University of Wisconsin-Madision Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble

This entry is a shout-out to my colleague, Blaine Cunningham. He completed a master's degree in tuba performance at UW-Madison and is now a DMA student with me at The University of Iowa. So, on to the ensemble, shall we?

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble is a top notch group. Their conductor, Professor John Stevens, is a critically acclaimed teacher, performer, and composer. The ensemble is in constant demand for performances at conferences and other music festivals. Stevens has written several original compositions for tuba-euphonium ensemble, including Power and Viva Voce! to name a few. The tuba-euphonium quartet Sotto Voce was formed from members of Stevens's ensemble. Since that group was created, many of Stevens's compositions have been written for them. All of his quartets are on a Sotto Voco recording, too. The Wisconsin-Madison studio has also taken part in recording projects, incorporating some of Stevens's compositions and many other works for tuba-euphonium ensemble.

It is very comforting knowing that someone in the tuba-euphonium community is actively creating new, quality literature for the ensemble. Often times works for tuba-euphonium ensemble don't quite reach the sophistication and caliber of works from other genres, but John Stevens has made steps in the right direction for sure!