Friday Events

The Troubled Euphs 

Jared Sherman, Ian Lester, SGT Drew Leslie, euphoniums  

Erlkönig / Schubert (arr. Lester) 

Devil's Promenade / Ian Lester 

L'Blatinx / Hailstork 

Two Pieces for Three Trombones / Premru 

    MVT. 1 Felicity 

Mini Suite / Deddos 

ok, this is not your grave / Caggiano 

Escape Velocity / Zegiel 

Jake Alford, tuba 

Tuba Concerto / Jennifer Higdon  

Movement 2 

Tuba Sonata / Amanda Harberg 

Justin Weis, euphonium 

Plaything (2024) / Justin Weis (b. 1995) 

Shape Shifter (2024) / Andrew May (b. 1968) 
Euphantasy (2005) / Jennifer Bernard Merkowitz (b. 1981) 

American Salute / Morton Gould, arr. Ethyn Evans

Irish Tune / Percy Grainger, arr. Ted Cox

A Night in Tunisia / Dizzy Gillespie, arr. Jack Craven

Liberty Bell March / Sousa, arr. L.A. Rauchut

Program to be announced from the stage

Program to be announced from the stage

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) 

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) 

Nobody Knows de Trouble I’ve Seen / Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) 

Nobody Knows de Trouble I've Seen / Jasmine Pigott (b. 1997) 

Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Chile / Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) 

The Negro Spiritual is at the heart of African American music and American music at large. Born out of the atrocities of slavery, the spiritual represented a mode of communication, praise, and emotional and spiritual expression for enslaved Africans. The spiritual at its core is a folk song--inherently a group vocal genre with its lyrics equally important to the meaning as the distinct musical elements incorporated in the melodies. Post emancipation, there was a drive to transcribe spirituals so that they would be preserved beyond the experience that generated them. Groups began to perform the melodies both in and out of the concert hall. When Antonín Dvořák arrived in the United States, he declared that spirituals should be the core of the American classical sound. Following this lead, composers such as Harry T. Burleigh and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor set spirituals in more European-inspired forms. Both vocal and instrumental settings of spirituals were made in this movement, but today, instrumental spirituals have not received a place in the canon like vocal settings. During the Harlem Renaissance, a desire to preserve Black culture as something independent of whiteness and integration resulted in arguments between composers, activists, and artists about the “authenticity” of these spiritual settings. At first glance, instrumental spirituals are inherently “inauthentic” and thus go against this movement. Perhaps, it was this factor that resulted in fewer instrumental settings, but the problem goes deeper into the systemic issues within the culture of instrumental music. This can be remedied, however, with a push to study instrumental spirituals through an understanding of proper performance practice, and a renewed emphasis on the pedagogical value of instrumental spirituals. 

This brass-specific version of the presentation will focus primarily on performance practice, pedagogical value, and considerations for incorporating Negro Spirituals into one's repertoire. Emphasis will be on the nuances in brass playing that cannot be replicated by other instruments. 

The Truth About Breathing

There are many harmful misconceptions about breathing in the tuba/euphonium community. Some misunderstandings (such as “breathe low”) have been around so long they are baked in as fact. But the truth about how breathing works lies in the anatomy of how we are built. Learn the truth about how breathing works with helpful images and hands-on audience participation in this informative, fun session. Bring your instrument to experience true freedom in your breath support with helpful breathing exercises that may just transform your playing!

Program to be announced from the stage

Overture to Candide / Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Arr. Toshinobu Kinoshita

Emma Catherine / Omar Thomas (b. 1984)

Oblivion / Katahj Copley (b.1998)

Amparito Roca / Jamie Texidor Arr. Robert Wilkinson  

Penn State Members: 

Euphoniums:

Elliot Buona, Izzy Landis, Liam McCartney, Will McCowan, Chancellor Quitugua, AJ Storm

Tubas:

Nick Anderson, Sarah Campbell , Caiden River Flowers, Kevin Freeman, Travis Hahn, 

Kurt Phillips, Nev Rhein, Evan Scott, Bryan Vaneman

 Peabody Institute Tuba Euphonium Studio

Josh Hubbard, Michael Jimenez, John Loreg, euphonium

Payne Akins, Wiley Bair, Nick Houle, Valeria Perez, Liam Staines, tuba

Appalachian Counterpoint / David Gillingham 

Adagio from Symphony No. 3 / Camille Saint-Saens, arranged by Steve Hanson 

Centralia / Ian Lester 

Tubamobile / Thom Ritter George 

Dr. David Porter and Dr. Mark Jenkins, Conductors 

Euphoniums: 

Alex Allred, Casimer Campagne, Dillon Johnson, Jenna Hoffman, Nate Plapinger, Hunter Swanson  

Tubas: 

Jamal Adan, Raffi Artenian, Steve Bectel, Brandon King,  

Tree Nguyen, Jonathan Pacheco, Evan Ramee, Chloe Stone