Any civilians, be it legislators or administrators, or military commanders even considering dispensing of euphonium players must be out of their minds.
But then being out of their minds tends to be the predominant quality of the in-chief's of two fine countries: yours and mine. OK, we both have fine foreign secretaries, but the main order for them to follow is something about keeping the slips between their upper and lower dentures down to a minimum.
Having issued my doctoral dissertation on a related topic on this fine brass periodical, maybe just brass period (please bear in mind, that "tuba" is a well defined anatomical term, of which my post mortem will provide no samples), I will more or less gently elaborate on the functionality of euphoniumisters and euphoniumistresses.
Please refer to this link before continuing:
http://www.chisham.com/tips/bbs/jul2001 ... 61604.html
The call above all in these challenged days is about diplomacy and about keeping western profiles low. Be sure that your euphonium players willingly will abide to this. All of them will make their fine National Guard issued
Besson 7XX-series euphs adhere to scale systems, which will never entice any suspicions about their being out of western origins.
And then euphonium players are great doublers. Most of them will do a fine job about sounding like valve tromboneers even without any call for any investments in valve trombones.
They also will perform on slide trombones to the envy of any tailgate style player. Minor and major glisses will be their pride of the trade. Just come on Bolero! Which anyway is nothing but a French miss-spelling for the inner sentiments of any euphoniumist(-stress): Bold Hero. As a foreigner I am not entirely sure about the spelling: maybe it should have been euphonium-in-distress.
But euphoniuminimalists have further doubling qualities up in their sleeves.
When playing the sousaphone, they will make any Mississipian batallion feel like marching through its home swamp.
When playing the bass drum they will not be any more behind the beat than any ole intendant staffer volunteering himself out of his potato-pealing turn.
However the real calling of any euphonium-normalist will be that of a deputy drum-major. But please be prepared to hear these questions every time they are handed out the staff:
Is this bass clef concert or bass clef Dutch? If the latter then in Bb or Eb?
Is this treble clef Bb or tenor clef concert? If the latter, then how have I to finger the flat right in front of my tuning Bb?
Not exactly kind or respectful, but my mean and dirty YEP641-mind just about has seen all of this. Sadly enough it also has heard most of it.
Klaus
