What is the history behind the giant Harvard tuba?

[Dave Detwiler]

I know this has come up in various threads in the past, but I thought it was worth fishing for updated information - if anyone has any.

Do you happen to know any of the history behind the giant Harvard tuba, built by Besson? I've been able to trace it back to Gilmore's Band in 1892, but only through an artist's rendering from that year. I'm still trying to discover the story of why it was created, and where it went between 1892 and the 1920s.

Here's a photo showing a bit of the history over the years:

Harvard tuba comparison photos.JPG

[jperry1466]

Here's what little I could find:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/27/nyre ... -carl.html
https://www.facebook.com/SteveDillonMus ... 484&type=3

"Giant Besson Tuba at Harvard.
Now, here’s the story of the big tuba at Harvard, from what I can tell. NO, IT WASN’T MADE FOR SOUSA AND NEVER USED IN HIS BAND!!!!!!!! The person this instrument was made for was Thomas Preston Brooke, the conductor of the Chicago Marine Band. (Nonmilitary) Here is a quote from “Bands of America” by H. W Schwartz: …..Brooke was having a giant tuba constructed. This big bass was to be the largest ever made. It was to have two hundred and eight inches of tubing and a bell that was 32 inches in diameter.” (Bands of America, page 181.) The bell of this Besson tuba at Harvard is right around the 32 inch mark. At some time after the instrument was used with Brooke it made its way to the Carl Fischer store in Boston (Fischer was the distributor for Besson at that time, thus the engraving on the bell) and was displayed in the window of the store for some time, as was the other big tuba (Big Carl) was displayed in the Carl Fischer store in NY. At some time during the 20th century the tuba made its way over to Harvard."

[jperry1466]

And here is a picture of my teacher, Rex Conner, with the Harvard tuba. Date unknown.

[Dave Detwiler]

Hi jperry - thanks so much for passing along what you have come across. However, it turns out that there are at least three giant tubas that are often confused with each other - the one up at Harvard, the one in NYC known as "Big Carl," and one that looks very similar to the Harvard tuba, but is at the Horniman Museum in England. That one, I believe, is what Rex Conner is standing next to in the photo you posted (also, and unrelated - I studied with Rex in the summer of 1979 up at Interlochen!).

And the giant tuba built for Brooke was a different horn altogether, as it was apparently built by Conn. Here's what little I have been able to track down about that instrument, and another giant Conn tuba built for Innes at the same time: https://tubapastor.blogspot.com/2018/02 ... phone.html

As I mentioned, I have been able to trace the Harvard tuba to Gilmore's Band of 100 in 1892, and that's what I'm trying to discover more about.

But thanks again for chiming in! Merry Christmas!

[jperry1466]

As I mentioned, I have been able to trace the Harvard tuba to Gilmore's Band of 100 in 1892, and that's what I'm trying to discover more about.

But thanks again for chiming in! Merry Christmas!

Thanks. Like I said, I didn't know much, and the first article I posted was pretty vague about whether the 3 giant tubas were from different manufacturers. I ran across the pic of Rex Conner some time ago. I did my master's degree in tuba with him at Kentucky from 1973-74, and Rex and Alberta Conner more or less "adopted" my wife and me, two first-time-away-from-home kids from Texas. He spoke often of his Interlochen students, and many of them are big names in the tuba world. He was a pretty special teacher and human being, and the Conners came to Texas to visit us three times in the 70s and 80s when I was teaching. Best of luck as you continue your obvious hard work and research on a fascinating tuba.

[groovlow]

Nearly as odd as the giant...center top................ or center front

Merry Christmas

[Dave Detwiler]

Okay, here's what I've been able to piece together so far, concerning the history of this beast of a tuba!

https://tubapastor.blogspot.com/2018/12 ... -tuba.html

[windshieldbug]

Great work!

[HUBandie]

Greetings - I'm the acting curator of the Harvard Tuba, and part of the small but international consortium trying to work out its provenance. While that goes on, the restoration project commences next month. Here's the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

CAMBRIDGE MA -- The Harvard Band Foundation, in conjunction with the Harvard University Band (HUB), announces the start of a restoration project of the largest tuba in the western hemisphere.

The 7-foot tall subcontrabass tuba, owned by the HUB since 1948, has a lowest (fundamental) pitch of B-flat three octaves below middle C, traditionally referred to as BBBb ("triple B flat"). The same pitch is the second-lowest note on a modern piano keyboard.

The tuba was created in 1892 by Besson & Co. (London UK) for Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, the most famous bandmaster of the Civil War and following decades. The tuba was commissioned by Gilmore to accompany ""Gilmore's 100" on their concert tour of the United States, culminating in their appearances at the World's Columbian Exposition (the Chicago World's Fair) in 1893.

The restoration will be performed by Dillon Music of Woodbridge NJ and will be overseen by its President, Steve Dillon. Dillon Music, founded in 1992, counts members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Saturday Night Live Band among its clients. Mr Dillon, who traces his own musical roots to a fifer accompanying the Continental Army in 1776, is a noted historian of brass instruments and a consultant to museums and antiquarians around the world.

The tuba will leave the offices of the HUB in Harvard Square with representatives of Dillon Music on February 12. The restoration is estimated to take from February to April 2019 to complete.

The restoration project is part of the HUB's one-hundredth anniversary celebration, which will conclude with a world-wide reunion of former players in Boston in October 2019. The Harvard Band Foundation is a Massachusetts charitable corporation whose purpose is the support and assistance of the HUB, and whose directors are themselves alumni of the HUB.

For more information, contact the Harvard Band Foundation (A. Michael Ruderman, Clerk) at amruderman@gmail.com" target="_blank" target="_blank or (781) 929-7847.
(781) 929-7847

[bisontuba]

GREAT NEWS!!!!!