OcTUBAfest, an annual exhibition of low brass instruments, was dedicated to the memory of Harvey Phillips (or “Mr. Tuba”), a man who had an affinity for puns and tubas.
Phillips , an Indiana University music professor who died on Oct. 20, started OcTUBAfest twelve years ago. The exhibition, which continues at college campuses across the country, took place Wednesday night in Beall Hall. OcTUBAfest was meant to be in October around Halloween, but the ensemble couldn’t book Beall Hall in time.
Phillips created the tradition along with other similar performances such as “Tuba Thanksgiving” and “Tuba Christmas.” He also founded the Harvey Phillips Foundation, which has created about 200 solo tuba competitions.
This year’s OcTUBAfest began with a series of tuba and euphonium solos, followed by four pieces arranged specially for euphoniums, tubas and horns, all conical instruments. This is the first year horns have been part of OcTUBAfest.
With the horns’ range, and the warmth and roundness of all three instruments, the 30-piece “conical crew” performed arrangements of pieces from the Turtles’ hit song “Happy Together” to “This is Halloween,” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” The program also included a world premiere of the finale from Bruckner’s Symphony #8, arranged by J. MacKenzie. The group produces the sounds needed to play songs meant for a fuller scope of instruments and voices.
“There was a lot of really cool stuff. Epic. Awesome,” said music education major Scott Yorke. “The senior solos really made an impact on me.”
University senior James Meyer played one of those solos. He performed a piece for euphonium called Sinfonia, by J. S. Bach. Euphonium, an instrument similar to a tuba, is a low and seemingly background-destined instrument. Meyer made it sing, though he admitted that playing solo euphonium is not without its challenges.
“The biggest challenge is holding the instrument up to your face, especially if you choose to stand,” Meyer explained.
He also pointed out the factors of tone color and tone blending.
“You want to make sure you have a full projected sound,” Meyer said.
This is difficult for tubas and low brass, he said, because they have to “be more definitive” about the pitches.
The blending and definitive challenges transfer to the challenges involved in performing.
“In an orchestra setting, you don’t have to worry about sticking out too much, because whoever has the melody will just belt it out,” Meyer said. Belting out, and therefore sticking out, becomes harder when you have more of the same sort of sound or the same instrument.
Rebecca Olason, a french horn player in the performance, said the problem with blending in this setting is not really that of blending, but more of not blending.
“It’s tough to have the right line come out. So it’s not always enough to just be the voice that has the melody. You have to bring it out,” she explained.
“This is the first time we’ve heard the horns with the euphoniums and tubas,” explained music education major Christina Kramer, who watched the performance. “It can be muddy with just euphoniums and tubas. The french horns really fill it out.”
From classical solos to the march from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the conical crew didn’t waste a breath of air.
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