Articles for Euphonium and Tuba

...

Introduction:

In my career I have had the great good fortune to have met, played for and learned from some legends and giants in the music industry. The Cleveland Orchestra's Summer Home, Blossom Music Center has a concert band comprised of some orchestra members and other
professionals from NortheastOhio. I had the good fortune to be a member of that band when Meredith Wilson (shown on the left) was the Director. For those that ...

On a December evening in 1905, trombone soloist E. Ralphena Parsons prepared for her usual night's work. Parsons was in the middle of a nationwide tour as a member of the Cleveland Ladies Orchestra (see Figure 1), and that night they were performing in Boone, Iowa. Parsons, advertised as the "greatest of all lady trombonists,"² shared the stage with cornet soloist Adda Hutchinson. Both women performed in the ensemble and as soloists in theaters and parks across the country. On that chilly December evening in Iowa, Parsons might have played an opera aria by Donizetti, or perhaps a popular favorite written as a theme and variations such as the Blue Bells of Scotland. The variations would allow her to show off her technical skill, ending with a flourish of double or triple tonguing designed to leave the audience, and perhaps Parsons herself, breathless. The two women went on stage that night as usual and received rave reviews for their performance in the local newspaper the following morning. "Miss Parsons' renditions on the trombone were such that she was recalled for the third time," noted a Daily News reporter. "The work of the entire orchestra and soloists was of the highest order. The members played with vim and precision and showed such command over their instruments that the audience was fairly fascinated."³

This article will examine the publicity material and press coverage of numerous touring chamber and symphonic music acts performing with female brass players between 1890 and 1930. Groups such as the Phillips Sisters Orchestra, the Cathedral Trumpeters, and the Brewer Concert Entertainers toured the nation performing on the established vaudeville and theater circuit. These groups never made the big time, and most left no recordings.


Their stories can only be guessed at, but even the smallest glimpse provides a fascinating look at the ...

Written by William James on Feb. 17, 2015. Used with the author's permission.

Mr. James' website is:
http://williamjamespercussion.com/

He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and Principal Percussionist of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. His articles have been published in Percussive Notes and the PAS periodical. He has presented at the 2010, 2012, and 2014 PAS International ...

...

Denis Wick has had a long and productive career as a player and teacher. And for much of that time he has been working on the "hardware" side of music to develop better equipment for players (you can learn more about that on his business site, www.deniswick.com). I personally own many pounds of Wick mouthpieces and mutes, as one example. His work on both sides has been in cooperation with some of the finest brass players in the world. Below is an article Denis Wick agreed to share with this website's visitors, which is on his Facebook page and has previously appeared in The Brass Herald. I think you will find it instructional and entertaining. ...

On November 25, 2014, euphonium virtuoso Steven Mead offered on his Facebook page (the "Steven Mead Euphonium Club") to answer three questions. He has kindly given me permission to display the complete list of conversations here so they will be more generally available. You can also follow Steven on his website, Euphonium.net.
...

The great euphoniumist and teacher Barrie Perrins discusses the importance of an accompanist to a musical performance. He covers the partnership aspect, the respect one pays the accompanist by providing proper parts from which to play, nervousness, showmanship, and several other topics. ...

...

In the early 1970's. A friend of mine who subscribed to the Gramophone magazine called my attention to a short paragraph that said that Robert Hoe of Poughkeepsie, NY had issued 2 LP's of of marches played by the U.S. Navy Band. I got his telephone number from information ...

...

...

For my topic I chose to examine the music of several film composers who have also written symphonic music. The composers I chose are Bernard Herrmann, Erich Korngold, Alex North, David Raksin, Miklos Rozsa, and John Williams. I was able to find recordings of the symphonies of Herrmann and Korngold, and the Sinfonietta by John Williams. ...

I have observed that several euphoniumists do not have a precise knowledge of how a mouthpiece is made and how it can influence the sound we get from our instrument. This is due, in part, to the scarce or almost non-existent literature on the subject. To remedy this, I would like to point out an interesting work written by one of my compatriots twenty years ago which examines the various aspects of the mouthpiece and provides an exhaustive picture of the subject in all aspects. I purchased this book in 2002, from which I learned ...