Tuba or Not Tuba?

Yes, tuba. On Sunday night, we went to a tuba recital at the college. Now just in case you’re starting to think I’m a classical music connoisseur, I assure you I’m not. If left to my own devices, I probably would have spent Sunday night curled up in my jammies with a good book. But my husband didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to see two top level professional musicians play. The performance featured piano-tuba duets by the U.S. Marine Band’s tubist (Mark Thiele, above) and the principal tubist from the Boston Symphony (Mike Roylance, below), accompanied by the Marine Band's pianist. So those are some pretty big guns. The concert was in a recital hall that seats about 75 people, and we sat up front, within about 10 feet from the musicians. I was pleasantly surprised to find that tubas really do make very lovely music.
And the musicians themselves were very entertaining: two youngish guys who had both started out playing for Disney in Florida, a gig they were very positive about. They got to be good friends there, auditioned for the Marine Band together, and the one who didn’t make it with the Marines found a position in Boston, both simply delighted to be able to make a living playing music. And both clearly in love with the tuba, and both just thrilled that the small recital hall was packed for tuba music. They were infectious...I just couldn’t help smiling.

So if you’re in the Fredericksburg area, and are looking for a pleasant night out, you should check out some of the concerts put on by the UMW Music Department. Classical, jazz, choral singing, holiday pops, kids’ concerts, recitals...you can find the upcoming concert schedule here.