new very modern music project

[LoyalTubist]

My first exposure to "modern music" (we called it "20th century music" when I was in grad school) was William Kraft's Encounters II on the first Roger Bobo LP. I was very impressed with the range of dynamics, multiphonics, and things I didn't know you could write in music. Mind you, I was all of 14 years old when I heard this. I bought a copy of the piece from Robert King (it was only a buck back in those days!) and, even though I couldn't play it, I tried to struggle with it anyway. When someone asked me what I was playing I whipped out the record and played it.

"That sounds like crap!"

Every time I got the same thing. I was trying to convince myself that maybe the experimental stuff was the wave of the future. Well, it isn't. It is only entertaining to tuba players. Gene Pokorny, who was my first private tuba teacher, had some of this kind of music composed especially for him (in Three Essays by William Penn he had to shout into the tuba).

Actually it didn't take much for me to realize that I didn't really like this kind of music. Most professional players I met after Gene told me that you can be a professional player for fifty years and NEVER have to play "new music."

So I never used it for a recital or a jury or any kind of audition or competition.

If you want to play this kind of music you must take it seriously, not as a joke. You need to act as though you have been playing this stuff for as long as you have been playing your horn.

And I believe that you need to consider your audience. What would they want to hear you play?

As far as this "New Music Festival," I personally would skip it, unless you really like this music. You need to know what you are getting into before you do it.

[Z-Tuba Dude]

I think, that as tubists, we have a double edged sword to deal with.

Unfortunately, we are still in a position of having to convince (educate) the public that our instruments are worthy of solo performance.

We are handicapped, because the bulk of our repertoire is in the contemporary style.

When trying to "sell" the public on contemporary music, the messenger tends to get shot, when bringing the "bad news". They are not sure whether they dislike what they hear, because it is a tuba playing it, or because the music stinks (I DON'T dislike all contemporary music, but a lot of it that is written for the tuba....I could do without).

One man's opinion.

[LoyalTubist]

You can sell the public on "new music" and it won't change their minds about what new music is.

No, I'd rather stick with traditional sounds and use that as my soapbox for pitching the tuba.

[TubaRay]

(I DON'T dislike all contemporary music, but a lot of it that is written for the tuba....I could do without).
One man's opinion.

This is also another man's opinion. This man.