Re: miraphone roatry valve euphonium


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Posted by Rick Denney on July 15, 2000 at 15:14:54:

In Reply to: miraphone roatry valve euphonium posted by Paul on July 15, 2000 at 00:06:44:

I don't know if they are widely produced or not, but I surely don't see them very often.

The original lead euphonium player in the TubaMeisters had done all his playing on a Boosey compensator, but that instrument left him unexpectedly and he needed a horn for our Fiesta Texas gig. So, he bought on of those horns at Orpheus. I don't know if it's a great horn, but he did great things using that horn. His intonation was easy for us to line up with, and his technique was astounding. He would regularly play the Clarinet Polka at 180 beats a minute--I know, I played the fourth part on that tune, and it is was nerve-wracking to keep that beat going that fast. My brain just couldn't accept that he would be able to keep up. He did.

Even though he used a toilet bowl for a mouthpiece (a 1-1/2 G or something--I don't have the euph mouthpiece numbers in my head), his sound had a brightness to it that we don't associate with the big euphs these days. The second player's compensator was much darker. If you've ever heard the Gerhard Meinl Tuba Sextet, his horn was in the direction of the small true baritone horns that were used in that ensemble. It wasn't that bright, but it was in that direction. It had a cheerfulness that was perfect on top of a tuba quartet.

Rick "Of course, some players can make a hose-o-phone sing" Denney


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