Here is a nice review from the ITEA Journal, Volume 44, #1. Used with the permission of ITEA: 13 Selected Rose Etudes by Cyrille Rose transcribed and edited for euphonium by David R. Werden. Cimarron Music Press. 15 Corrina Lane, Salem, CT 06420. 860-536-2185. Fax: 888-235-1772. sales@cimarronmusic.com. www.cimarronmusic.com. CM 2703. 2015. $20. David Werden served as the euphonium soloist with The United States Coast Guard Band and is an active euphonium soloist and educator based in Minnesota. He has published many arrangements for solo euphonium and ensembles, and has brought another exce ..read more

Many of you know I recently became (officially) an Alliance Artist. I was using an Alliance DC4 and now use the DC3, after many years of playing other mouthpiece from the Denis Wick brands. It is an usually comfortable mouthpiece! I don't know if it is because of the rim width or contour alone, or if the cup and backbore contribute to comfort by the way the respond. Whatever the case, it surely feels great! I have to thank David Childs for putting me on that track, because I had become skeptical that I would find a non-Wick mouthpiece that I wanted to use. My love of David's playing and sound ..read more

The COVID crisis was something we'd like not repeat, but many of us have found some positive outcomes. One of those outcomes is having more time to practice, time that would have been otherwise occupied in pre-pandemic times. Bente Illevold used the time to create another very positive outcome, which is this album of unaccompanied music (i.e. "alone"). In case you are ready to stop reading, give me a minute! Some might ask, "A whole album of unaccompanied euphonium? How can that be interesting?" I understand any who have such skepticism, but this album IS engaging throughout! The variety of m ..read more

The COVID crisis was something we'd like not repeat, but many of us have found some positive outcomes. One of those outcomes is having more time to practice, time that would have been otherwise occupied in pre-pandemic times. Bente Illevold used the time to create another very positive outcome, which is this album of unaccompanied music (i.e. "alone"). In case you are ready to stop reading, give me a minute! Some might ask, "A whole album of unaccompanied euphonium? How can that be interesting?" I understand any who have such skepticism, but this album IS engaging throughout! The variety of m ..read more

I put together a video explaining the need for an AGR and also how to use it. Following that I'll post some photos to further illustrate the concept(s). One bit of perspective first. As far as I know. ALL receivers will have a gap between the end of the mouthpiece shank and the start of the leadpipe (hidden inside the larger receiver). If the insertion depth of your mouthpiece creates a good gap on the horn you use, then the AGR matter. But keep in mind that different mouthpiece brands have a different insertion depth (the amount of shank that disappears into the receiver), which changes the ..read more

I just came up in the testing rotation of the Sinfonico, and it is a real treat to test this new horn! In 2019 at ITEC I tried the prototype for this horn and found it very promising. Now we are looking at an early production model. My impression is that that the instrument has changed quite a bit in that time (which is not surprising - that's how the process works). The Sinfonico, unlike the less expensive Dolce, is hand made from sheet brass. Most other brands (and the Wessex "Dolce") start with tubes of metal that are hydraulically stretched to taper from the desired size at one end to the ..read more

The instrument choices today make this question more complex. Some of this post applies to tuba and other instruments, but I will specifically address euphonium. Until the late 1970's, there was a pretty wide line between pro euphoniums (i.e. Besson and Boosey & Hawkes) and everything else. That line was largely drawn by the compensating system, but also included the larger bore of the British instruments. Today we have large-bore, compensating euphoniums that cost less than some student-level non-compensating instruments! Today's dividing line is narrower, but it is still there. The pro ..read more

NOTE: this advice is good for "normal" times, too (but right now our choices have been unusually limited). If your available band/music opportunities have a long hole in the schedule for any reason, this is good ongoing maintenance. I think many of you have continued with a good practice schedule, but HOW you practice is just as important as how long...perhaps more so. I think we're all trying to remain positive during the shut-down situation, as we assume bands will be back in our lives before too long. But there are other times when we may be away from ensemble playing for a while, so this ..read more

In the connected world we live in one has a chance to hear many different, talented euphonium players from all over the world. There is YouTube, of course, but I prefer to have "hard copy" for any music I want to be sure I can still access years from now. Fortunately, there are many great euphonium CD's available now, and ordering from overseas or from the specialty shops we have in our own country is a simple matter. Recently it has been my great pleasure to listen to a new CD from Gary Curtin: "Eire Time." Along with Gary's talents we have the additional pleasure of the Foden's Band's... Hm ..read more

If you are a member of the International Tuba-Euphonium Association (ITEA) you may have already seen this review. It covers my "Advanced Fingering Guide" very thoroughly (and positively!). ITEA allows me to reprint reviews of my content, so here it is! If you are not already an ITEA member, I strongly encourage you to join. There are great articles in the Journal and you are helping the organization support the instruments we love! ITEA offers print or digital subscriptions, and they have special rates for students and retired folks: https://www.iteaonline.org/members/J...in-Renew-ITEA/ Thi ..read more