Chris Olka demonstrated low register playing that was jaw-dropping and gave us very specific tips on how we could improve our low registers. (Before the mass reading sessions started, there were a lot of tuba players trying out the techniques Chris suggested and I noticed immediate improvement.) Danny Helseth talked about the commonalities between the practices of successful athletes and successful musicians. He really should write a book about this.

Chris knows a few things about playing in the low register. The problem with writing a book is trying to visualize exactly what is going on. If this book were done in color with a lot of photographic examples, it would be a hit. I'd even volunteer my photography chops if a book like this were to move forward.

I meant Danny Helseth should write a book. I should have broken that up into two paragraphs.

I drove up from Portland on Saturday morning to attend the SEATEC conference, attending 3 of the 4 master classes. I especially enjoyed Chris Olka's low register demonstrations using 2 players playing the same choral, doubling the octave - Chris demonstrated some truly amazing dynamics and agility on the low notes.

A highlight of the trip for me was playing Steve Ferguson's Miraphone 191 (which made me a much better player for about 10 minutes). This experience made me wish there had been an opportunity for Steve to give a demonstration on tuba types, their usage and how they sound in comparison to others. Greg Wilson's rotary value removal demo was great - he even had kits with rawhide mallet, chopstick, lint-free clothes and Hetman bearing oil (I picked up a set) to make it easier to "try this at home." I wish I could have taken advantage of Greg's kind offer to try his Stofer Geib mouthpiece on that 191, but kept missing Steve’s display being open. Perhaps a longer dedicated vendor period would provide more opportunities of this type. I really appreciate the chance to meet with such experienced and helpful vendors.

A great help was seeing professional tubists in action. I picked up several ideas on improving my own playing simply by watching what they were doing. Best practical tip was seeing Chris and some of the Seattle players use a Sticky Pad on the bottom branch to keep their tubas from sliding, and using a smaller, second Sticky Pad under their left hand for balance/support.

I didn't have a chance to attend the nightly recitals or play due to work constraints, but I definitely plan to attend next year, I hope the conference continues annually.

One final note - I received a very nice thank you within 24 hrs. for my donation towards SEATEC, making me feel appreciated for attending.

Waltski wrote:A great help was seeing professional tubists in action. I picked up several ideas on improving my own playing simply by watching what they were doing. Best practical tip was seeing Chris and some of the Seattle players use a Sticky Pad on the bottom branch to keep their tubas from sliding, and using a smaller, second Sticky Pad under their left hand for balance/support.

I prefer to use a stand while playing; but I can tell you the sticky pads are the ones you can buy from Office Depot to stick cell phones to the dash of your car.

Waltski wrote:One final note - I received a very nice thank you within 24 hrs. for my donation towards SEATEC, making me feel appreciated for attending.

Attendance was free to everyone and we appreciated everyone who came. We especially appreciated those who gave us donations. Thank you again.

LJV wrote:Any one have any pictures of this fine event they're going to share?! Come on, guys!

We have video, audio and some photographs. Give me a few more days to recover and I'll see what we can do to post things on our web site http://www.SEATEC.org.

Have I mentioned that you can donate to the conference on our web site?