Yasuhito Sugiyama

[tubadood5150]

Yasuhito Sugiyama (principal tuba for the Cleveland Orch.) is such a great guy. Really great teacher and a beast of a player. He is also quite hilarious. This topic is random, but I felt the need to just say something good about this wonderful person. I hope to get into the school he teaches at. He takes lessons from Gene Pokorny too..I thought that was awesome. The main reason for this post was...Who was the tuba/euph/trombone teacher that really made you love what you do even more and took your playing to another level?

[Neil Bliss]

Zach Spellman during the time I was at SF State. What a dude, he totally changed my perception of what I was doing behind the horn.

[tubadood5150]

When I first met Yasuhito Sugiyama, I expected some crazy guy that was like a dictator..you know the "this is how I do it so you should too." because that was all I've ever known from a tuba teacher. When he walked into the room, he looked at me and smiled and said, "My name is Yasu, I'm the tuba player for the Cleveland Orchestra." and he shook my hand. This really set the tone for the lesson. I was so nervous because it was my first time studying with a pro. I called him Mr. Sugiyama once and he said, "It's ok, you can call me Yasu. 'Mr. Sugiyama' is too much of a mouthful." His jokes made it really easy to get along and to play around him. I realize that not all teachers do this, but that is what really let me be myself and play like I play. Sure I didn't play amazingly, but he gave me suggestions, not orders like some do. He also told me and SHOWED me how the things I did differently impacted my sound. I never had anybody do that before.