TUBONIUM3 & ITEA UPPER MIDWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE
The ITEA Upper Midwest Regional Conference will be held in conjunction with Tubonium3 and will be held at Gustavus Adolphus College on April 22–23, 2005. Gustavus Adolphus College is located in St. Peter, Minnesota, 65 miles south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Ticket information, a schedule of events, directions, and more will soon be available at the Tubonium3 web site (see below).

We are currently in the final stages of contracting Steven Mead as our featured soloist and clinician. Tubonium3 will also feature regional euphonium and tuba soloists as well as collegiate tuba-euphonium ensembles to perform at the event. If you are interested in being a part of Tubonium3, please contact Paul Budde (see below) as soon as possible. Other plans in the works include an Upper Midwest High School All-Star Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble performance, solo recitals, Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble concerts, music vendors, clinics for Band Directors and Low Brass players, and more. We’ll have something for everyone!

Tubonium grew out of a desire to do something special for Euphonium and Tuba players in and around the Twin Cities of Minnesota and now will expand to reach out to an even broader base as an ITEA Regional Workshop. We welcome guests from all walks of life: from school-age musicians to professionals to young to not so young to those who have a casual interest in music to those for whom music is an obsession. I hope that through Tubonium3, we can continue to educate, inform, and thrill audiences of all ages and backgrounds. I hope to see you at our event!
Paul Budde (pbudde@gac.edu)
Tubonium3 Chairperson (http://www.gustavus.edu/oncampus/academics/music/tubonium/tubonium_1.html)

2005 SOUTHEASTERN TUBA EUPHONIUM CONFERENCE (SERTEC)
SERTEC 2005 will be held on the beautiful campus of the University of Georgia beginning on the afternoon of Thursday, March 24, and concluding by 6:00PM on Saturday, March 26. The conference will be held all under one roof in UGA’s spectacular Performing Arts Center and will feature some of the region’s finest tuba and euphonium artists and exhibits from four major instrument dealers from across the US.

The roster of performing artists who have confirmed at this date includes euphonium artists Adam Frey, Jason Ham, Demondrae Thurman, Lloyd Bone, Martin Cochran and John Mueller. Confirmed tuba artists include James Jenkins, Kevin Stees, David Zerkel, Dennis AsKew, Joey Celmer, Mike Dunn, Andy Miller, Michael Moore, and Andy Rummel. Accompanying some of our soloists on Thursday evening’s concert will be the UGA Wind Ensemble.

In addition to concert events, there will be several clinics to include a presentation by the Atlanta Symphony Low Brass Section, an advanced peek at the new Tuba and Euphonium Source Books, a multi-media presentation on the teaching of Arnold Jacobs, and roundtable discussions on Careers in the Military and Careers in College Teaching.

This year’s conference will offer opportunities for the best and brightest students from our region to perform as recitalists on the conference schedule. Eight student soloists and two student quartets will perform on three featured student recitals. These artists will be chosen on the basis of a taped audition, to be judged by artists outside of our region. The goal is to make tape submission as easy as possible and to encourage as many young artists to participate as possible! For competition details, please visit the conference website listed above. This will be an excellent opportunity to hear from the future stars in our field!
SERTEC 2005 will be perhaps the best time ever for players from our region to explore the widest array of instruments that are presently available! Confirmed instrument dealers will include Baltimore Brass, Custom Music, the Tuba Exchange, and Brasswind. Additionally, there will be several exhibitors selling music and CDs to TUBA Press and Windsong Press. This is only a preliminary listing of confirmed vendors—others may join in what promises to be an exciting opportunity!

Athens is one of the coolest and most exciting college towns in the United States. With its excellent live music scene, vibrant nightlife and fantastic variety of restaurants and shops, a good time is sure to be had by all! The conference hotel, the Holiday Inn, was selected based on its proximity to the downtown area, making all that the area has to offer an easy walk.

In order to meet our financial obligations, all conference participants will be required to pay the registration fee. Advance registration forms are available on the conference website. We hope to see the entire “south of the Mason-Dixon Line” in Athens for what promises to be an excellent conference. For those of you outside of the region, a road-trip to Athens is one that will not soon be forgotten! For further details please visit the conference website at www.arches.uga.edu/~dzerkel/sertec or e-mail David Zerkel at dzerkel@uga.edu. See you in March!

MIDWEST REGIONAL TUBA-EUPHONIUM CONFERENCE
I was honored by ITEA to be selected to host the Midwest Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference at Illinois State University, February 17–19, 2005. There were primarily five basic elements that my students and I wished to involve in our conference in order to make it a success: 1) big-name artists 2) emphasis on chamber music, 3) opportunities for students to perform, 4) a tribute to long-time Illinois State Tuba Professor Ed Livingston and his students, and 5) competitions with prizes. I am very proud to announce that we have accomplished all of these objectives and have constructed a diverse symposium for learning, listening and performing.

We are very lucky to have many big-name folks as part of our conference simply because our region includes so many great tuba and euphonium artists. The biggest event however, will involve a solo recital and masterclass by Chicago Symphony’s Principal Tubist Gene Pokorny! We are also happy to have The Sotto Voce Quartet here to perform, teach, and adjudicate. Following the Friday night Pokorny/Sotto Voce Recital, the Jazz Incredibles (with Sousaphone Great Red Lehr) will perform for us at PUB II next to campus. Lastly, we are delighted that the Illinois Brass Band and the Illinois State University Wind Symphony have agreed to assist us in accompanying world-class soloists. Other artists who have been invited to perform at MWRTEC are included below.

I believe MWRTEC will be the only regional conference to have competitions and prize money! Due to this fact, I would like to open these competitions up to non-professional tuba and euphonium players of all ages and from any nationality. There will be a tuba/euphonium quartet competition judged by the Sotto Voce Quartet, an interactive Mock Orchestral Tuba Audition Competition (realistically judged by principal orchestral players who DO NOT play the tuba) and an interactive Mock Military Band Euphonium Audition Competition (judged by current and former D.C. Military Bandsmen). Details about the competition, including repertoire, prizes, and application fees are listed below.

In order to make this regional conference possible, all participants must pay the registration fee (including my students and myself!). As more information becomes available (suggested hotels, restaurants, etc.) it will be posted via a link on the Illinois State School of Music webpage: http://www.arts.ilstu.edu/music/. I look forward to seeing you all at MWRTEC!!
Mike Forbes
MWRTEC Conference Host

MWRTEC COMPETITION INFORMATION
All rounds will take place live at MWRTEC. Applicants must have an active membership of ITEA at the time of the competition (Feb. 17–19, 2005). Competitors must submit a registration fee along with a competition fee ($25 per mock audition participant or $40 per quartet) no later than December 30th, 2004 to the address below. Make your check or money order payable to “ISU School of Music” and send it to:

Upon receipt of the registration and application fees, the selected excerpts will be mailed out to each mock audition candidate. If you are participating in the Mock Audition Competition, make sure to include your mailing address along with your check or money order.

Tuba/Euphonium Quartet Competition: Grand Prize: $1000*, Runner-Up: $500*
Winning quartet will also receive a $400 scholarship to the 2005 Sotto Voce Chamber Music Symposium: July 19-24, 2005. Note: Tuba/Euphonium Quartets may comprise of any combination of tubas and euphoniums.

Mock Military Band Euphonium Audition Competition: Grand Prize: $500*
Winner will also receive a $200 scholarship to the International Euphonium Institute, June 12-18, 2005 (compliments of Adam Frey). THE SPECIFIC EXCERPTS (from the following list) WILL BE SENT TO APPLICANTS upon receipt of registration and application moneys.

NORTHWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE in conjunction with THE 19TH ANNUAL HARVEY PHILLIPS NORTHWEST BIG BRASS BASH
The 19th Annual Harvey Phillips Northwest Big Brass Bash will be held July 8–10, 2005 in Eugene, Oregon. The conference host will be Michael Grose, Associate Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Oregon. The Harvey Phillips Northwest Big Brass Bash is an organization dedicated to bringing the tuba and euphonium community together in a three day festival where the participant can meet and share with some of the finest artists on those instruments and experience what it is like to perform with them. The environment is that of sharing, and is for tuba and euphonium players of all ages and levels of experience. The event consists of rehearsals, clinics, recitals, and free time where the participant can spend time with the guest artists.

Performances include the Keating Johnson Young Artist Recital, which gives the young performer a chance to share his or her accomplishments with the rest of the group and experience a performance with a top professional accompanist. The John Baker Founder's Recital features the guest artist (s), established adult groups, and some of the top professional players from the Northwest. The final concert on Sunday afternoon is performed by all participants in a mass tuba ensemble playing classical, jazz, and pop arrangements in an outdoor public concert setting. Something new in 2004 for the Brass Bash was the Harvey Phillips NW Big Brass Bash Solo Tuba and Euphonium Competition. The competition will again take place in 2005. Recent guest artists have included, Gene Pokorny, Pat Sheridan, Deanna Swoboda, Don Harry, Adam Frey, and Gail Robertson.
For additional information about the HPNWBBb please contact Michael Grose at 541.346.5646, mgrose@darkwing.uoregon.edu, or go to www.hpnwbbb.org.

And don’t forget…

THE U. S. ARMY BAND TUBA-EUPHONIUM CONFERENCE
The U.S. Army Band is proud to announce the 22nd Annual Tuba-Euphonium Conference. The Conference features concerts, recitals, exhibits, master classes and lectures by leading low brass authorities from around the world. The Conference will be open on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 and close Saturday, January 29, 2005. Events on all four days are free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are required for the events. There is no registration fee and any tuba or euphonium player is invited to bring their horn for reading sessions. Military musicians are invited to perform with the Armed Forces Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble.

The Conference will take place at Brucker Hall on historic Fort Myer, Virginia. Fort Myer is located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. and is accessible by Interstates 395 and 66 and by U.S. Route 50 For more information, contact Sergeant Major Ross Morgan (MorganR@fmmc.army.mil) 703-696-6039; http://www.army.mil/armyband/