Musicians have blast with tuba

Students choose enormous instrument for the challenge, powerful sound it can create

Web posted October 20, 2000

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By Melissa Hall
Staff Writer

Evans High School tuba player Sumir Patel said he was hooked after he ``tested positive'' in middle school.

``It was the only instrument that suited me,'' said the 130-pound senior, who weighs only three times more than his horn.

Lisa Wheatley plays her tuba during band practice at Greenbrier High School. The senior said she selected the instrument because it was the one others ``least expected'' her to choose. Music teachers say most tuba players are drawn by the challenges of the instrument. JIM BLAYLOCK/STAFF

It's hard to say what drives young students to strap on a 45-pound instrument and begin to blow. But the tuba is an instrument that by its very size demands the attention of an elephant. And just as in a circus, no band would be complete without one.

``Most of the young people really like the excitement of the instrument and the section,'' said Charles Smith, band director at T.W. Josey Comprehensive High School, which has five sousaphone players. The sousaphone, a type of tuba commonly used in marching bands, is named for famous bandmaster and composer John Phillip Sousa.

``It's a flashier section for marching band. Also, it's the biggest instrument in the horn section and it's a show section,'' Dr. Smith said.

One of the area's most noted tuba players is Rudy Volkmann, professor of music at Paine College, conductor of the Augusta Jazz Project and a tuba player with the Channellheimer Oompah Band.

``I've got a picture of me marching in a sixth-grade honor band, and if you measure the sousaphone and you measure me, you'll find that the sousaphone is a couple of inches bigger than I am,'' he said.

At Evans High School, band director Richard Brasco has 12 tuba players. Mr. Brasco majored in tuba, so his section has a lot to live up to.

``We get pampered,'' tuba player Scott Wells said.

It's a cheerful insolence and a lot of hot air that fills those big horns.

At Evans High, students have a habit of naming their tubas and their cases. One of the cases at Evans is The General, because it's old and Army green.

``It was probably John Phillip Sousa's first case,'' sousaphone player Jesse Scherer said.

And then there's Old Yeller, a once-white sousaphone that has yellowed with age.

But the tuba is not just a guy thing.

One of the area's most respected musicians is Greenbrier High School tuba player Lisa Wheatley. The senior is section captain and was an honor band selectee last year.

``I got started just because it was the least expected instrument that I would play, and I stuck with it,'' she said.

She admits that it's rare to find female tuba players because of the size of the instrument, but she enjoys the reactions of others when they see her.

``Some of them are in shock,'' she said. ``It kind of takes them back for a minute.''

At the middle school, pupils are steered toward instruments based on their interests and physical makeup.

``Normally, they'll have a pretty wide-set jaw, full lips, someone who can really fill up a horn,'' Mr. Brasco said. ``But out of our 12 tuba players, we have some really husky fellows that play pretty well, and then we have some really skinny guys that play better than them. It's a matter of desire, endurance and how much they are going to practice.''

Why do students choose the tuba?

``Because it's not as popular as the other instruments and some kids like to play the harder, more unique instruments,'' said Katie Bennett, band director at Columbia Middle School. ``They want to be different than everybody else.''

It's a way of getting attention for doing something not everybody else does.

``I wanted to play the trombone because it looked so funny, but I knew my uncle had played the tuba, so if he could do it, I could do it,'' Evans High School tuba player James Boothe said.

A fiberglass sousaphone can weigh as little as 18 pounds, but a metal instrument can weigh up to 45 pounds. Their weight and size make for some interesting stories.

``I remember mistakenly cold-cocking a flute player,'' said Dr. Volkmann, recalling his days in the Puyallup High School marching band in Puyallup, Wash. ``We were doing this formation that involved a three-quarter turn, a full circle and a quick snap. It was a combination of them being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the wind catching my horn so that it became more horizontal than it should have been. The bell just came whipping around and caught this poor flute player full-face. He was out like a light.''

Reach Melissa Hall at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 113.

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