Teach me about tuba conferences

[russiantuba]

Pretty sure if I had a dime for every time I heard “The Ride”, “Fountains”, or Prokofiev’s 5th played in the elephant room, I would have enough to pay off my student loan balance.

At the last one in Tennessee that I visited, there was a group of individuals that I am pretty sure had not showered in a week nor used deodorant. From what I’ve heard from others, this occurs at least once a conference, but I had not experienced it until then.

I enjoy playing at them, hearing my friends play and discovering new music. If you are a student looking at programs to do undergraduate or graduate studies, hearing some of the ensembles and meeting the professors is a great way to save on some gas, and more importantly, interact with them “in the wild”.

[bloke]

I would play any of those (and all of those, probably) on any contrabass tuba that I was considering buying, but I wouldn't just bop around a room full of them and try those excerpts on all of them, because I could first play a few short mezzo forte passages on any of them and already know whether any of them were worthy of serious testing.

Bathing and deodorant? Tuba players? pshaw!

[scottw]

Perfect!!!
Am I welcome if I'm not an American Citizen? You know, just visiting the country....
Sorry if it's dumb question.

Robson,
2 parts to complete to gain access: This is from last year, but remain the same year to year. A great conference, I won't miss it each year. Hope this helps!
scottw

TUSAB-TEW—2025 forms
https://home.army.mil/jbmhh/2316/7509/8 ... 90-16x.pdf
This is the installation access request form.
Look at section #11--check the box for foreign national and submit the information required. I have no idea beyond that point what you will need to gain access.

https://pass.aie.army.mil/JBMHH/
This is the Automated Installation Entry (AIE) Visitor Website--this is submitted and they send back a temporary visitor pass good for the day requested
When we go to the visitor sign-in trailer, we get a pass for all 4 days.
Do not submit this more than 15 days before arrival date.
______________________________________________________________



https://www.facebook.com/TUSABTEW/

[tubamarc8891]

My favorite is the US Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop at Ft. Myer in Arlington, VA. It is free, three and a half days, and occurs the first weekend in February. Parking is free and you can also tour DC when you're in town.

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

[bloke]

My favorite is the US Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop at Ft. Myer in Arlington, VA. It is free, three and a half days, and occurs the first weekend in February. Parking is free and you can also tour DC when you're in town.

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

yeah...
Though I made some sarcastic remarks, the Army one is the best.
It's really difficult for me to go to/display at any of them anymore, but that's the one I would consider first.

[tubamarc8891]

My favorite is the US Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop at Ft. Myer in Arlington, VA. It is free, three and a half days, and occurs the first weekend in February. Parking is free and you can also tour DC when you're in town.

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

yeah...
Though I made some sarcastic remarks, the Army one is the best.
It's really difficult for me to go to/display at any of them anymore, but that's the one I would consider first.

Understandable. All tuba conferences have similar tropes that are very overdone. What types of presentations or performances would you like to see that you haven’t or don’t often see at these conferences?

Side note- I, for one, think we should have a “Ride” jar in the elephant room where if you get caught playing that excerpt you have to put $5 in. Proceeds go towards an open bar after the grand concert.

[Robson]

TUSAB-TEW—2025 forms
https://home.army.mil/jbmhh/2316/7509/8 ... 90-16x.pdf

Unhappily this link is not working for me....

https://pass.aie.army.mil/JBMHH/
This is the Automated Installation Entry (AIE) Visitor

When I click on the Non US Citizen option, that's the message that I receive...

"For issues processing your pass, please contact the Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall (JBM-HH) Visitor Control Center during normal operating hours:

Monday thru Friday: 0600-1700
Saturday 1000-1500
Phone: (703) 696-0186 / 0185

For assistance regarding webpage issues, please contact the AIE helpdesk at: aiehelpdesk1@gdit.com"

[Robson]

My favorite is the US Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop at Ft. Myer in Arlington, VA. It is free, three and a half days, and occurs the first weekend in February. Parking is free and you can also tour DC when you're in town.

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

Thank you so much for your answer!
Can you confirm if a foreigner can attend the workshop?

[tubamarc8891]

My favorite is the US Army Tuba Euphonium Workshop at Ft. Myer in Arlington, VA. It is free, three and a half days, and occurs the first weekend in February. Parking is free and you can also tour DC when you're in town.

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

Thank you so much for your answer!
Can you confirm if a foreigner can attend the workshop?

It is possible. I honestly can’t remember precisely what our foreign guests had to do to other than bring multiple forms of ID. I can look that up for you. It’s in an email somewhere. The only other thing is you would need someone from the band to escort you to the visitor center the first time you come on post to get your visitor pass. After that you’d be free to come and go.

[scottw]

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

Thank you so much for your answer!
Can you confirm if a foreigner can attend the workshop?

It is possible. I honestly can’t remember precisely what our foreign guests had to do to other than bring multiple forms of ID. I can look that up for you. It’s in an email somewhere. The only other thing is you would need someone from the band to escort you to the visitor center the first time you come on post to get your visitor pass. After that you’d be free to come and go.

I had that problem years ago the first time I attended with my friend from Minnesota. His ID was faulty [non Real-ID, no extension for Minnesota] Dave or Adam had us meet him at 7-11 up the street and he drove Paul onto the base each day. Wonderful courtesy.
Lots of foreigners present, so there has to be a mechanism for them to get clearance. The website is not too nimble, nor is it always working correctly, so keep trying as the date gets closer.
scottw

[Robson]

So cool to see how much support our workshop has! Looking forward to providing another great one in 2026!

Thank you so much for your answer!
Can you confirm if a foreigner can attend the workshop?

It is possible. I honestly can’t remember precisely what our foreign guests had to do to other than bring multiple forms of ID. I can look that up for you. It’s in an email somewhere. The only other thing is you would need someone from the band to escort you to the visitor center the first time you come on post to get your visitor pass. After that you’d be free to come and go.

You are the best!
Thank you so much!!!