Perry Fine Arts has announced the 37th annual William Bell Memorial Tuba and Euphonium Day clinic and concert will be held Saturday, Nov. 7 at the First United Methodist Church at 1100 Third St. in Perry.
The annual event is held in memory of William Bell (1902-1971), world-renowned tubist and noted performer, composer and teacher. Born in Creston, Bell retired and later died in Perry.
Anyone interested in playing in the Nov. 7 tuba and euphonium ensemble should register between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. at the church.
The event is open to all ages, and participants should bring their instruments, music stands and registration fees, which are $10 for students and $15 for adults, to be collected the day of the performance.
Rehearsal will begin at 1 p.m., followed by a clinic and performance at 3 p.m. and a free public concert at 4 p.m. The First United Methodist Church is handicapped accessible.
A door prize will also be given at the public performance: a free night’s stay in the William Bell room at the Hotel Pattee, compliments of Jay Hartz and the Hotel Pattee. You must be present to win.
A memorial performance will also be held at Bell’s grave site in Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry from 5:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., followed by a meal and a chance for performers to socialize and plan next year’s event.
This year’s featured clinician is Dr. Jesse Orth. He has returned to his Midwestern roots with his recent appointment as instructor of tuba and euphonium at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches applied tuba and euphonium lessons, directs the UNITUBA ensemble and coaches chamber music ensembles.
Orth recently moved from Texas, where he earned both his masters and doctorate in tuba performance at the University of North Texas. He has performed and taught across the U.S. and in Germany, Hungary, England, Ireland, Brazil and Ghana.
Orth has most recently performed solo recitals at the 2015 South Central, Midwest and Great Plains regional tuba euphonium conferences. As a chamber musician he has performed at the 2015 Great Plains conference with the Impact Brass Quintet and at the 2014 ITEC and the 2013 South Central Regional ITEA Conference with the Fat Bottomed Brass Tuba Euphonium Quartet.
In 2011 Orth served as a guest artist and faculty member at the Second International Festival of Classical Music in Piracicaba, Brazil, with the UNT Center Brass Quintet, now the Impact Brass Quintet. He has previously held performance positions with the Lone Star Wind Orchestra, Dallas Civic Wind ensemble, the Metropolitan winds of Dallas and the Chippewa Valley Symphony.
In the Lone Star Wind Orchestra and the University of North Texas Wind Symphony, under the direction of Eugene Corporon, Orth performed and recorded as principal tubist on multiple projects, including the educational series, “Teaching Music through Performance in Band.”
For more information or to RSVP, contact Chad Thompson by mail at 4420 73rd Pl., Urbandale, IA 50322, by telephone at 515-999-0268 or by e-mail at chad_thompson@mac.com. For more information about the William Bell Memorial Tuba and Euphonium Day, visit www.tubaday.org.
