One misconception people might have about the tuba is that it simply sits in the back of the group and plays the baseline, but the School of Music’s Octubafest breaks that stereotype.
The UTRGV Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble will host its annual “Octubafest” at 7 p.m. Friday in the Performing Arts Complex.
The concert will consist of classical and polka music, as well as pieces written for the tuba ensemble by UTRGV composition Professor Justin Writer. Admission is free.
Scott Roeder, associate professor of tuba and euphonium, conducts the ensemble and told The Rider the concert is a “mixed bag” of pieces.
“It’ll be an enjoyable concert,” Roeder said. “It’s all very audience friendly. It’s all very melodic in traditional harmonies and there’s not too much in there that would be considered, like, avant garde. … I think most … will enjoy the music.”
Roeder said the original concept of Octubafest came from Harvey Phillips, a tuba professor at Indiana University in the 1970s.
“Harvey’s whole thing and his mission in life was to expose people to the tuba and euphonium to get
a better understanding of what it is, what it can do, because there’s been a lot of misconceptions over
the years of [tuba] not being, like, a real instrument or serious musicians,” Roeder said. “And that was his mission in life, to change that. So, he promoted events that will do that and Octubafest is one of those events.”
Starting the Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble and Octubafest at legacy institution University of Texas-Pan American in 2009, Roeder said he never thought about the long-term goals when starting the programs. He just knew “it needed to be done.”
With just one missed performance during 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roeder said it feels exciting to be back to some normalcy.
“Yeah, it’s great that … we have this tradition of things that we do,” he said. “It wasn’t something that I really set out to do … but we did it and we just kept doing them.”
Pablo Salinas, a music education senior, told The Rider he has been part of the Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble since 2017 but is not participating this semester to focus on school. But he is excited to support them.
“I loved every minute of it,” Salinas said. “Going to the rehearsals, practicing on my own, listening to the music, just really getting involved with everything about it. I truly enjoy playing. That’s kind of, like, one of the biggest reasons why I liked coming to the university.”
Excited to support his colleagues, Salinas said he knows most of the music that will be performed but wants to see what they will bring to the table this year. He also encourages everyone to come out and support the ensemble.
“I feel like a lot of people in the community aren’t aware of what a euphonium even is,” Salinas said. “And I feel like it should be introduced more into the community … just so people can hear what it sounds like. A lot of people have never heard of tubas and euphoniums and it’s, honestly, a very magical thing.”
