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Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:22 am
by eupho
I am curious about what tubas F,EEb, CC or BBb are being played by graduate and doctoral euphonium candidates. Thanks.

Re: Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:42 am
by eupho
Yes, euphonium majors usually are required to play tuba as well. I am curious as to what people are playing secondarily.

Re: Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 2:49 pm
by Sharp
Playing tuba was not required of the graduate euphonium students at the school I went to. If you were interested in the pursuit, it was on your own time and money.

I went into the degree with an Eb, and bought a CC part way through.

Re: Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 6:01 pm
by tubalex
In order to get to an actual answer to the original question, I suggest the OP email Ben Pierce, Aaron Tindall and Kelly Thomas directly, as those are the first studios to come to mind where this is probably very much the norm. Those three are very busy people and may not come across this thread, but they would have very helpful answers.

If NAU had doctoral music students every one of my DMA students would play both instruments. I'm pretty certain that in 20 years this is going to be the norm to get a teaching job, and in some circles it's already expected. I can post that confidently with specific personal recent experience.

Re: Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 7:31 pm
by Tom Coffey
I guess I have reached the age of getting stuck in history (disclaimer).
When my teacher, Sam Green (Cincinnati Symphony 1943-1978) played euphonium for Simone Mantia, Mr. Mantia told him he would have a good fututre in a top service band. Sam told him he did not want to go into the service, and Mr. Mantia suggested he "switch" to tuba. Sam, of course, did, and had a great playing and teaching career, including 50 years at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. Although Sam taught both instruments, and could play both instruments very well, the students, themselves, tended to be "either or" with notable exceptions being Tom Klaber (bass trombone, Cleveland Orchestra) and Pete Norton (bass trombone, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), both of whom were truly fine euphonium players.
Our euphonium players were not required to "double," and when I attended CCM (1977-81) tubists were encouraged to double on electric bass and string bass, not euphonium. I have played more gigs on electric bass, euphonium, string bass, and bass sax than tuba (but just a few more), and count myself lucky to double or triple. I have also had a few trombone gigs. I think Joe "Bloke" Sellmansberger (about my same vintage) and many others share this experience.
A final comment to this too-long post: Most of the really great players I have personally known have played and doubled or tripled on instruments that college teachers and their students would reject as "inferior" today. Despite our collective fascination with equipment, the loose nut behind the mouthpiece is still the most important part.

Re: Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 7:40 pm
by pgym
tubalex wrote:If NAU had doctoral music students every one of my DMA students would play both instruments. I'm pretty certain that in 20 years this is going to be the norm to get a teaching job, and in some circles it's already expected. I can post that confidently with specific personal recent experience.
Instrumental instruction, especially at the higher academic levels, being the one profession that bucks the trend toward specialization, you may well be right, however, several years ago at the Miraphone academy, Doc AsKew, having recently spent a sabbatical taking euphonium lessons with Tim Northcut (Tuba/Euph prof, but euph is primary instrument) at CCM, openly questioned the wisdom of tuba instructors teaching euphonium, and wondered aloud whether tuba instructors' failure to understand and appreciate the subtle, but important, differences, both from a technical and a musical perspective, between the instruments, evidenced by the "it's a tenor tuba" approach to teaching euphonium, didn't seriously hinder euphers' development and understanding of their instrument.

Given the continuing, and disproportionate, success of Dr. Bowman's students in competitions and auditions, it's at least worth pondering the whether Doc AsKew might be on to something.

Re: Grad&Doc Euph, what tubas are you playing

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:55 pm
by bearphonium
While I am not in such a program, nor closely associated with one, I am down the road from a program, and know this:

One graduate performance major is focusing on euphonium, bass trombone and tuba; he is primarily a euphonium player and his tuba is a very nice Conn CC that he bought from someone via Tubenet about 1.5 years ago.

I believe there are different instructors for euphonium and tuba, and know there is a different instructor for trombone.

FWIW...