Posted by Kenneth Sloan on May 15, 2001 at 09:00:41:
In Reply to: Need advice from tuba teachers posted by Mr T on May 14, 2001 at 16:22:29:
I'm about to be rude. I ask your forgiveness, in advance. Feel free to ignore my advice.
As a "band parent" and a tubist, my first strong reaction to your posting was "these people are about to make a very big, and possibly very expensive, mistake."
You have a band director who you obviously respect and admire. If you have money to support the band program, let him do his job, even if it "ruins the surprise". Ask yourselves - do you want to help the band program, or do you want the pleasure of producing a "surprise"?
You have received lots of good advice (below) on reasonable tubas for a band program. Are you any closer to being able to make the choice with confidence? Are you sure you understand all of the issues, from the band director's point of view? There are any number of idiosyncratic reasons why your band director might prefer one or another of the many good choices that are out there. The band director might also be able to get more "bang for the buck" by dealing as a band director than you can (some sources might give him a better price).
Go ahead - choose one tuba. Find a picture from a catalog and have a beautiful blow-up produced. Then "surprise" the band director by presenting him with a check and the beautiful picture. Then, tell him that it's up to him to handle the details.
Ken "Band Parent who would rather be in the Parents' Band" Sloan