On Friday, October 30, the Lionel Hampton School of Music hosted their annual “Tubaween” concert. A holiday themed event focusing on the Low Brass ensemble, specifically the Tuba and Euphonium ensemble.
The music ranged from a wide variety of pieces. There were more inherently classical pieces, like Paul Tschesnokoff’s “Salvation is Created”, arranged by Ron Knoener, to more modernly recognizable pieces, like Danny Elfman’s “This is Halloween”, the introduction song of the Halloween and Christmas mainstay, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.
The concert was helped set up by Mark Thiele, the Assistant Professor of Tuba/Euphonium and directors of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences. Along with the students, there was also Catherine Anderson performing on Piano.
The wider ensemble performances included the previously stated pieces, as well as “Rains of Castermere” from the celebrated fantasy series, “Game of Thrones”, written by George R. R. Martin and Ramin Djawadi, arranged by Camdyn Rolak, “Festival Fanfare” be Ben Miles, and the first three movements of Ian Letter’s “Four Personalities”.
Along with the wider ensembles performances, there were also numerous solos performed by students. It was a wonderful way to emphasize the dedication and skills with their instruments and the school of music’s abilities.
These soloists were Aysa Young-Wilson, performing Mozart’s “Concerto, K. 412” on tuba, Lauren Ricketson, performing Elena Roussanova’s “Fantasy” on Euphonium, McKenna Liedes performing Phillip Sparke’ “Song for Ina” on euphonium, Tristen Jorgenson performing Serge Fachmaninoff’s “Voscalise, Op. 34, No. 14” on Tuba, Grand Waltman performing Walter Hartley’s “Suite” on tuba, and Samuel Cooper performing the prelude of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1107” on euphonium.
A part of the concert was a joke twist on the story of “Nightmare Before Christmas”. One student dressed as Jack Skellington and another as Santa Clause, promoting unity and enjoying music together.
During the intermission, there was also a spectacle of a costume contest, ranging from detailed and crafted homemade outfits, to well established inside jokes and everything in between.
Austin Kieckhefer can be reached at [email protected].