13 STOLEN Sousaphones!

[TUbajohn20J]

My school, Tyler Junior College, had all of our 13 Conn 20K sousas stolen last night..along with 3 of my good mouthpieces..please dont put this in the clip art section..
here is the story and please watch the vid..

http://www.cbs19.tv/Global/story.asp?S= ... menu1493_2#" target="_blank" target="_blank

This is coming straight from our band director:

On Wednesday December 10th between the hours of 4:30 and 10:00PM, our white, 16 foot, dual axle, Haulmark trailer was stolen from behind our loading dock.

The trailer has the TJC logo on the sides and if you look closely you can see the lettering Ron Green & Associates (previous owner's old label) on the sides and back.

The only image was captured by security camera about 70 yards away of a pickup truck pulling a white trailer an hour after I had left the school. The older Conns were so nice, I had just had them completely overhauled.

Unfortunately, we have had to store our 13 sousaphones in this trailer year round for the last 6 years. Obviously they are still in there. You may be wondering why would I do something as stupid as storing instruments in a trailer? I had no other option other than students sitting on flight cases in my rehearsals due to lack of space.

The instruments were 12 Conn 20Ks from 1937 to 2003 and a Jupiter Collegiate. All except the Jupiter were in Opti-Case Flight cases clearly marked with TJC on all sides.

If you have any information please email me at tommensch@embarqmail.com" target="_blank or my school email.

[TUbajohn20J]

im pretty sure the thieves knew exactly what was on the trailer. Many people have seen us loading and unloading our sousaphones everyday for practice..and there are dorms directly across the street from where they park the trailer. Its a shame

[imperialbari]

I hope the school insurance will cover the property lost. Hopefully including your mouthpieces.

Good luck.

I don’t disagree in these hopes, obviously! But even with cash in hand, where can one get 12 Conn 20K’s within short notice?

Klaus

[lgb&dtuba]

Storing anything in a trailer is risky.

When I first joined my band we used a trailer to store and haul all our equipment around. Our sound system stayed in that trailer all the time. Nowhere else to store it. Thieves cut the lock and stole the sound system and some props. Insurance paid enough that we bought a new sound system. We moved the trailer to a "better" location. Over the next couple of years we expanded the sound system and eventually had a really nice system. Within a week of completing the new system thieves once again cut the lock and stole it all. Neither time did they steal the trailer itself.

We now have a truck (and yet another sound system) instead of a trailer and it's kept at a secure gated storage facility. We'll have to see if that's sufficient protection or not. So far, so good.

[Rommel72]

I just read that the trailer and sousaphones were all found, intact and safe!

Rommel

[Eric B]

That's great news. I live in Malakoff (45 minutes from Tyler). I was keeping alert here.

[rocksanddirt]

I just read that the trailer and sousaphones were all found, intact and safe!

Rommel

really!!!! wow great news!

[rocksanddirt]

FYI

http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /812120288" target="_blank

[MileMarkerZero]

Let's see...it's finals time and frat initiation time at colleges and universities across the land: the traditional time of pranksters, miscreants, and drunks. Methinks this has all the signs of being an effort to cut the tension on the part of some stressed-out, possibly inebriated students from the dorms across the street. It seems that whoever took the trailer wanted it found, or they wouldn't have left it in a pasture out in the boonies, where the locals know each other's property and comings and goings better than they know the face in the mirror. I'm thinking that if this was truly an attempt at financial gain through theft, then the perpetrators would have stashed the trailer in a barn or a garage.

Beer + finals + frat members = odd campus occurrances.

[eupher61]

OK...I'll be the first...why store instruments in a trailer to start with? Not exactly theft-proof, as is obvious now.

[TUbajohn20J]

OK...I'll be the first...why store instruments in a trailer to start with? Not exactly theft-proof, as is obvious now.

Because we don't have enough room in the bandhall for 13 sousaphone flight cases. Our bandhall was built in the 70's or 80's for only 75 people. Our band has over 200 now. There is hardly any room in the bandhall as it is with all the concert tubas and percussion equipment everywhere. We dont have any practice rooms (the only college in the U.S. that doesnt provide its students with practice rooms) As you can see here is our bandhall picture. I took 2 pictures and put them together so you can see the whole view.

[TUbajohn20J]

It seems that whoever took the trailer wanted it found, or they wouldn't have left it in a pasture out in the boonies, where the locals know each other's property and comings and goings better than they know the face in the mirror. I'm thinking that if this was truly an attempt at financial gain through theft, then the perpetrators would have stashed the trailer in a barn or a garage.

Actually the trailer was 400 yards in from the highway, not visible. And the police said the suspect cut the lock on the side door, opened the first case, and when they saw a nice shiny sousaphone they probably got scared and abandoned the trailer there in hopes of not getting caught.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

We dont have any practice rooms (the only college in the U.S. that doesnt provide its students with practice rooms)

Wow...who told you that? I can think of two just here in Oklahoma, and it ain't exactly a potpourri of music programs!

[TUbajohn20J]

ok maybe i was exagerating! but we're def. the only college in Texas without practice rooms..so i've heard

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Well, it doesn't matter anyway.

It speaks volume to the quality of your program and director that you are able to field so many players (even if you are in Texas). Congratulations on the return of your instruments!

[rocksanddirt]

the space issue is a drag.

back when I was in band.....

the Band room was built for about 120, includes sousaphone lockers along one side (14 or so, big enough for a practice horn and a performance horn), a sound/mixer room in case we were going to record (*snort*), and an instrument repair room, nice set up....'cept that the band was in the 180 to 200 range when I was a student, and is in the 240 to 260 range now. Fortunately, there are a couple of practice rooms, and the building's spooky sub-basement (band is already the second underground floor) for storage of seldom used cases, etc.

[Dan Schultz]

the space issue is a drag.

back when I was in band..... the Band room was built for about 120, includes sousaphone lockers along one side ........ and an instrument repair room.....

Now... THAT's scary! What sort of repairs did they do on site?

[TUbajohn20J]

He's been trying to get new facilities for about 4 years now. there is already a blue print and construction plans of the new band hall. But the school thinks that its not a priority and keep putting other small matters before this one.

[rocksanddirt]

the space issue is a drag.

back when I was in band..... the Band room was built for about 120, includes sousaphone lockers along one side ........ and an instrument repair room.....

Now... THAT's scary! What sort of repairs did they do on site?

not much, mostly the easy stuff (fix lose pads, screws) the sort of repairs most folks could do by themselves with access to proper tools/supplies. by the time I was around it was mostly storage of instruments that wern't used much (Eb clarinets, bass clarinets, bass Sax, longhorn style mellophoniums), though it did save the band a fortune in repair costs by just having supplies around. I'm told in the oldendays they used to do much more, now I don't know.