ITEA Journal Volume 49 Number 2 (Winter 2022)
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President's Corner
James Gourlay, ITEA President
Dear Friends,
I hope you have all spent a wonderfully relaxing holiday time, the most wonderful time of the year. It was fantastic, once again, to see Tuba Christmas popping up all over the country live and in person. I always enjoy the camaraderie that this event embodies, and the interest in our instruments it generates amongst the public. Pittsburgh's Tuba Christmas is relatively new, only about three years old, but with the help of local teachers like Aaron Booz and Betsy Charles it has grown from a few stalwarts to around sixty players of all ages and backgrounds including my students from the newly formed Duquesne University ITEA Chapter.
When the ITEA was founded as Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association in 1973, one of its main goals was to 'enhance the image and role of tuba-euphonium family instruments and performers'. (Here I'm quoting our Association's own by-laws). I think we have made some progress towards achieving this lofty goal, but when I'm asked "is that a tuba" or 'what's a euphonium" at Tuba Christmas, it makes me think. No one would ask "is that a violin" would they? And then I look at the programming of our Symphony Orchestras, regional and national, not just here in Pittsburgh, but all over the world, and see that Tuba Concertos are hardly ever on the playlist and Euphonium Concertos appear even less despite the depth of talent we have on either instrument. Thank goodness, therefore, for brass and wind bands, which program our literature far more frequently than most orchestras.
So, clearly, we need to do more to promote the instruments we love to play and hear, and we can do that if we members, enthusiasts, college students, and professionals, active or retired did something simple. Write to your local orchestra's CEO suggesting they program a Tuba or Euphonium Concerto in a forthcoming season. They will possibly not have the faintest idea what you are talking about so they will need a bit of help. As a soloist, suggest the orchestra's own tuba player, the tuba player of your choice, or your own favorite euphonium star. After all, there are a few to choose from! And, as they possibly won't know our repertoire, why not suggest your favorite concerto? Who knows if any of this will result in actual performances, but it will do one thing. It will raise awareness in the industry that we are serious about what we do, and we have the soloists and repertoire to back that up. If you do write, please let me know at jamesgourlay1956@mac.com as I'd be interested to hear of any responses.
With best wishes for 2022,
James
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