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Lance LaDuke, Euphonium | Rex Martin, Tuba | Brian Balmages, Composer

Lance LaDuke, Euphonium

LANCE LADUKE is internationally known as an educator, performer, and creator. He teaches at Carnegie Mellon University as Artist Lecturer in Euphonium, Freshman Advisor, and Coordinator of Special and Creative Projects. Lance teaches business, marketing and communications as part of the CMU Music Entrepreneurship Program, coaches and mentors a variety of chamber ensembles, and is also Adjunct Professor of Euphonium at Duquesne University.

Lance is a former member of the international touring quintet Boston Brass, the United States Air Force Band in Washington DC (where he was co-founder of Top Brass, the official brass quartet of the USAF), and the River City Brass Band, the only full time professional brass band in the country.

Lance has performed with some of the finest ensembles in the country, from the Brass Band of Battle Creek to the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has taught and/or given master classes at some of the world’s finest universities and conservatories, including Juilliard, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the Tatui Conservatory in Brazil. He has appeared on over thirty recordings, has produced ten others and has toured extensively throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Lance’s performances have been seen and heard on countless television and radio programs and he has appeared onstage with such artists as Henry Mancini, Doc Severinsen, Morton Gould, Morgan Freeman, and Frederick Fennell.

Lance co-wrote and produced Band Blast Off, a highly successful band recruiting DVD, and maintains an active speaking career, sharing his thoughts on practice, leadership, and self-development. Through his website www.LanceLaDuke.com he shares tips, videos, downloads, and articles on subjects including motivation, attitude, and goal setting, and provides online coaching session. Comedy lyrics, poems, and pieces can also be read there.

His book, Music Practice Coach, Five Workouts to Get the Most Out of Your Practice Time! is available through his website and his (almost) daily practice tips on twitter can be found by following @lalaladuke. Lance is an Educational Ambassador for Jupiter Band Instruments.

Rex Martin, Tuba

REX MARTIN, professor of music at Northwestern University, is one of the world's finest tuba players and brass pedagogues. He currently serves as Principal Tuba of the Chicago Philharmonic. He has performed and given master classes in Australia, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and throughout the United States and is on the faculty of Ticino (Switzerland) Musica International Classic.

As part of his busy freelance career, he is a member of the Chicago Sinfonietta, The Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Symphony II, The Ars Viva Orchestra, Fulcrum Point, Tower Brass, and the Chicago Brass Ensemble. Rex has performed on more than 3,000 television and radio commercials and more than 75 recordings by the Chicago Symphony and other noted orchestras. He has also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, OFUNAM Orchestra of Mexico City, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.

A versatile musician, he has performed with such artists as Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Luciano Pavarotti, Sarah Vaughan, and Wynton Marsalis, and groups including Earth Wind and Fire, Mannheim Steamroller, and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Before joining the faculty at Northwestern University, Rex had been a faculty member at the Oberlin Conservatory, Illinois State University, DePaul University, the University of Notre Dame, the Vandercook College of Music, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

There was always music in our household, both parents were good singers, and my father was one of the best whistlers I’ve ever heard. Both brothers played tuba and two sisters and my mother played the clarinet. Since the age of nine I have played, and loved playing, the tuba and as a teenager I decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life. Both of my teachers, Edward Livingston and Arnold Jacobs, were great inspirations to me, as were my junior high and high school band directors.

His solo CD Rex Martin: Live in Japan was recorded live, unedited, from a single concert; it was released on the WAKO label in 2008.

Brian Balmages, Composer

BRIAN BALMAGES is an active composer, conductor, producer, and performer. His fresh compositional ideas have resulted in a high demand for his wind, brass, and orchestral music throughout the world. He received his bachelor's degree in music from James Madison University and his master's degree from the University of Miami in Florida.

Brian’s compositions have been performed worldwide at conferences including the College Band Directors National and Regional Conferences, the Midwest Clinic, the International Tuba/Euphonium Conference, the International Trombone Festival, and the International Trumpet Guild Conference. His active schedule of commissions and premieres has incorporated groups ranging from elementary schools to professional ensembles, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the University of Miami Wind Ensemble, James Madison University's School of Music, Boston Brass, members of the United States Marine Band, and the Dominion Brass Ensemble. His music has been performed by members of leading orchestras including the St. Louis Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, and others. He has also had world premieres in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and performances at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and abroad.

As a conductor, Brian enjoys engagements with numerous state and regional bands and orchestras, as well as university and professional groups. Notable guest conducting appearances have included the Midwest Clinic, Western International Band Clinic, College Band Directors Eastern Regional Conference, Mid-Atlantic Wind Conductors Conference, the Atlantic Classical Orchestra Brass Ensemble, and an appearance at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. He has also served as an adjunct professor of instrumental conducting and Acting Symphonic Band Director at Towson University in Maryland.

Currently, he is Director of Instrumental Publications for The FJH Music Company Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Brian regularly accepts commissions for a variety of performing mediums ranging from orchestra to wind ensemble and smaller chamber groups.He resides in Baltimore.

Program Notes from the composer:

Crossroads for solo Euphonium and wind ensemble seeks to explore the various personalities of the euphonium. The first movement, “High Road”, focuses on the more artistic side of the instrument. The harmonies and textures are more contemporary and the melodic lines are more angular. The entire movement is based on the opening three-note motif presented by the soloist. The second movement, “Low Road”, explores the carefree and boisterous side of the instrument. It is highly rhythmical and covers a wide range of styles, including bebop. The 10/8 meter mixes with 5/4 (and conductors may find it appropriate to occasionally switch between the two meters when it helps with rhythmic accuracy).

World Premiere Performance
Commissioned in celebration of 30 years of Falcone Festivals

Gail Robertson, Euphonium | Stacy Baker, Tuba | SymbiosisDuo

Gail Robertson, Euphonium

DR. GAIL ROBERTSON serves as Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium/Jazz at the University of Central Arkansas where she is tubist in the Pinnacle Brass and teaches the Jazz Ensemble II. She earned her BA degree from the University of Central Florida and a MM in Euphonium Performance from Indiana University while serving as graduate assistant to Harvey Phillips. She postponed her doctoral studies at the University of Maryland with Dr. Brian Bowman to perform with the "Tubafours" at Walt Disney World, Orlando where she served as musical supervisor/chief arranger and produced a highly acclaimed CD, "Tubas Under the Boardwalk." She has recently completed her DMA as a University Distinguished Fellow at Michigan State University studying with Phil Sinder, Ava Ordman, and Ricardo Lorenz. She has taught on the faculties of Eastern Michigan University, the University of Central Florida, Bethune-Cookman University, the University of Florida, and remains active as a teacher, adjudicator, composer, arranger and free-lance artist, both nationally and internationally.

Robertson was recently elected Vice President/President Elect of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association (ITEA) and she will begin her six-year term on July 1, 2017. She is currently the Chair/Chief Editor of the International Tuba and Euphonium Press, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Leonard Falcone Tuba and Euphonium Festival, the ITEA, and the International Women's Brass Conference (IWBC). She has served as President of the IWBC and as a conference host in 2010 and 2006. She has also served as Euphonium and Membership Coordinator of the ITEA and was the featured artist on the cover of the ITEA Journal (Fall 2010). Two of her original works have also been featured Gems in the ITEA Journal (Jazz Encounter No. 1 in Fall 2010, and Allegro et Andantango in Spring 2014).

In 2015, Robertson served as the Euphonium Clinician for the American Band College in Ashland, Oregon. She was awarded the 2014 Clifford Bevan Award for Excellence in Research for her research manuscript, "Restoring the Euphonium's Legacy as Cello of the Wind Band." Her original work for brass quintet, Tower Guard Tribute, was awarded honorable mention by the 2014 International Alliance for Women in Music's Patsy Lu competition. In May 2009, she recorded a new CD with Dr. Stacy Baker, Alex Thio, and Dr. Deb Eastwood, called "SymbiosisDuo." SYMBIOSISDUO released their second CD, "Playground," in February 2015. Several of the works recorded by the duo were newly commissioned works written especially for the duo, including Composers: Franz Cibulka, Jim Self, James Grant, Christopher Marshall, Brian Balmages, Chris Sharp, Kimberly Archer, T.O. Sterrett, and Phillip Bimstein. In 2007, Roberston received Tau Beta Sigma's highest honor, the “Outstanding Service to Music Award." She has also been a clinician for the MIDWEST Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, the Florida Music Educators Association, the Michigan Music Conference, and numerous ITEA, IWBC, and United States Army Tuba and Euphonium Conferences. Recently, In December 2016, she was District 6 jazz clinician/artist for Harrison School District. Robertson has acted as euphonium clinician for the American Band College (Ashland, OR) and Dixie Band Camp (Conway, AR).

Robertson served together with Dr. Stacy Baker as Co-Instrumental Advisor and Co-Curriculum Designer for the Pro-Series Elite Practice Systems for Tuba and Euphonium providing all exercises, instruction, and quartet arrangements as well as performing as on-screen talent alongside some of their students for the revolutionary pedagogical series of 10 DVDs for tuba and 10 DVDs for euphonium. The project was fully funded and released by American Product Group, LLC (2013), along with similar series for each of the wind instruments. She has published articles, reviews, and compositions for the online magazine, Bandworld, and the International Tuba Euphonium Association, ITEA Journal.

Robertson has toured the US, Europe, China, and Japan with Keith Brion's "New Sousa Band," the Brass Band of Battle Creek, the Monarch Brass, the Athena Brass Band, and the Brass Band of Central Florida. She has also performed as a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall with Jay Gephart (Director) and Purdue University's Wind Ensemble, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony, the River City Brass Band, Jack Daniel's Silver Cornet Band, Euphoniums Unlimited, Symphonia, the Orlando based "Horns and Pipes" Brass and Percussion Ensemble, and SYMBIOSISDUO. In April 2016, Robertson was tenor tubist for the Sarasota Orchestra/Sarasota Ballet performance of Balanchine's "Stars and Stripes." Her published works and arrangements are available through GAR MUSIC, Euphonium.com, and Tuba-Euphonium Press. As a Willson Euphonium Artist, Robertson's euphonium of choice is a Willson 2950TA with a bronze Warburton/Gail Robertson mouthpiece.

Stacy Baker, Tuba

DR. STACY BAKER earned the academic rank of Professor of Music-Tuba /Euphonium and has been honored as the 2016-2017 Distinguished Creative Productions Award recipient and the 2014-2015 Distinguished Teacher at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she has taught since 1996. Originally from Harsen’s Island, Michigan, she received both her MM and BM degrees from the University of Michigan where she graduated summa cum laude as a James B. Angell Scholar. She holds a DMA in Performance and Literature with highest honors from the University of Illinois. She enjoys an active performing career appearing as featured artist at International Tuba/Euphonium Conferences (ITEC); regional Tuba/Euphonium Conferences (SERTEC/MWRTEC); International Women’s Brass Conferences (IWBC); U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Tuba/Euphonium Conferences; International Euphonium Tuba Festivals; and conferences hosted by the Kentucky, Florida, and Michigan Music Educator’s Associations. Baker has toured and recorded throughout the United States, Europe, and China as soloist, and as a founding member of SYMBIOSISDUO, the RSVB and JUNCTION tuba/euphonium quartets, the IWBC’s Monarch Brass, the Athena Brass Band, Lexington Brass Band, and MSU’s Horizon Brass quintet.

Baker formed the professional tuba euphonium duo, SYMBIOSISDUO, with Dr. Gail Robertson in 2007 to increase awareness of the tuba/euphonium duo as a performance medium and to promote and disseminate new works for this unique combination of instruments. The duo chose the name “SYMBIOSISDUO” from the concert duet of that name written for them by composer Chris Sharp. In the program notes for the work he writes: “Symbiosis is defined as, ‘A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence . . . The technical and range-requirements for each solo instrument are comparable, suggesting a ‘separate but equal’ relationship.” This is an innovative and challenging approach to duet writing for tuba and euphonium producing ‘the symbiosis effect’ as the tuba is not relegated to an accompanying role, but is equal in all aspects of music with the other voice in the duo, the euphonium. Her duo’s debut album, “SymbiosisDuo”, was selected as finalist for the 2010 Roger Bobo Award for Recording Excellence in Chamber Music by the International Tuba/Euphonium Association (ITEA). The duo’s second album, Playground was released in February 2015. Both albums were funded through Morehead State University Creative Production Grants.

Baker served together with Dr. Gail Robertson as co-instrumental advisor and co-curriculum designer for the Pro-Series Elite Practice Systems for Tuba and Euphonium, providing all exercises, instruction, and quartet arrangements as well as performing as on-screen talent alongside some of their students for the revolutionary pedagogical series of 10 DVDs for tuba and 10 DVD’s for euphonium. The project was fully funded and released by American Product Group, LLC, in 2013 along with similar series for each of the wind instruments.

In 2016, Baker released Fanfare and Flourish: Celebrating Women Composers as a member of the RSVB Tuba/Euphonium Quartet on the Potenza Music label with Robertson, Dr. Deanna Swoboda, and Staff Sergeant (Army) Lauren Veronie-Curran.

Baker has also performed as principal tubist with the Warren Symphony and the Allen Park Symphony, and as substitute tubist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Symphony, the Champaign/Urbana Symphony, the Danville Symphony, the Owensboro Symphony, and the Lexington Philharmonic. Baker served as co-editor of the International Women’s Brass Conference Newsletter from 2000-2003 and has served on the IWBC Board of Directors. Her teachers include Jeff Funderburk, Wes Jacobs, Tommy Johnson, Fritz Kaenzig, and Mark Moore

SYMBIOSISDUO

SYMBIOSISDUO formed in 2007 to increase awareness of the tuba/euphonium duo as a performance medium and to promote and disseminate new works for this unique combination of instruments. Baker and Robertson chose the name “SYMBIOSISDUO” from the concert duet of that name written for them by composer Chris Sharp. In the program notes for the work he writes: “Symbiosis is defined as, ‘A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence’ . . . The technical and range-requirements for each solo instrument are comparable, suggesting a ‘separate but equal’ relationship.”

This is an innovative and challenging approach to duet writing for tuba and euphonium producing “the symbiosis effect” as the tuba is not relegated to an accompanying role, but is equal in all aspects of music with the other voice in the duo, the euphonium. For more information about SYMBIOSISDUO, visit their website: symbiosisduo.com

On Sunday, Baker and Robinson perform Twin Lake Reflections, a piece written for them for this occasion by composer Eric Knechtges. DR. ERIC KNECHTGES holds a DM degree from The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; a MM from Bowling Green State University; and a BM (Education) from Michigan State University. His works have been performed by ensembles and artists throughout the United States. He is currently Associate Professor, Music Program Head, and Coordinator of Theory and Composition at Northern Kentucky University.

Coordinator of Brass and Regent's Professor of Euphonium at University of North Texas

Brian Bowman’s virtuosic technique and warm, rich, velvet tone have thrilled audiences for over forty years. His superb musicianship and dedication to fine brass playing have made him one of the foremost euphonium soloists in the world today. His history of euphonium “firsts” is impressive:

• • First euphonium recital in New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall, 1976
• • First Euphoniumist to serve as president of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association
• • First euphonium concert tour of Japan
• • First Guest Euphonium Artist-Falcone International Euphonium Competition
• • First euphonium master class at the Paris Conservatory Superior of Music, France
• • Master teacher at the first Deutsche Tubaforum workshop to include the euphonium, tenor horn and baritone, Hammelburg, Germany, 1991

Dr. Brian L. Bowman has a long and distinguished career as soloist, clinician, recording artist, educator, and administrator. He has held the principal euphonium position and been a featured soloist in each band he has been associated with: the University of Michigan Symphony Band; the River City Brass Band (Pittsburgh); and the US Navy, Bicentennial, and Air Force Bands. He has performed as a soloist in all 50 states and numerous countries outside the US. In addition to live performances, Dr. Bowman can be heard on his six solo albums and over 35 service band recordings.

Recently retired as Regent’s Professor of Music (Euphonium) at the University of North Texas College of Music, this inspiring clinician and educator has also served on the music faculty of eight other universities. His students occupy prominent professional positions worldwide. He is the author of PRACTICAL HINTS FOR PLAYING THE EUPHONIUM/BARITONE HORN and his edition of the ARBAN COMPLETE METHOD is the only complete bass clef edition of this famous brass method.

Dr. Bowman was instrumental in the development and success of the WILLSON euphonium and has also designed a special line of Brian Bowman euphonium mouthpieces distributed by DEG Music Products.

In addition, he has contributed significantly to the body of literature available for euphonium performers. Bowman has commissioned new works, but many compositions have resulted merely from the composer having heard his performance capabilities. In 1995 he was invited by the Falcone Festival to premiere BLUE LAKE FANTASIES for unaccompanied Euphonium by David Gillingham.

Dr. Bowman believes that music is a most effective art form when used to communicate. To hear him or study with him is to know he is a powerful communicator and a master of that art form.

 Thomas Rüedi is a Swiss-born international euphonium artist, music educator, composer, and arranger. His solo engagements have led him throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the US.
Through this work he is involved with numerous symphony orchestras as well as wind and brass bands. Thomas Rüedi’s solo CDs "Elegie" and "Madrigal", both featuring his own arrangements, received international recognition. He is also a member of the famous Duo Synthesis where he performs alongside the marimba virtuoso Raphael Christen.

Thomas Rüedi is strongly committed to educational work. He is professor of euphonium and chamber music at Bern University of the Arts and Lucerne University of the Arts as well as guest professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Thomas Rüedi is also an acclaimed arranger and composer, thus supporting the further development and enrichment of the euphonium repertoire. 

Full Biography:

Thomas Rüedi was born in 1969 in Oberwil bei Büren near Bern, Switzerland, and began playing the euphonium at the age of 11. He received his professional musical training on this instrument in England, the home of brass music, between 1991 and 1995. He studied under, among others, Phillip McCann and Peter Parkes at Sheffield University and also devoted his attention to the study of conducting, arranging, and composition, areas which have also strongly influenced his professional life. During this time he also performed with many top British brass bands. An important milestone in his career came when he was awarded first prize in the European Solo Competition for Brass Players in Munich in 1999.

His solo engagements have led Thomas Rüedi throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the USA. Through this work he is involved with numerous symphony orchestras as well as wind and brass bands. On his continual search for new tonal spheres, Thomas Rüedi formed the duo "Synthesis" in collaboration with the marimba virtuoso Raphael Christen. Together, they convincingly combine the sounds of the two instruments to create a new whole. The joint CD production "Synthesis“ and Thomas Rüedi’s solo CD "Elégie" received international recognition.

Thomas Rüedi is strongly committed to educational work. He is euphonium tutor at the Bern University of the Arts and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. As a guest tutor, he gives many masterclasses at colleges throughout Europe and overseas. As an orchestral musician he plays regularly with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich and in other renowned symphony orchestras, such as the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Zurich Opera House Orchestra.

He proved his capabilities as a conductor through his work with, amongst other groups, Brass Band Bürgermusik Luzern (A-Band), where he was musical director between 1995 and 2002, and with Seeland Brass between 1997 and 2006. As guest conductor he conducted the winning band, Brass Band Berner Oberland, at the Swiss Open and European Open contests in Lucerne in 2004. Thomas Rüedi has also made a name for himself as an arranger and composer. His oeuvre includes over fifty works for wind instruments. His many arrangements of Swiss folksongs have, in particular, earned a place amongst the standard brass and wind repertoire.

Rüedi’s appearance is supported in part by Besson Switzerland.