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Our Orchestral Heyday

Last Updated (Monday, 19 May 2008 08:14)
Written by John Manning
Thursday, 01 June 2006 05:15

Articles - Pedagogical articles

Carol Jantsch Philadelphia Orchestra

What a time to be a tuba player! In the past five years, in the United States alone, over ten major symphony orchestras and a handful of other orchestras have had openings, held auditions, and appointed a new principal tuba. Starting in 2001, with the appointment of Chris Olka to the Seattle Symphony to the much-heralded more recent announcement that Carol Jantsch had garnered the coveted seat with the Philadelphia Orchestra, this recent tuba renaissance is remarkable.

JáTtik Clark Oregon Symphony

Career possibilities for tuba players are relatively limited. You can strive to obtain a position in a professional orchestra, a military band, as a studio musician, freelancer or professor. Many end up doing a combination of these, or evolve through all of them throughout their careers. With some rare exceptions, it is not practical to expect to make a career as a tuba soloist - although I personally hope that this statement soon becomes dated and obsolete. Besides being the most lucrative option, there is something special about being the lone bass voice of the brass within a symphony orchestra. This unique position holds the unique power to provide a foundation for the famous "wall of sound" emanating from the rear of the stage.

Alan Baer New York Philharmonic

To obtain one of these coveted positions is the challenge, involving years of training and practice requiring consistency, confidence, and - most importantly, a great sound. Just as we judge conductors on a variety of factors (technique, musicality, leadership, rehearsal technique, etc), orchestral committees are looking for a requisite list of attributes to waft over the blind (tone, time, musicality, accuracy, etc). Discussions regarding auditions often include phrases like "the best musician won" or "the person who had the best day got the job" and "I could hear the rest of the orchestra in my mind while the candidate played that excerpt." Moreover, each orchestra audition committee may have specific stylistic or acoustic preferences.

Aside from the preparation, each candidate has to survive the application process, which requires a strong resumé, significant experience, and an outstanding recording. The time and expense this preparation process takes, possibly searching for the "ideal instrument", making travel plans, and especially the dedication required for a successful audition, it is a daunting task. All of this makes it even more impressive to hear the success stories of these recent winners, which is why I stared the "Young Lions of the Tuba" series of interviews for the ITEA journal.

Mike Roylance Boston Symphony

Since about the year 2000, the tuba world has enjoyed an unprecedented amount of activity with the retirement of a pantheon of legendary principal tubaists including among others, Chester Schmitz (Boston Symphony), Warren Deck (New York Philharmonic) and Floyd Cooley (San Francisco Symphony). Major orchestra in Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia also announced vacancies in this short period of time. Why so many? Perhaps it’s coincidence; perhaps it is just a part of larger cycle, which may not repeat itself for another forty years, when this current wave of "young lions" retires. Either way, this wave of newly employed tubaists has injected an energy and excitement into our contrabass universe, and I was curious to learn about these musicians and share what I learned with aspiring young tuba students.

Although chronologically, JáTtik Clark (Oregon Symphony) and Christopher Olka (Seattle Symphony) were the first "Young Lions" of this millennium, I chose to start with Mike Roylance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Because I grew up and went to school around Boston, dreaming of playing with that orchestra, this was the logical place to start, especially because it was shortly after the BSO audition I got the idea of chronicling the stories of those who won. I am currently corresponding with Jeffrey Anderson (San Francisco Symphony) for the next interview, so, although I may not be progressing in a very logical order, I intend to get to everyone, including "young lioness" Carol Jantsch. In fact, I would appreciate hearing from readers of Tuba News and the ITEA journal about what they would like to know about these remarkable people. Feel free to email me your questions.

Stephen Dumaine National Symphony

In this age of instant gratification and immediate information, it is reassuring to know that the art of putting the time in, and dedicating oneself to a singular goal has its reward, which I hope will be the message of these interviews. I am fascinated and inspired listening to the struggles and triumphs of those who chose this challenging but gratifying career choice. It is one thing to know "what it takes", but it is impressive to see the success of those who put it into action. Congratulations to all those who have achieved their goals, who have served as role models for the next generation.


Related Links:

JáTtik Clark (Oregon Symphony)

Alan Baer (New York Philharmonic)

Mike Roylance (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

"She’s breaking through the brass ceiling" - Carol Jantsch (Philadelphia Orchestra)

"Cleveland Orchestra names principal tuba" - Yasuhito Sugiyama

Stephen Dumaine (National Symphony)

Randall Montgomery (Milwaukee Symphony)