Mr. Tuba

9. On Tour with the New York Brass Quintet

166 One time in 1954 the New York Brass Quintet was in Boston to do children’s concerts in Brookline, Massachusetts, for a couple of days. We had an afternoon off and went to Harvard to their little recital hall to rehearse and perform. There was an older gentleman in the hall who turned out to be music publisher Robert King. That’s when we first met him. He was very taken with the group because he had organized a euphonium–tubaquartetinthelate1930s.Heandhisfriendswouldgointo themountainsofNewHampshiretorehearse.Theyintendedtotour.Then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and their plans were all smashed. He had done a lot of research into Purcell’s, Holborne’s, Gabrieli’s, and other Renaissance composers’ brass works. He became an ardent fan of the New YorkBrassQuintetandgaveusacatalogofhispublications,whichwasvery helpful. After the quintet became popular, he sold a lot of music. The last concert of the New York Brass Quintet was in North Easton, Massachusetts, in 1984, in his church. We let him choose the program. I replaced Toby Hanks for that concert. Before the New York Brass Quintet agreed to exclusivity, I played in several brass quintets, including the Metropolitan Brass Quintet. At a On Tour with the New York Brass Quintet CHAPTER NINE 167 On Tour with the New York Brass Quintet school concert in Brooklyn with this group, after our first selection was announced, one player decided it was time to check his instrument to see if there was any water in it. He pulled out and checked each of his slides, which took some time. So, as soon as he was through and ready to play, I started pulling my slides and winked at the other players, who followed my lead and made a big production out of emptying their instruments. It became a big joke for the high school audience. I told them, “Let this be a lesson to you. If you ever play in a brass quintet, make sure you empty your slides before going onstage.” Needless to say, that musician managed to controlhisnervoushabitofemptyinghisslidesonstagefromthatpointon. One day, I received a call from trombonist Arnold Fromme, one of the original enthusiastic Juilliard musicians who helped organize the New York Brass Ensemble. He was helping organize another brass quintet and askedifIwouldplaytubainthegroup;ifIwasn’tavailable,theywouldtake bass trombonist Gil Cohen. I had just pledged allegiance to the New York Brass Quintet and had to say no to Arnold. So he formed his new quintet with a bass trombone instead of tuba. This became the remarkably successful American Brass Quintet and it caused to be created an important library of brass quintet music with that combination of instruments. Our vows of exclusivity were important to the growth of the New York Brass Quintet. We were all busy freelancers and realized that maintaining the quality of our ensemble required commitment and the undivided attention of each player. Keith Brown, trombone, was with the NYBQ for only one year, leaving in the fall of 1959 to join the Philadelphia Orchestra. His playing had a profound effect on the other members of the quintet. It was a very productive year that brought about major decisions. Also, ironically, at the same time,HunterWiley,whohadplayedsecondtromboneandsoloeuphonium with the New York City Ballet Orchestra, announced he was leaving to join the faculty of the University of Tampa. First, I spoke to the personnel manager of the New York City Ballet Orchestra, George Michelmore, who played bass trombone and sat next to me in the orchestra. He was familiar with John Swallow’s playing and agreed that I could offer him the position. Then I spoke with Bob Nagel of the New York Brass Quintet. Bob also was 168 Mr. Tuba familiar with John’s performance and agreed that I would call John about joining the NYBQ. Once I knew that both positions were open and being offeredtoJohn,IcalledhishomeinaChicagosuburbtotellhimwewanted himinNewYorkfortwopositionsthatstartedatthesametimeanddidnot conflict with each other—and the sum of the two positions paid in excess of the Chicago Symphony position which he had just lost. His wife, Wendy, answered the telephone and didn’t believe it was me and thought it was a crank call. She hung up without talking to me. When John arrived home, she told him about the call. He phoned me immediately and cordially accepted. The following week he moved his family into a Long Island apartment. His first assignment was a recording with the quintet titled Two Contemporary Composers: two difficult works by Alec...