Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Festival
Encyclopedia
The Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival ("Falcone Festival" or simply "Falcone" for short) is an amateur tuba
and euphonium
festival and competition, held annually the second week in August at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
at Twin Lake, Michigan
.
(b. 1899 Roseto Valfortore, Italy, d. 1985 East Lansing Michigan) was a longtime director of bands and professor at Michigan State University
who taught, performed and recorded as a master of the baritone horn
and a pioneer of euphonium
artistry. The festival was founded by former Falcone students in 1986, to honor his memory. Among its stated goals are to enhance the repertoire of the euphonium and tuba through the commissioning of new works, to promote outstanding artistry on these instruments, and to encourage young people to study them.
Over the years, the Festival has become highly competitive and visible; it is among the most prestigious amateur competitions for both the tuba and euphonium, and arguably the most prestigious annual competition.
Presently, there are four divisions: Student Tuba and Student Euphonium, for players age 20 and younger, and Artist Tuba and Artist Euphonium, for amateur players of any age¹, though in reality this translates to college students, mostly at the graduate level.
¹The official rules of eligibility state that "[p]articipants must not be a [sic] full-time paid professional (trombone, euphonium, or tuba) in either a performance position or a college teaching position." http://www.falconefestival.org/elig2.html
Repertoire for all divisions may be found and ordered off of the festival web sitehttp://www.falconefestival.org/.
Players seeking to enter the festival must submit a recording via tape or CD of themselves, with piano accompaniment, performing the preliminary-round piece. Recordings must be submitted by March 31; following this, a panel of adjudicators listens to the recordings, which are anonymous, and selects 6 (Student) or 10 (Artist) players from each Division to invite to the competition, as well as anywhere from 0-3 alternates for each division.
Once at the competition, all the players must perform both the semifinal-round accompanied and unaccompanied pieces. The semifinal round is not open to public viewing. The judges at the festival, who are usually among the most prominent tuba and euphonium artists in the country, then select three players from each Division to advance to the final round, which is open to the public. After these players have performed the final-round piece, the judges announce first, second, and third place winners for each Division.
Euphoniumists
Tubists
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
and euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
festival and competition, held annually the second week in August at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp is a Michigan non-profit organization located in the Manistee National Forest that provides summer fine arts camp and international exchange programs in music, art, dance and drama.-Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp:...
at Twin Lake, Michigan
Twin Lake, Michigan
Twin Lake is an unincorporated community in Muskegon County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes. Local government services are provided by Dalton Township. As of the 2000 census, the community population was 1,613...
.
Origin and goals of the festival
Leonard FalconeLeonard Falcone
Leonard Falcone was best known as Professor of Baritone and Euphonium at Michigan State University where he also served from 1927 to 1967 as Director of Bands. The school's Spartan Marching Band transitioned from an ROTC auxiliary to a nationally known Big-10 conference marching band during his...
(b. 1899 Roseto Valfortore, Italy, d. 1985 East Lansing Michigan) was a longtime director of bands and professor at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
who taught, performed and recorded as a master of the baritone horn
Baritone horn
The baritone horn is a member of the brass instrument family. The baritone horn has a predominantly cylindrical bore as do the trumpet and trombone. A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium, although it is a bit smaller. Some baritone mouthpieces will sink...
and a pioneer of euphonium
Euphonium
The euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
artistry. The festival was founded by former Falcone students in 1986, to honor his memory. Among its stated goals are to enhance the repertoire of the euphonium and tuba through the commissioning of new works, to promote outstanding artistry on these instruments, and to encourage young people to study them.
Over the years, the Festival has become highly competitive and visible; it is among the most prestigious amateur competitions for both the tuba and euphonium, and arguably the most prestigious annual competition.
Presently, there are four divisions: Student Tuba and Student Euphonium, for players age 20 and younger, and Artist Tuba and Artist Euphonium, for amateur players of any age¹, though in reality this translates to college students, mostly at the graduate level.
¹The official rules of eligibility state that "[p]articipants must not be a [sic] full-time paid professional (trombone, euphonium, or tuba) in either a performance position or a college teaching position." http://www.falconefestival.org/elig2.html
Developments in the festival
The Falcone Festival has undergone several changes since its inception. Some prominent developments include:- In 1991, the Festival began inviting prominent guest artists to give masterclasses, lessons, and solo recitals, and over the years, numerous new works have been commissioned and premiered at the festival by these artists. It could be said that at this time it truly became a festival, rather than merely a competition. The first such euphonium artist was Brian BowmanBrian BowmanBrian Bowman is a euphonium professor, performer and recording artist notable for having sat lead euphonium in the premier bands of both the United States Navy and the United States Air Force as well as having performed the first euphonium recital at Carnegie Hall.-Education:Brian Bowman was born...
. - In 1996, the Festival added Student and Artist divisions for the tuba in addition to the euphonium.
- In 2003, the number of players admitted to each Student division was lowered from ten to six.
- As of 2007, the requirement that participants in the Student divisions still be in high school has been dropped; the only requirement is that they not have turned 20 by the December 1 following the Festival.
The competition process
For each Division, there is a specific set of repertoire that must be performed, including:- a preliminary audition piece with piano accompaniment
- one or more semifinal-round unaccompanied pieces
- one or more semifinal-round pieces with piano accompaniment
- a final-round piece, often (in the Artist divisions) a major concerto with band or orchestral accompaniment
Repertoire for all divisions may be found and ordered off of the festival web sitehttp://www.falconefestival.org/.
Players seeking to enter the festival must submit a recording via tape or CD of themselves, with piano accompaniment, performing the preliminary-round piece. Recordings must be submitted by March 31; following this, a panel of adjudicators listens to the recordings, which are anonymous, and selects 6 (Student) or 10 (Artist) players from each Division to invite to the competition, as well as anywhere from 0-3 alternates for each division.
Once at the competition, all the players must perform both the semifinal-round accompanied and unaccompanied pieces. The semifinal round is not open to public viewing. The judges at the festival, who are usually among the most prominent tuba and euphonium artists in the country, then select three players from each Division to advance to the final round, which is open to the public. After these players have performed the final-round piece, the judges announce first, second, and third place winners for each Division.
Prestige of the Festival and famous alumni
Many past winners of the Festival's various divisions have gone on to win major performing or teaching jobs. Some well-known Festival alumni include:Euphoniumists
- Angie Hunter, 1986 Artist winner, now instructor at the German Bible Institute in Koenigsfeld, Germany
- Lance LaDuke, 1986 Student winner, now instructor at Duquesne UniversityDuquesne UniversityDuquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
and former principal player with the River City Brass BandRiver City Brass BandThe River City Brass Band is a modified British-style brass band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band performed its first concert on November 21, 1981, with its founder Robert Bernat as conductor. In addition to its accessible performance style, RCBB is renowned for its recordings and... - Matthew Tropman, 1990 Student and 1993 Artist winner, former member of the U.S. Marine Band, now instructor at Eastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
and Executive Director of the Brass Band of Battle Creek - David Thornton, 1994 Student winner, now principal player with the Black Dyke BandBlack Dyke BandThe Black Dyke Band, formerly the Black Dyke Mills Band, is one of the oldest and best-known brass bands in the world. The band has won many prizes and competitions over the years...
- Adam Frey, 1997 Artist winner, now instructor at Emory UniversityEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and Georgia State UniversityGeorgia State UniversityGeorgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
and a freelance soloist - Dr. Benjamin Pierce, 1998 Artist winner, now professor at the University of ArkansasUniversity of ArkansasThe University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
- Mark Jenkins, 1996 Student and 2000 Artist winner, currently euphoniumist with the "President's Own" Marine Band in Washington, D.C.
- Matthew Murchison, 1997 Student and 2001 Artist winner, now acting principal euphonium of the River City Brass BandRiver City Brass BandThe River City Brass Band is a modified British-style brass band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band performed its first concert on November 21, 1981, with its founder Robert Bernat as conductor. In addition to its accessible performance style, RCBB is renowned for its recordings and...
and a freelance soloist - Ryan McGeorge, 2003 Artist winner, currently euphoniumist with the "President's Own" Marine Band in Washington, D.C.
Tubists
- Joseph Skillen, 1997 Artist winner, now associate professor at Louisiana State UniversityLouisiana State UniversityLouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
- Dr. Charles Guy, 1999 Artist winner, now professor at the State University of New York at PotsdamState University of New York at PotsdamThe State University of New York at Potsdam, also known as SUNY Potsdam, or, colloquially, Potsdam, is a public university located in the Village of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York. Founded in 1816, it is among the 50 oldest colleges in the United States...
- Carolyn JantschCarol JantschCarol Jantsch is an American tuba player. She is the daughter of a medical doctor and a Kenyon College vocal-music teacher, Nancy Jantsch. She began to study piano at age 6, and the euphonium at age 9...
, 2000 Student and 2004 Artist winner, principal tuba of the Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900... - Dr. Benjamin Pierce, 2001 Artist winner, now professor at the University of ArkansasUniversity of ArkansasThe University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...