The University of Wisconsin-Madison Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble, under the direction of John Stevens, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium, has been an important element of the UW low brass program for more than two decades. Made up of undergraduate and graduate music majors and accomplished non-majors, the ensemble rehearses weekly, performs a major concert each semester, and performs additional campus, school and community concerts on a regular basis, locally and around Wisconsin. The ensemble functions both as a choir of 12-20 players and in smaller chamber groups of 4-5 performers. Their repertoire consists of original compositions as well as arrangements and transcriptions of music from all periods, including jazz and popular works. Members of the group are encouraged to contribute as writers, and student compositions and arrangements are regularly included in the ensemble's repertoire.
The ensemble has been featured at International Tuba-Euphonium Conferences (ITECs) in Chicago, Minneapolis, Regina, Saskatchewan and Greensboro, North Carolina. They have also performed twice at the annual U.S. Army Band Tuba-Euphonium Conference in Washington DC. Quartets that have formed as subgroups of the ensemble have won recognition in regional and international competitions. The Sotto Voce Quartet, one of the world's most outstanding professional brass chamber groups, began when the four members of the quartet were UW students and members of this ensemble. Over the years, many members of this ensemble have gone on to successful careers as professional performers, college and university professors and public school teachers across the country.
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