OFFICIAL LIST of horns/players that won a job

[Jay Bertolet]

Leto, I sincerely hope that the "professional" poo-pooers will not deter you from pursuing this thread. Auditioning, like any skill, is learned and improved with practice/study. Even though some take completely the wrong message away from such discussions about equipment, others are paying enough attention to learn something useful. I will relate two relevant stories to illustrate:

1) In the final round of the Florida Phil. job that I won, the last remaining players were really close in quality. Any of them could have done the job. The committee needed some way to decide between them. In that last round, they asked us to play the Bear solo from Petruschka and the long melody line in the 4th movement of Symphonie Fantastique. They specifically asked each player to make as much dynamic contrast as they could with the 2 excerpts. Having the Yamaha 321S Eb that I did gave me (what I thought) was a pretty big advantage under those conditions given the 321's ability to put out large amounts of sound.

2) Most folks know the story of how the NY Phil. used Kraft's Encounter II to limit the pool of applicants for the audition that Warren Deck ultimately won. I heard that story in college and decided that I never wanted to be in a position of not being able to play every single piece of music that might be called for in an audition. It shaped a lot of how I approached auditions, from preparation techniques to choosing equipment that I felt gave me the chance to successfully do "everything". In speaking with the committee after the Florida Phil. audition in 1985, almost all of them told me that my performance of the Kraft at that audition was what "got my foot in the door". I didn't think I played very well (in the first round especially) but the committee members really liked the Kraft as a clear presentation of what the player could do.

If one tends to focus on the wrong information in this discussion, they probably won't come away with much valuable information and may tend to discredit the entire discussion as a waste of time. I assure you Leto, others are paying attention and actually learning from the process. Please keep it up!

[Leto Cruise]

Would you be able to add basic information about each horn on the list (bore; # valves; piston or rotary; country of manufacture)?

Good idea. I'll work on adding these next to the horn names for those interested in the specs.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support! It's always encouraging to receive positive feedback. Ed's Disney story and Jay's recollections are excellent examples of helpful information to digest for any aspiring musician.

[tofu]

yep...

- Buy the tuba like the one the last person who "won" a job has.

Yeah that struck me too as it being similar to driving somewhere using the rear view mirror. You do have to admit though that it is kind of interesting as to what some people used equipment wise. But I really think it is far more useful to be like this guy ->

"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." - Wayne Gretzky

In the end though, doesn't the cream really eventually rise to the top? It seems like many of the top players in the top positions have had intermediate stops along the way on their journey to the top slots. Are there really that many (if any) guys sitting at home who aren't sitting in the CSO, NYP etc. for only a lack of equipment?

[tclements]

in 1981, I won the San José Symphony with a 186 & a 184 CC, a 183 Eb and a Yamaha Euph (Bydlo).

TC

[Leto Cruise]

in 1981, I won the San José Symphony with a 186 & a 184 CC, a 183 Eb and a Yamaha Euph (Bydlo).

TC

Thanks, Tony. I've added that to the list now.

[nimrod480]

Andy Smith won the Chicago Lyric on PT7, PT10 and a Rudy Meinl Cimbasso.

[Leto Cruise]

Thanks, Nimrod. Is the PT7 rotor or piston? Would you also mind sharing what equipment you used to win Iceland Symphony? Many of us would love to know.

[nimrod480]

PT7 Piston.

I won my position playing a PT6 rotor and a JBL.

[Leto Cruise]

Added it to the list. Any more anyone can remember?

[MTFULRUTUBA]

If I'm not mistaken, Richard White won New Mexico Philharmonic on his PT-7P and Meinl Weston 2182.

[Leto Cruise]

Thanks Michael, I've added it to the list. Would you like to contribute what equipment you used to win your teaching positions?

[Biggs]

Is there any pattern here other than
"when there's a tuba job and a bunch of people show up with tubas, one of them is usually chosen for the job" ?

is that an official observation?

[Leto Cruise]

Added some more and made further corrections.

Is there any pattern here other than
"when there's a tuba job and a bunch of people show up with tubas, one of them is usually chosen for the job" ?

In order to avoid the thread being derailed as in the past, I'll provide the diplomatic version - "You decide."

Do I see a pattern? Sure I do. For one, instrument preferences have changed. Are you likely to see the classically revered 186 in the soon to come Baltimore Symphony audition? Perhaps. Is it likely to hold out against PCK's, PT-6's, Yorkbrunners, Nirschl's, Thor's, and all of today's heavy hitters? Well..... "you decide," but keep in mind that as technological advances are made ----> superior equipment is made -----> players select their perceived superior equipment among the superior equipment ------> and ultimately win an audition with the instrument that reduces their work effort along with maximizing their strengths.

Why did Mike Roylance choose to play his Nirschl York in the Boston audition when he could have picked any other instrument? Why did all three Philadelphia finalists play on a PT-6P? Why did Gene use his 186 for the first round of St. Louis and an HB-2 for the final round?

Whether or not we'd like to admit it, some equipment is indeed better suited for auditions than other. Some of that equipment is a good fit for a majority of players than other. Although this can appear a non-sequitur at first glance, and while the player is the most important factor in the equation, it is not the only factor.

Leto "you decide" Cruise

[THE TUBA]

I think someone could write a really interesting dissertation on this subject. I bet a lot of tuba players would be interested to see a scholarly research paper written about the changes in instruments used in the final rounds of major auditions over the past XX years. If it is done right, I'm sure the ITEA journal would love to publish it.

[TubaZac2012]

Does everyone forget about Alabama nowadays? Andrew Miller, PT-6 rotar CC, PT-10 rotar F, 2004. Btw, this is an amazing thread. Makes me happy when I come home from Walmart, and read all this stuff. I work there, for the record.

Keep it up!

[k001k47]

Added some more and made further corrections.

Is there any pattern here other than
"when there's a tuba job and a bunch of people show up with tubas, one of them is usually chosen for the job" ?

Well..... "you decide," but keep in mind that as technological advances are made ----> superior equipment is made -----> players select their perceived superior equipment among the superior equipment ------> and ultimately win an audition with the instrument that reduces their work effort along with maximizing their strengths.

.

Leto "you decide" Cruise

I know it's not a valid analogy, but violin players seem to covet really old stradivarius violins worth way too much money to count. I wonder how many auditions have been won by them.

Also, why are there models with none listed? Perhaps it's because I didn't bother to read the thread before posting, but am I missing something here? Can you list my tubas with a big NONE so I can be part of the list?

[toobagrowl]

Alexander 163

Cincinnati Symphony/Cincinnati Pops - Mike Thornton (RIP) - 1976





There are still a lot more we can add

[Steve Marcus]

I think someone could write a really interesting dissertation on this subject. I bet a lot of tuba players would be interested to see a scholarly research paper written about the changes in instruments used in the final rounds of major auditions over the past XX years. If it is done right, I'm sure the ITEA journal would love to publish it.

What might make for a complete study is a comparison of the instruments of choice for North American positions vs. auditions for European tuba positions, especially now with big BBb's creeping [back] into North American orchestras (for occasional use, if not the primary use as they are in Europe).

Blind audition or final round, how might the same player fare with a York-style tuba vs. a big Kaiser tuba (assuming impeccable intonation in both cases)?

[Leto Cruise]

Does everyone forget about Alabama nowadays? Andrew Miller, PT-6 rotar CC, PT-10 rotar F, 2004.

Added. Thanks for the support, Zac.

Alexander 163

Cincinnati Symphony/Cincinnati Pops - Mike Thornton (RIP) - 1976

Added. Mike Thornton was a truly marvelous player.

[Leto Cruise]

What might make for a complete study is a comparison of the instruments of choice for North American positions vs. auditions for European tuba positions, especially now with big BBb's creeping [back] into North American orchestras (for occasional use, if not the primary use as they are

This is a wise suggestion. All we have on European orchestras so far is Alessandro Fossi as a finalist for Berlin. Anyone know of other European ones?