Re: Re: Re: Re: Horn Colors


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on December 19, 1999 at 16:39:49:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Horn Colors posted by TUBAdAMORE on December 19, 1999 at 03:15:33:

Okay, you caught me. I lied because I wanted everybody to think I have as many tubas as Tony. And if you believe that one...

Actually, 5 tubas is only accurate in the strictest sense. Really, I only have 4 that I use. The fifth is an old 3 valve American Standard Eb that I was given by a high school up in the upper peninsula of Michigan. A brass ensemble I was in was on tour up there and one of the places we played was a high school. They had already built a new facility next to the old one and were in the process of tearing down the old facility. They hadn't torn down the old auditorium so they let us rehearse there prior to our concert. During a break, some of us were exploring this old building and found some old lockers with musical instruments in them, among them a beat up old Eb tuba. The band director of the school didn't know anything about those instruments and really wasn't interested in them because they were in pretty poor condition. He actually offered us whatever we found. So I decided to grab the tuba and see if there was anything that could be done with it. When I got the thing home, my mother just about hit the roof because this thing looked REALLY bad and she was giving me the "that thing in my house?" routine. I convinced her it was a project and she seemed to accept that though in retrospect I think she was already planning ahead. She threw me a graduation party about two weeks later that was hosted at the house. As a surprise, she took the horn out in the backyard and spray painted it with gold paint, wired it to a tree, and stuffed a bunch of flowers in the bell. Needless to say I was pretty stunned.

The really funny part of that story though is that about 4 years later, I used that tuba at the Pittsburgh Symphony audition to play Benvenuto Cellini. All I did was take the flowers out and oil the valves. I can't even describe the face on the guy who lead the auditioners out on stage when he saw that tuba...

So maybe a more accurate statement would be that I have 4 tubas and 1 tuba shaped ornament. For those inquiring minds that want to know...:)


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