Diminished demand for small ensembles?

[Jperry1466]

- ‘ agreed that the 80’s (particularly the first half were the pinnacle. Related to some of us specifically, the 1970s was when universities began hiring dedicated - and even full-time - tuba instructors, and that is now quite a bit on the wane. Often, young people - with very little actual performance experience (yet with a diploma or two on their wall) are being paid a handful of thousand dollars a year at universities to “handle the tuba majors”.

True. In this part of the country, most university tuba (and most other instruments) teachers are hired as "adjunct professors" and hold several part-time jobs. With all the travel expenses, most struggle to make a living. Luckily, our local univ. guy is the full-time Music Business professor who takes on the tuba load as well.