Including YouTube phenom Øystein Baadsvik
Brigham Young University’s School of Music presents OcTUBAfest, an annual four-day festival of horn music, Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 22-25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center.
Admission to all events is free.
The festival will begin with BYU faculty member Steve Call’s 30-year anniversary recital. He will perform a mostly jazz recital with selections for tuba, euphonium and piano, highlighting works by George Gershwin and Duke Ellington, including tunes from “Porgy and Bess” and “Our Love is Here to Stay” by Gershwin. The recital will also feature “In a Mellow Tune,” “Caravan” and “Perdido” by Ellington.
Call will be joined by BYU faculty members Ray Smith on the saxophone, Ron Brough on the drums and Mark Ammons on the trombone. He will also be accompanied by members of his trio, Joshua Payne on the guitar and Dave Wilbur on the bass.
Thursday’s concert will feature a student tuba and euphonium recital including solo and small ensemble repertoire.
Øystein Baadsvik, a celebrated Norwegian tuba soloist, will be featured at Friday’s guest recital, along with the Utah Premiere Brass, a 32-piece British-style brass band, conducted by guest conductor Todd Fiegel. Together they will perform “Variation on Carnival of Venice” by Arban, “Arioso” by J.S. Bach, as well as Baadsvik’s original jazz-rock composition “Fnugg Blue.”
“Øystein Baadsvik sings and plays at the same time in his signature piece that has had more than a thousand hits on YouTube videos,” said Call. “He’s the closest thing to a rock star that the tuba world has.”
Baadsvik is distinguished as a tuba player who created a career exclusively as a soloist rather than becoming a member of an orchestra or accepting a teaching position. His multifaceted musical career as a soloist, chamber musician and recording artist has taken him all over the world.
The BYU tuba studio will join the Utah Premiere Brass in the old American march, “Them Basses” by G.H. Huffine, highlighting the tuba section.
The festival will conclude with the Grand OcTUBAfest Concert Saturday, featuring the BYU Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble and guest artist Baadsvik. The first half of the evening will highlight a variety of classical, jazz and pop selections performed by the Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble. Selections will include “Power” by John Stevens, “The Pink Panther” by Henry Mancini and “Allegro” from “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” by Mozart.
In the second half of the concert, Baadsvik will present several selections including “Concert for Tuba” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
For more information, contact Steve Call at (801) 422-6116.
Writer: Angela Fischer
