TubaForum.net

bloke wrote: ↑Sun Aug 20, 2023 7:31 pm I played under Revelli's baton a couple of times after he retired. I'm thinking he may have chilled a bit, but the Miraphone picture is pre-retirement.

I also played under his second successor (Robert Reynolds, who was new, that year) about a week or two after I played under Revelli (for the second time). I hope it's okay to say here that I was much more impressed with Robert Reynolds.

Another remarkable band director that I played under for a few days once (still in high school, at that time) was Colonel Arnald Gabriel. I felt sort of bad for him - as well as embarrassed. He was being very nice to us, but - that particular year of an All-State band in Tennessee - we just didn't have the trumpets to offer him that we normally had. The real artist players across the state had graduated the previous year, and left a void.

I think it's a remarkable testament to Col. Gabriel's longevity that both you and I played under his baton while we were both in high school, approx. 30-35 years apart.

My daughter as well.

arpthark wrote: ↑Sun Aug 20, 2023 8:03 pm

bloke wrote: ↑Sun Aug 20, 2023 7:31 pm I played under Revelli's baton a couple of times after he retired. I'm thinking he may have chilled a bit, but the Miraphone picture is pre-retirement.

I also played under his second successor (Robert Reynolds, who was new, that year) about a week or two after I played under Revelli (for the second time). I hope it's okay to say here that I was much more impressed with Robert Reynolds.

Another remarkable band director that I played under for a few days once (still in high school, at that time) was Colonel Arnald Gabriel. I felt sort of bad for him - as well as embarrassed. He was being very nice to us, but - that particular year of an All-State band in Tennessee - we just didn't have the trumpets to offer him that we normally had. The real artist players across the state had graduated the previous year, and left a void.

I think it's a remarkable testament to Col. Gabriel's longevity that both you and I played under his baton while we were both in high school, approx. 30-35 years apart.

In my final year of grad school, we performed under the baton of Col. Gabriel with soloist Doc Severnson. This was in 2018 and they expressed that the other was their best friend in the world.

Does anyone know anything about Donald Brown, who (ref: brochure) played in the Erie Philharmonic back in the 1960's ?

I'm only able to state "1960's" because google found an old concert program with him listed that dated from the '60's.

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:46 am Does anyone know anything about Donald Brown, who (ref: brochure) played in the Erie Philharmonic back in the 1960's ?

I'm only able to state "1960's" because google found an old concert program with him listed that dated from the '60's.

I don’t have specific knowledge on that, but I do know Lowell Hepler, who played in the Erie Phil for 30 plus years and recently retired. Next time I see Lowell I’ll ask him about Donald Brown. It’s possible that he took over that post from him.

I note that Mr. Brown played a BBb for the orchestra then. In those days it was considered quite unusual, yes?

DonO. wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 9:00 am

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:46 am Does anyone know anything about Donald Brown, who (ref: brochure) played in the Erie Philharmonic back in the 1960's ?

I'm only able to state "1960's" because google found an old concert program with him listed that dated from the '60's.

I don’t have specific knowledge on that, but I do know Lowell Hepler, who played in the Erie Phil for 30 plus years and recently retired. Next time I see Lowell I’ll ask him about Donald Brown. It’s possible that he took over that post from him.

I note that Mr. Brown played a BBb for the orchestra then. In those days it was considered quite unusual, yes?

Ev Gilmore in Fort Worth...same make/model: Miraphone 186 B-flat.
...You're probably right, as far as the USA was/is concerned.

In addition to being a great conductor, Col. Gabriel was also an incredibly generous man, I remember at a Texas Tech high school band camp in the 2000s, he conducted a transcription of William Tell Overture.

The cello solo that opens the piece was placed in the euphonium part, and on the night of the concert, our typically flawless euphonium player completely blew the initial lick and was noticably mortified. After the completion of the performance, Col. Gabriel turned to the audience and said something to the effect of "let's get one more take of the intro for the recording." He pointed to the euphonium player, smiled, and the euphonium player played it wonderfully.

For more….

https://www.horn-u-copia.net/library.shtml

The young lady ( Kathleen Aylsworth) in the picture with Maestro Revelli is also pictured in the Michigan tuba section above. She's obviously the one on the right. The guy in the middle is Walt Zeschien and they were a married couple when Walt and I were in the West Point Band. There were no girls in the band yet (1972).She had been playing the Hudson Valley Symphony until she got pregnant and Walt took over the job. I never got to hear or even meet her but the other tuba players all said she was the real deal. Better even than Walt who was far and away the best of the 13 guys who were there at the time. He got out about six months after I got there and won the San Antonio job after a semester with Mr Torchinsky at U of Michigan then moved on to the Denver Symphony and last I heard he was the personel manager for Cincinnatti. I have never heard a more beautiful sound than the one he made, on a 186 C, and he and John Kitzman(trombone in Dallas Symphony) both could stop the spinning wheels on the bands big old strobe tuner on any note. I don't know when but they did get divorced at some point but for the whole band to think she was better than him is mind boggling to me. But it looks like she was sitting first chair in that section picture. that's all i got. Best to All, Ed Oh yeah, when they left I got the Hudson Valley job. The conductor was Claude Monteux, yes, son of Pierre, and we actually played Rite of Spring with him.I played it all on a Kaiser Cerveny Bb and he actually made a point to come back and tell us that he liked the way the tubas sounded.OK, That's Really all I got. Ed

Dents Be Gone! wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 11:00 am Yes, the real deal, to be sure! And a very nice lady, too!

https://liberalarts.du.edu/about/people ... -brantigan

hrender wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 3:56 pm

Dents Be Gone! wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 11:00 am Yes, the real deal, to be sure! And a very nice lady, too!

https://liberalarts.du.edu/about/people ... -brantigan

Also: https://www.mendezbrassinstitute.com/tuba-faculty/

I see a (very) few 180 (F) mentions, and fewer pictures. Not a big seller for them in the U.S., I guess.

Was this before Miraphone tried to sell something to compete with the Symphonie?

[

I think those were the collaborations with Warren, Chuck, and Chester with Canadian Brass, the NY Phil brass, and the Boston symphony brass. Not a huge fan of the very busy, look what we can do arrangements but the playing is superb. Ed

bloke wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:22 pm

This is so cool. I play a 185-5U (CC), and have been starting to look up more information about it.

DonO. wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 9:00 am

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 21, 2023 8:46 am Does anyone know anything about Donald Brown, who (ref: brochure) played in the Erie Philharmonic back in the 1960's ?

I'm only able to state "1960's" because google found an old concert program with him listed that dated from the '60's.

I don’t have specific knowledge on that, but I do know Lowell Hepler, who played in the Erie Phil for 30 plus years and recently retired. Next time I see Lowell I’ll ask him about Donald Brown. It’s possible that he took over that post from him.

I note that Mr. Brown played a BBb for the orchestra then. In those days it was considered quite unusual, yes?

I have seen Dr. Hepler since this post and asked about Donald Brown. He doesn’t know a lot. The few things he knew were that he was a very big guy, always played with some kind of stand supporting his tuba (which I think was kind of unusual back then), was a very good solid player, and the orchestra sounded very good when he was with them. Other details such as where he went to school, who his teacher was, etc. remain unknown. Unfortunate. It seems like he was a “player of note”, especially being African-American in an era when many orchestral players were not, and history should know more about him.

If anyone is curious about Mr. Brown, I found this personnel list of the orchestra's brass section from 1974:



If any of these people are still alive or on social media and you wanted to ask, maybe they would have some more detailed info.

https://mccrackenhorns.com/

BTW, no relation between me and David, the horn player.