Øystein Baadsvik
Encyclopedia
Biography
He began playing the tuba at the age of fifteen at his school in Trondheim, Norway, and won first prize at eighteen in a Norwegian national competition for soloists.He studied under the tuba player Harvey Phillips
Harvey Phillips
Harvey Phillips was a professor emeritus of the , Indiana University, Bloomington and dedicated advocate for the tuba.-Biography:Phillips was a professional freelance musician from 1950 to 1971, winning his first professional...
and with Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Jacobs was an American orchestral tuba player who was most known as the principal Tubist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1944 until his retirement in 1988....
. Øystein Baadsvik’s international career began in 1991 when he was awarded two prizes at Concours International d’Exécution Musicale in Geneva.
Øystein Baadsvik is known for his master classes and tuba clinics which are frequently held in numerous universities throughout the United States including The Juilliard School, Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
, Shepherd School of Music at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, and the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
. In addition, every October, a tour of various colleges and universities occurs, coinciding with Octubafest, a yearly celebration of tuba
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...
music.
Fnugg
In addition to Baadsvik's notable performance schedule, a cult-like following has begun thanks to postings of his performances on YouTube. One of Baadsvik's most well-known works is Fnugg (Norwegian for something small or a snowflakeSnowflake
Snowflakes are conglomerations of frozen ice crystals which fall through the Earth's atmosphere. They begin as snow crystals which develop when microscopic supercooled cloud droplets freeze. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through...
).
Fnugg was originally written for solo Tuba
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 features a variety of unique performance skills, including "lip beats" and multiphonics. It was later modified, with a major addition for either brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
or concert band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
and was titled Fnugg Blue. His YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
performance of Fnugg Blue was very theatrical in nature, with dancing and clapping from the audience.
CDs
- Tuba Works - 1992 (Simax)
- Tuba Carnival - 2003 (BIS)
- Danzas - 2006 (BIS)
- Kalevi Aho tuba concerto - 2007 (BIS)
- Prelude, Fnugg, and Riffs - 2007 (BIS)
- 20th Century Tuba Concertos - 2008 (BIS)
- 21st Century Tuba Concertos - 2009 (BIS)
- Ferry Tales - 2010 (BIS)