Posted by Brian Frederiksen on March 27, 2002 at 21:38:38:
In Reply to: Wanted: YOUR ideas for a tuba/euph conf. posted by Alan Herold on March 27, 2002 at 21:03:16:
I have been to both conferences that Alan is refering to. The first one started after TubaChristmas that maybe 400 people participated with maybe 50 staying for the conference. Pat Sheridan was among the guest artists. Last weekend in Carrollton maybe 60 showed up with Brian Bowman and Velvet Brown among the guests. All performances were top notch and here is the best part - it was all free!
I have been to many ITECs and regional conferences over the years and the Atlanta conferences have been among the best - still, why is attendance down? Is it that people would rather play in a large mass ensemble (such as the Northwest Big Brass Bash), maybe having groups of college tuba/euphonium ensembles giving individual concerts (such as a conference at the Univ of Kentucky a few years ago). There are a series of workshops and recitals with a gala concert in Atlanta such as the Capitol Tuba Conference but regional conferences cannot attract the number of performers such as ITECs.
This sounds great for those in the area, especially students but, where were they? I knew a number of people in the area that did not attend - hey, it took me less than an hour to drive from Carrollton to the Atlanta airport, it wasn't that far out of the way! Years ago we had a local group in Chicago that had meetings in one of the suburbs - the common line I got was "this is a great idea but could you do it in MY neighborhood?" Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Granted, this conference was over Palm Sunday weekend but I doubt if every tuba player in Georgia and Alabama were busy rehearsing for gigs.
While Alan is concerned about the Atlanta conference, everyone should comment on this - what do you want to happen at any tuba conferences? Those who put them together are watching - let them know!