25+ years ago the Metro Cats Tuba Euphonium Ensemble was a strong ensemble in the Chicago area. A few of us, including an original member, are talking about resurrecting that group. We have the metro cats original book 159 charts often with multiple pieces in one chart so likely 250+ quality arrangements. Everything from Bach Toccata and Fugue to Tuba's from Hell album arrangements, pop movie scores and more.
This will not be a Tuba Christmas gather and play we want to have a serious group playing at a high level to show our instruments are more than oom and pah.
We will find concert opportunities and may even do some flash mob type concerts to get us some social media visibility.
Initial thought is to set up regional groups of quartets or more depending on interest and have full group rehearsals before performances. We already have at least 2 tubas and 1 Euphonium for the North suburban area and a few players in other areas.
Please fill out this interest form and share the form link with your adult Tuba and Euphonium friends.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... sp=sf_link
Chicago Area Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble
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tofu
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Re: Chicago Area Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble
Well as the treasurer of that former group I can tell you what killed it.
One was the never ending academic crusade at every meeting on debating a constitution ad nauseam at every rehearsal. The US Constitution was written with less endless ongoing discussion. I think in its final form it may have been as thick as the US Constitution. I never understood why a constitution was even necessary. I’d invite serious players and they would always comment afterwards that they loved the playing, but with half the time being spent on the constitution and other non musical meeting stuff - it was a huge turnoff. They'd come for a couple of rehearsals and then stop coming from the frustration of sitting around and not playing. And we were pulling 50 - 75 people for the monthly rehearsals - who’d then just sit for the first couple hours of “rehearsal time".
Still - the group was doing a lot of stuff including playing the Banner at the Cubs game, doing homecoming halftime for a local university several times and getting paid well no less by them. Playing concerts at place like the cultural center in the downtown Chicago Loop under the magnificent mosaic dome. This gig featured prior to the performance watching Dick Frazier throw hands with Union Knuckleheads because tuba players got tired of waiting for union idiots to move some tables so we did it ourselves. Playing at hockey games etc. Even getting on the local TV news programs on Chicago area attractions etc. We had a good book of music and a nice mix of local pros and amatuers. That kept us going for a few years in spite of the issues - but I was the only non academic/pro on the board and by far the youngest and I could never get the rest of them to understand that in order for the group to continue into the future they needed to be more attuned to the serious amateurs. In many ways we mirrored the problems that I always felt ITEA suffered from - not really understanding or doing anything for a large block of their members - the serious amateur - who probably outnumber pros and academics by a factor of 10,000 to 1.
I understood that a lot of these guys were auditioning and academics were always in search of the next rung on the academic ladder. And that’s what happened - in a perfect storm everybody on the board but me I believe, got an academic job out of the area or a symphonic job out of state or won a spot in one of the military ensembles. And when they almost all at once left town it was the nail in the coffin as they had not incorporated the core of the group into the decision making of the group and one of my old lesson teachers was left to run the thing. Being in his eighties he was completely lost at sea and way out of his element. The group just sputtered to a halt. After several years of zero activity in the group I decided we had this bank account with a good chunk of money in it & no tax id. Before the bank started to hit the account with fees and asking for a tax id I & Brian Frederickson decided to donate it all to the Harvey Phillips Foundation. So if anybody who was a member of the group ever wondered what happened to all the money left in the treasury - now you know.
One problem was the group stopped playing in May and started back up in September. That was highly problematic as the academics never understood that the bulk of group had more time for rehearsals/concerts in the summer and it was much easier for people with families etc to attend. The academics assumed that everyone had the summer off like them and were headed out to teach at music camps or a long extended vacation. The college we played at (for free) was always much easier to find parking in the summer and had been very accommodating to the group over the years. Being centrally located and at the hub of all the area highways plus having a commuter rail stop just a block away - made it an ideal location. Instead the group bowed to pressure from all the people on the North Shore whining about a half hour drive and the same whining from people in downtown Chicago and the people on the south side. So the group started an odyssey of alternating rehearsals on the North Side / the south side and Elmhurst College which was basically equal distance from most people in the area and the original ideal spot. Add in the people who wanted different days of the week for rehearsal. This was insane and people were always confused where and when rehearsals were - so they just stop coming. In a group like this - routine is important and getting people into the routine is paramount - consistency wins every time.
Then there was the academics insisting on handing out scholarships and having our own complicated judged solo contest after the state solo contest. Quite frankly nobody other than the academics had any interest in constantly raising money to hand out to kids to spend on whatever for winning or having to host and staff the thing - and the scholarships were a lot of money. People just wanted to come and play their horn in a tuba ensemble not be an audience at a tuba solo contest. When members could come and play their tuba they were really happy and kept coming - when they had to sit around - they were not happy. If I recalled at our peak we had over 250 members - there were/are an amazing number of excellent euph/tuba players in the greater Chicago area. But the 3 hour rehearsals with 2 hours spent on nonsense was just a giant no for a lot of people and the introduction of the non routine locations, dates and times plus the long summer break was just the death knell.
The area has vast number of excellent players at all levels and Metro Cats proved that people will come and there are avenues to play. One of the other issues was some of the pros thought of the group as a place to showcase their solo or tuba quartet group. Nobody wants to come and sit on their hands while local pros showboat. Same at concerts. Concerts that are 80% local pros showboating is a death knell. I was always surprised how many of the tuba players that came had no other avenue to play their tuba and it turned out Metro Cats was a good outlet for them, but they just didn’t want to sit and be somebody else’s forced audience.
One was the never ending academic crusade at every meeting on debating a constitution ad nauseam at every rehearsal. The US Constitution was written with less endless ongoing discussion. I think in its final form it may have been as thick as the US Constitution. I never understood why a constitution was even necessary. I’d invite serious players and they would always comment afterwards that they loved the playing, but with half the time being spent on the constitution and other non musical meeting stuff - it was a huge turnoff. They'd come for a couple of rehearsals and then stop coming from the frustration of sitting around and not playing. And we were pulling 50 - 75 people for the monthly rehearsals - who’d then just sit for the first couple hours of “rehearsal time".
Still - the group was doing a lot of stuff including playing the Banner at the Cubs game, doing homecoming halftime for a local university several times and getting paid well no less by them. Playing concerts at place like the cultural center in the downtown Chicago Loop under the magnificent mosaic dome. This gig featured prior to the performance watching Dick Frazier throw hands with Union Knuckleheads because tuba players got tired of waiting for union idiots to move some tables so we did it ourselves. Playing at hockey games etc. Even getting on the local TV news programs on Chicago area attractions etc. We had a good book of music and a nice mix of local pros and amatuers. That kept us going for a few years in spite of the issues - but I was the only non academic/pro on the board and by far the youngest and I could never get the rest of them to understand that in order for the group to continue into the future they needed to be more attuned to the serious amateurs. In many ways we mirrored the problems that I always felt ITEA suffered from - not really understanding or doing anything for a large block of their members - the serious amateur - who probably outnumber pros and academics by a factor of 10,000 to 1.
I understood that a lot of these guys were auditioning and academics were always in search of the next rung on the academic ladder. And that’s what happened - in a perfect storm everybody on the board but me I believe, got an academic job out of the area or a symphonic job out of state or won a spot in one of the military ensembles. And when they almost all at once left town it was the nail in the coffin as they had not incorporated the core of the group into the decision making of the group and one of my old lesson teachers was left to run the thing. Being in his eighties he was completely lost at sea and way out of his element. The group just sputtered to a halt. After several years of zero activity in the group I decided we had this bank account with a good chunk of money in it & no tax id. Before the bank started to hit the account with fees and asking for a tax id I & Brian Frederickson decided to donate it all to the Harvey Phillips Foundation. So if anybody who was a member of the group ever wondered what happened to all the money left in the treasury - now you know.
One problem was the group stopped playing in May and started back up in September. That was highly problematic as the academics never understood that the bulk of group had more time for rehearsals/concerts in the summer and it was much easier for people with families etc to attend. The academics assumed that everyone had the summer off like them and were headed out to teach at music camps or a long extended vacation. The college we played at (for free) was always much easier to find parking in the summer and had been very accommodating to the group over the years. Being centrally located and at the hub of all the area highways plus having a commuter rail stop just a block away - made it an ideal location. Instead the group bowed to pressure from all the people on the North Shore whining about a half hour drive and the same whining from people in downtown Chicago and the people on the south side. So the group started an odyssey of alternating rehearsals on the North Side / the south side and Elmhurst College which was basically equal distance from most people in the area and the original ideal spot. Add in the people who wanted different days of the week for rehearsal. This was insane and people were always confused where and when rehearsals were - so they just stop coming. In a group like this - routine is important and getting people into the routine is paramount - consistency wins every time.
Then there was the academics insisting on handing out scholarships and having our own complicated judged solo contest after the state solo contest. Quite frankly nobody other than the academics had any interest in constantly raising money to hand out to kids to spend on whatever for winning or having to host and staff the thing - and the scholarships were a lot of money. People just wanted to come and play their horn in a tuba ensemble not be an audience at a tuba solo contest. When members could come and play their tuba they were really happy and kept coming - when they had to sit around - they were not happy. If I recalled at our peak we had over 250 members - there were/are an amazing number of excellent euph/tuba players in the greater Chicago area. But the 3 hour rehearsals with 2 hours spent on nonsense was just a giant no for a lot of people and the introduction of the non routine locations, dates and times plus the long summer break was just the death knell.
The area has vast number of excellent players at all levels and Metro Cats proved that people will come and there are avenues to play. One of the other issues was some of the pros thought of the group as a place to showcase their solo or tuba quartet group. Nobody wants to come and sit on their hands while local pros showboat. Same at concerts. Concerts that are 80% local pros showboating is a death knell. I was always surprised how many of the tuba players that came had no other avenue to play their tuba and it turned out Metro Cats was a good outlet for them, but they just didn’t want to sit and be somebody else’s forced audience.
Re: Chicago Area Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble
Tofu
That is much of what I heard before. Our intention is to deal with a minimal amount of absolutely necessary administrative things by email and when we get together spend the time playing. We would love to have you participate in whatever way you are willing and able and your past experience and knowledge of what to avoid is most welcome.
That is much of what I heard before. Our intention is to deal with a minimal amount of absolutely necessary administrative things by email and when we get together spend the time playing. We would love to have you participate in whatever way you are willing and able and your past experience and knowledge of what to avoid is most welcome.