Professional Life

Symphonic tuba playing

A warning from the orchestra: Lewis Waldeck challenges modern tuba playing—calling for a return from solo brilliance to the dark, blended power of true symphonic sound.

By Lewis Waldeck

Part 1

Arnold Jacobs

Interview

Two tuba giants meet in 1979 Chicago, where Arnold Jacobs turns technique, sound, orchestral life and pedagogy into a lasting musical ethic.

By Roger Bobo

Part 5

How and why I became a musician

In wartime Switzerland, a military assignment, a conductor's confusion and an abandoned instrument unexpectedly changed the course of Edouard Gros's musical career.

By Edouard Gros

Viktor Venglowski

Musician and Teacher

From the Leningrad Philharmonic to the Conservatoire, one trombonist shaped repertoire, ensembles and generations of players across the Soviet Union.

By Sergej Gorovoj

Part 4

How and why I became a musician

In Geneva on the eve of war, Edouard Gros navigates Ansermet’s demanding orchestra, summer trumpet engagements and the sudden upheaval of military mobilisation.

By Edouard Gros

Editorial

One magazine disappeared as another opened its pages, turning economic necessity into a rare act of editorial solidarity that reshaped the brass press.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Philip Jones

Interview

From South London bands to the Philharmonia, Philip Jones recalls his musical upbringing, orchestral life and the rise of brass ensembles in post-war Britain.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Tell it the way it is:

A viewpoint of professional trumpet playing in the United States

A brutal reality check: Irving Bush exposes the gap between musical dreams and professional truth—revealing the harsh economics behind a career in trumpet playing.

By Irving Bush

A woman trombonist, Yvelise Girard

Women and Brass

From Paris conservatories to police bands, a young trombonist confronts isolation, scrutiny and ambition as women slowly enter the brass world.

By Jean Douay

The Annual Competitions of the Paris Conservatoire

From commissioned works to jury voting, a long-standing examination tradition reveals how brass players progressed through the Paris Conservatoire.

By Benny Sluchin

1981 Geneva International Competition

Readers Letters

Philip Jones responds to the Geneva 1981 debate, arguing for fairer jury decisions, balanced repertoire, and the enduring value of international trumpet competitions.

By Philip Jones

Part 1

The trombone in Maurice Ravel's Bolero

How should Boléro’s trombone solo be played? After 100 performances, Jean Douay challenges conventions and argues for a more supple, controlled approach.

By Jean Douay

Brass and Strings

A note on personality types among musicians

Behind the formal discipline of the symphony orchestra, contrasting views of brass and string players reveal enduring questions about personality, class and musical culture.

By John Davies

Pyotr Naumovich Volkov (1877-1933)

First trombone professor at St. Petersburg Conservatory

From imperial St. Petersburg to Soviet Leningrad, Volkov shaped a distinctive Russian trombone tradition through performance, teaching and generations of pupils.

By Viktor Sumerkin

Women and Brass

Statements

Female brass players in British orchestras describe auditions, section dynamics and the pressure of proving themselves beyond musical ability.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Part 2

300 Years of the Horn

in the Dresden Court Orchestra

From Dresden’s court musicians to Hampel’s hand-horn technique, virtuoso players and court repertoire shaped a decisive shift in horn playing and orchestral writing.

By Peter Damm

Being a Concert Trombone

By Ronald Barron

Rules for the road

By Peter Damm

Cleveland Orchestra Audition in 1966

George Szell’s demanding 1966 audition process unfolds through orchestral excerpts, dynamic extremes and the search for absolute ensemble precision.

By Ronald T. Bishop

Vladislav Mykhaylovich Blazhevich (1881-1942)

Trombonist, Composer and Teacher

From village band to the Moscow Conservatoire and the Bolshoi, a lifelong commitment to performance, teaching and wind music shaped Soviet trombone tradition.

By Viktor Sumerkin

Harry James (1916-1983)

Young Man With A Horn

Harry James stood between jazz virtuosity and popular showmanship, turning the trumpet into a mass-audience voice without losing the respect of classical players.

By Michel Laplace

Special Hungary

International Trumpet Competition, Budapest 1984

Budapest 1984 exposed a striking gap between technical brilliance and musical maturity, while three leading trumpeters challenged what competitions truly reward.

By Timofey Dokschidser, Philip Jones, Théo Mertens

Melvyn Poore

Tuba britannica

A tuba becomes a laboratory for circular breathing, reeds, strange mutes and music theatre as Melvyn Poore pushes beyond the orchestral role assigned to it.

By Thomas Aitken

A guide to commercial tuba playing in the Los Angeles area

Hollywood reality check: Tommy Johnson reveals what it really takes to become a commercial tuba player in Los Angeles—skill, versatility… and patience.

By Tommy Johnson