By Rebecca Vikari
When Benjamin Groves was in fifth grade, the time came to choose an instrument to play in the school band. Wanting to be different, Groves decided on the tuba. At first, he was too small to hold the large brass instrument, but now, he holds it with pride and excitement as he and other tuba lovers prepare for OcTUBAfest this week.
OcTUBAfest is a series of concerts that celebrates the members of the tuba family of instruments. The tuba family is the low brass family of instruments and includes, of course, the tuba and also the sousaphone, the baritone horn and the euphonium.
This free tuba-based event will be held each night this week at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall.
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006, will be a student recital and on Thursday night, school of music faculty member, Dr. Steve Call, will perform a special recital featuring major works for the tuba and piano.
Friday, Oct. 27, 2006, will showcase the Utah Premiere Brass, which is a local musical organization that is a British style brass band. Members of the BYU brass faculty will be featured this night as soloists. Professor David Brown will play the cornet, Dr. Will Kimball will be featured on the trombone and Steve Call will perform a tuba concerto.
'It''s a great opportunity for me to be able to solo with a group like that,' Kimball said. 'And an honor that Steve would invite us to come and play instead of bringing somebody else in.'
Saturday. Oct. 28, 2006, is the grand OcTUBAfest concert featuring various numbers, including some jazz and selections from movies for the tuba ensemble. Dr. Todd Fiegel will be guest conducting this concert.
'Often the tuba is not a prominent instrument,' Call said. 'It doesn''t play the melody a lot of the time. It plays more of a supportive role, but with OcTUBAfest, we like to put the instruments out front and let them play the melody and show what they''re capable of.'
Groves, who is now a sophomore from Naches, Wash., studying molecular biology, said he decided to continue playing the tuba at BYU because he enjoys playing in large ensembles.
'I like bass voices, and I think that the bass line is the difference between skim milk and 2 percent,' he said. 'It''s the richness that makes it sound really cool.'
| What: OcTUBAfest |
When: Wednesday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m. |
Where: Madsen Recital Hall, HFAC |
Admission: Free |