The Israel Philharmonic toured extensively in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and he mentioned particular points of the World Tour in Hong Kong, Japan, and India. He was able to spend more time in India than some of the orchestra and explore more landmarks, “I got to see the Taj Mahal and the famous Red Fort that the British defeated in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1858. I have to say that the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful thing that you’ll ever see-it was near perfect.” He experienced a problem, which plagues many travelers, “Once on the tour my luggage was misplaced and I arrived in Japan with only the clothes on my back. Fortunately my tuba arrived safely and my concert dress was in the case. However, my dress shoes were still in my luggage and I had my cowboy boots on! So I had to play our first concert in Japan wearing my cowboy boots. Luckily they were black.”

The Israel Philharmonic had to repeat concerts in many locations to reach all of its subscribers. “I remember I was doing Pictures, and I played “Bydlo” on my big Holton. Surprisingly enough, that Holton has a great upper register. But I had to do it twelve times, and I’ll tell you that’s a lot of times to suffer through that and go through the anguish of worrying about it. I remember one of the best performances I ever had was in Haifa, and I had two cups of Turkish coffee about 3:00 in the afternoon. About 9:00 was when that solo was coming up and my stomach was just jumping up and down-the nerves plus the coffee, it was very strong coffee. So I started doing some yoga breathing to slow everything down. and it went beautifully. So, maybe that’s the solution, to drink coffee and then practice yoga.”

After leaving the Israel Philharmonic in 1963, Hicks returned to Louisville where he rejoined the Louisville Orchestra and taught public school music first in Henryville, Indiana and later in Jefferson County (Louisville). When Hicks first became a member of the orchestra it was a part-time position. He was teaching at Oldham County Middle School when the orchestra became a full-time position and left the school in 1984. His daughter Robin said of his relationship with those he taught, “He reached a lot of students during his time in each place. Grown students used to come up to him wherever he went.”

One of the highlights of his tenure at the school was to have his band selected to perform at the Midwest National Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

Louisville is a unique orchestra, as Hicks explains:

“In the Louisville Orchestra you not only do orchestra literature but you do ballet and opera as well. There is probably more variety in this orchestra than in any other orchestra in the country. Coupled with contemporary music, which can be very difficult, it makes for a demanding job. You have to play such a variety of music, in so many different places, and in so many different halls that it is a real challenge. I came in at the end of the commissioning series. We recorded a lot. They had a Rockefeller Grant, which started about 1950. The orchestra recorded for years, but it is not recording right now. They hope to get back into it. They recorded some very prominent composers, but some you never want to hear again. However, it was interesting to hear music that had never been performed before. We premiered many works.”

The Louisville Orchestra made hundreds of recordings-over 70 recordings during Jorge Mester’s tenure alone, and if Arthur Hicks is not the most-recorded American tubist he would be very close. Hicks is listed as soloist on Ned Rorem’s Air Music (Louisville Orchestra LS 787, May 1981), the liner notes are incorrect, and the soloist is in fact, his colleague of 30 years, bass trombonist Raymond Horton playing his Conn Connstellation euphonium. Horton recalled, “Art told me that he passed on an opportunity to record the Vaughan Williams Concerto-I didn’t ask what I was screaming inside, ‘Why?’ He was just like that sometimes.”

The orchestra did not tour extensively, but did play in towns in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. They performed in Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at a con-temporary music festival in Terre Haute, Indiana. During Jorge Mester’s tenure the orchestra performed in the Kennedy Center’s Latin American Festivals and performed music of Latin composers. Mester also programmed many Russian works and most of the Mahler symphonies.

Hicks played in a brass quintet at the University of Louisville as well as the orchestra’s quintet. He said that the university quintet specialized in modern compositions but not to the extent of the orchestra’s quintet.
Speaking about a tour to South America by the quintet, he related the following anecdote:

“Louisville is a Sister City of Quito, Ecuador, and the U.S. Embassy invited us down to give a series of concerts there. We also gave a concert in Bogota, Columbia. We had to play at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. They had air tanks off stage for us in case we started getting a little light in the head; we could go over and get some air. That didn’t bother me so much though as the way my mouth would dry out so fast. It was really hard to keep moisture in my mouth when I was breathing at that altitude. You know a tuba player uses so much air on any one note that it’s easy to become hyperventilated at that altitude.”

Arthur Hicks’ philosophy of teaching, he said, was based on what he learned from his studies with Arnold Jacobs:
“I used many of his ideas in my teaching, and they really worked. This thing of vocalizing when you play, the use of air, it really was very beneficial in both private and music education.”

“Many tuba teachers turn out good students, but what are the prospects for those students? When I retired in 2001 over 180 musicians applied for my job. More people auditioned on tuba than they had for the cello audition. As a matter of fact I found out later that the young man who won my position, Daryl Johnson, was once a student of Gil Long who was a student of mine at the University of Louisville over 25 years ago. So, it’s almost like passing the flame.” Of his playing he said, “My personal concept of playing has been influenced by listening to the great Wagnerian soprano, Kirsten Flagstad. I’ve toured around the world, and I’ve talked to a lot of musicians from other countries-always tuba players. Tuba players always want to know other tuba players.”

…Before I sold my big Holton, which was really a wonderful instrument, I sometimes used a shallower cup to lighten the sound up a little bit. Of course when you go to a smaller instrument you want to use a deeper cup unless you want a special effect. Basically I have to say I always come back to the Helleberg. I played on the Helleberg before I ever studied with Mr. Jacobs. I guess that was his favorite mouthpiece. So, it’s something you grow up with, and you try different things, but I usually wind up coming back to that.

…This Besson F has a small lead pipe, and the Schilke was cut down by a student in Israel who had borrowed the mouthpiece. So, I had to have Cliff Blackburn rebuild the mouthpiece when I got back in this country. It’s still a little thinner, goes in farther, which is good for this little F.

…I got [the Kalison] because the Louisville Orchestra is a smaller orchestra and you do a lot of contemporary music. My Holton was a little heavy for the orchestra, so I needed something lighter. I liked the feel of the Kalison, because you can sing on this instrument, as opposed to many of the German instruments we’ve talked about that have that straight, almost ‘cylindrical’sound. It was just easy to play.”

Raymond Horton said, “Long time Louisville Orchestra Musical Director Jorge Mester, in particular, disliked Art’s Holton (it probably just looked too big!), and Art rarely played it in the L.O., saving it only for large works like Alexander Nevsky. Art used a number of mid-sized CC-tubas over the years, including a Mirafone, a Besson, an antique horn I don’t recall the make of, and a Cerveny (my personal favorite) before settling on the Kalison. You can hear Art’s Besson F in a short solo in Barber’s Die Natali, and his Besson CC he played for a while in a raucous solo near the beginning of Gene Gutche’s Genghis Khan (LS-722).”

Arthur Hicks leaves behind his wife Brooke Hicks, their children, Matthew, Robin, David and Andrew, and their spouses and many friends.

Israel Philharmonic, Tel Aviv 1960 (Gilda Glattstein)

“He was a great human being and he loved the tuba and the art of playing. He will be missed by me.” ~ Gilbert Long (Nashville Symphony), studied with Hicks from 1971- 1975 when he graduated from the University of Louisville

“I find it odd how the mind works in remembering old friends. Art Hicks is one of those friends that I remember fondly. I’s not so much the daily grind of playing with him in the Louisville Orchestra that I remember, although he was a wonderful musician and a joy to play with in the brass section. It’s the little things that seem to make him special to me. Art knew a lot about a lot of things. I remember a discussion with him about which was the best wood to burn in our wood stoves, and which was the best chain saw. We also spent time working on his tuba-lengthening a slide here, shortening one there-always trying to make it better. Several of the brass players also spent time after rehearsals listening to Art play to see which mouthpiece or sometimes which horn sounded better on a certain passage. Art was ever curious and always trying to improve. He made me a better musician.” ~ Clifford Blackburn, trumpet maker, former colleague, Louisville Orchestra

“I actually played in a high school brass choir that he conducted back in the 1970s. He was a great teacher and his love of music showed in everything that he did. Like many musicians of his generation, he loved every moment he was playing music throughout his entire career. When we would talk about music, it was obvious that his love of music was as fresh at the end of his career as it had been at the beginning. I don’t always see this same kind of love of music and music-making in younger musicians, which is a great tragedy. Performing was never a ‘job’ for Art, but was a great passion.” ~ John D. Rommel, trumpet, Louisville Orchestra, 1988-1996

End Notes and Acknowledgements
The oral history interview with Arthur Hicks was conducted by Carole Nowicke in the afternoon of Saturday, 3 November 2001 in his home. Hicks discoursed on such diverse topics as architecture, epidemiology, forensic pathology, and American history. An obituary and an article by Paula Burba from the Louisville Courier-Journal, 30 April 2003 were also used as reference sources.

Special thanks to daughter Robin Hicks, student Gilbert Long, colleagues Raymond Horton, Cliff Blackburn, and John Rommel for photographs and sharing reminiscences.

©2004 International Tuba Euphonium Association. All Rights Reserved.