Peter Arnold Hirsbrunner, 1925-2009

[fsung]

Just received word that Peter Hirsbrunner, Sr., eponymous founder of Hirsbrunner Musical Instruments, passed away this past Sunday (Dec 6).

Needless to say, all of us in the tuba-euphonium world have benefitted, both directly and indirectly, from his contributions to the design and manufacture of tubas and euphs.

[davewerden]

Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for letting us know.

With the passing of the founder of Custom Music, Fred Marrich, and now Peter, we should stop for a minute and consider the collaboration of those two men. Fred and Peter worked together to bring Hirsbrunner up to the top of the heap of low brass instruments. When I was in college I hadn't even heard of Hirsbrunner (my understanding is that they were used by Swiss military bands, but were a bit quirky in design). After a while in the Coast Guard Band, it seemed like they were taking over the tuba world. It was a remarkable evolution, and both men took part.

Peter was a very nice guy, too.