Monday, September 5, 2016

R. Winston Morris & the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble Celebrate their 50th Year!

Everyone is invited to join in on the fun next Oct. 20-22, 2016, in Cookeville, Tennessee, as the TENNESSEE TECH TUBA ENSEMBLE (TTTE) & Professor R. WINSTON MORRIS present their 50TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION CELEBRATION.

Morris, Professor of Music at Tennessee Technological University with 50 years of service, is the elder statesman of tuba professors in the United States. In his early years at the university, Professor Morris established the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble, one of the most successful performing collegiate ensembles in history.

Most of the events for the celebration are open to the public and unless indicated otherwise will be in the Bryan Fine Arts Building, 1150 N. Dixie Ave., Cookeville.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016, will be the first night of activities starting with a 6:30p.m. screening of "TUBA U: Basso Profundo" with Emmy-Award winning Director/Producer Todd Jarrell of his National Public Television production reviewed in American Profile magazine as “… an insightful, fascinating, oom-pah-pah-wow-wow look at an instrument that deserves far more respect and recognition that it usually gets…”

At 7:00p.m.     the TTU BRASS ARTS QUINTET featuring alumni Jimmie Self, euphonium & Tim Northcut, tuba, will perform.  Morris performed tuba in the BAQ from 1967 to 2013.

8:00p.m. the NEWBERRY'S VICTORIAN CORNET BAND founded by TTU euphonium alumnus Michael O’Connor will explore a “forgotten” era of band music that was composed between the end of the Civil War and the advent of the Sousa Band in 1892. The Newberry Band brings together professional musicians who specialize in playing historical wind instruments and arrangements from that era.

At 10:00p.m. a LATE NIGHT TUBA/EUPH HANG with special entertainment will take place at the Clarion Inn, 970 South Jefferson Ave, Cookeville.


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016
Everyone will gather at 2:00 p.m. at the TTU owned Regions Bank Building, 10 West Broad Street in Cookeville for the OPENING CEREMONY and reception for the R. WINSTON MORRIS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD TUBA COLLECTION EXHIBIT.  To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ensemble in 2016/2017, Professor Morris has donated his large collection of tuba figurines and tuba oriented art works to the university.  The collection has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest collection of tuba-related items in the world.  The exhibit also includes items of historical interest pertaining to Professor Morris and the first 50-year history of the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble.

7:00p.m. the acclaimed TENNESSEE TECH TUBA ENSEMBLE performs. Recognized internationally as the leading group of its kind, the TTTE has an enviable record of 27 recording projects, eight Carnegie Hall appearances, two World’s Fairs performances, and a 50-year history of performances from Preservation Hall in New Orleans to the Spoleto Festival in Charleston to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and responsible for the composition and arrangement of more music for the tuba than any other single source.  The program will premiere great new music by TTTE Alumni Bill Cherry, Ben McMillan, Jon Oliver and Joe Murphy.

At 8:00p.m. the TTU WIND ENSEMBLE under the direction of  Professor Joseph Hermann, will present the World Premiere of EUPHONIUM CONCERTO by Professor Gregory Danner to be performed by TTU Alumnus and member of the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, DC, Bryce Edwards and the World Premiere of TUBA CONCERTO No. 5 by Dr. Leroy Osmon to be performed by TTU Alumnus and member of the U.S. Navy Band, Kyle Huron, and a performance of QUINCUNX for tuba/euphonium quartet and wind ensemble by TTTE alumnus Dr. Kenyon Wilson.

The evening concludes at 10:00p.m. with a LATE NIGHT JAZZ TUBA HANG in the  TTU Alumni Building, 705 N. Dixie Ave, Cookeville, featuring the rhythm section from the Modern Jazz Tuba Project with TTTE tuba alumni Joe Murphy and Richard Perry.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2016 is the TTU HOMECOMING 2016 for those Tennessee Tech alumni who want to hang for all the festivities with the marching band, parades and football game.  There will be an evening banquet for all the Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble alumni and invited guests.

Other than the closing banquet all other activities are open to the public free of charge and every one is most cordially invited to join with us as we celebrate 50 years of Tuba/Euphonium Music