Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 26, 1999 at 00:41:14:
In Reply to: Teacher Survey posted by bryan on January 25, 1999 at 17:00:30:
As much as I respect (and don't respect) some of the names on your list, I think only one name would be on my list:
William Bell
As near as I can figure, from what I've been told and from conversations from players, every tuba player of any consequence in the United States (and many others around the world) has studied, either directly or indirectly with Bill Bell. One of my teachers, Abe Torchinsky, told me stories about how people from all over the country would call Bell in the hopes of convincing one of his students to come take a job. This went on for many years. I don't know of any other teacher that had such a wide ranging effect on the placement of tuba players. Many of Bell's teaching techniques and theories are still employed today. And look at the effects of Bell's collaborations with instrument manufacturers. I was taught that Bill Bell was responsible for the design of easy access valve slides so the player could adjust intonation during performances. He was also the first tubist to record a solo album. Overall, I think that nobody affected the tuba world more than Bill Bell. My opinion, for what its worth...