Mr. Tuba

11. New England Conservatory of Music

233 In March 1967 I received a call from Gunther Schuller. He told me he had been appointed president of the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston and he was inviting me to work with him as his vice president for financial affairs. I was surprised to hear myself instantaneously accept his invitation. Subconsciously, I reserved putting orderintomyresponseforlater ,notfullyreviewingthereasonswhyIsaidyes right away. I rationalized that having a traditional academic work schedule wouldallowmetospendmoretimewithmyfamily.Buttheprimaryreason I said yes came from our friendship and long association and from my unbounded admiration of Gunther’s achievements. Considering that we had workedonmanyprojectstogether,itwasaquickdecision,butcertainlynot a rash one. At least, that’s how I explained it to Carol when I arrived home that evening and told her we would be moving to Massachusetts. I remembered April 1951, following a New York City Opera performance of Alban Berg’s twelve-tone opera Wozzeck. In the second act of Wozzeck the tuba is featured in an important extended role as a tavern musician in a small, onstage ensemble. After the performance, Gunther and Margie Schuller were waiting at the stage door to congratulate me New England Conservatory of Music CHAPTER ELEVEN 234 Mr. Tuba and the orchestra. Following that evening, I made every effort to attend his lectures and performances. Gunther Schuller, a complete musician, was exciting to be around and exciting to talk to about music. We had worked together on a variety of recordings and other freelance assignments. It just seems we were ever mutually involved in important projects and our careers intermeshed in countless ways. It felt like each day brought new challenges. It was an exciting time. Gunther had no musical prejudices. He was an icon for music of every description.Musically,IfeltsafewithGunther.Personally,wetrustedeach other. These connections and deep mutual respect made me vulnerable to giving up part of an established performance career for one heavily mixed with administrative responsibilities. AsIsoondiscovered,assumingthepositionofvicepresidentforfinancialaffairswasanawesomeundertaking .Theconservatory,forallpractical purposes, was broke. In mid-May Gunther called from Tanglewood and asked if I could arrange to start at NEC on June 1 instead of September 1. He felt it was important that someone from the new administration be at the conservatory through the summer months. I agreed with Gunther and although Carol and I hadn’t yet sold our Englewood house, we managed to rent a furnished house in Needham, Massachusetts. Evenings and weekends we sought realtor assistance for locating a desirable property to purchase in the Boston area. Gunther shared with me during a telephone conversation shortly beforeDonaldHarrisarrivedinAugustthathehadappointedDonaldasvice president for academic affairs. I looked forward to meeting Donald Harris —I picked him up at the airport and he got settled before the 1967–1968 academic year began. Meanwhile, I engaged tubist Toby Hanks to do the New York Brass Quintet’s summer tour of eastern Europe (which I hated to miss) and the summer season of the New York City Ballet at Saratoga, New York. OnJune1,asIwasleavingthehouseinNeedhamformyfirstdayatthe conservatory, Carol wryly asked, “What will you do when you get there, start opening file cabinets?” 235 New England Conservatory of Music I replied, “Yes, exactly, just as soon as I find the conservatory!” I had yet to set foot in the school. Theguardatthefrontentranceoftheconservatorygreetedmethefirst morning I arrived but on following mornings he made sure that he was in a positionwherehewouldnothavetosayhello.Inoticedthesametreatment from the maids, who, if they saw me coming, would make sure their backs were turned as they polished a brass doorknob or dusted a windowsill. Apparently,theschool’sserviceemployeeswereafraidthenewadministration might fire them as part of saving the conservatory. Early on I got to know a student flutist named Jan Gippo. He worked part time at a store featuring select wines. He received an employee discount , which he was able to pass on to me and the conservatory. With his assistance, I preempted the Fourth of July by personally presenting bottles of wine to each of the service employees with whom I had contact. I knew they would enjoy the wine with their respective families and suspected most would not have purchased it themselves. I sent each family a short note wishing them a happy and safe holiday. My morning arrivals went from loud silence to greetings from three or four employees waiting to say, “Good morning, Mr. Phillips!” A smiling guard carried my briefcase upstairs to my office. Gunther was also quick to show his appreciation for the good work of all conservatory employees. Our combined...