Howard Hovey Tuba Day

Larger View Chris Troiano - arranger of Stairway to Heaven for LITQ Larger View The Long Island Tuba Quartet Larger View Chairman, Bill Troiano Larger View The All-Star Student Tuba Ensemble Larger View Massed Tuba Ensemble 2008

SCMEA DAY OF TUBA  
Click Here for this year's festival information.
Click Here for Festival Photos.

Octubafest was conceived by Dr. Harvey Phillips, former professor of tuba at Indiana University in Bloomington. It was his idea to bring more recognition to euphonium and tuba players through public performances of tuba solo and ensemble music featuring college musicians in conjunction with professional artists.

Howard Hovey was the first to implement this concept on a public school level. In 1975, Howard organized the first SCMEA Octubafest. He also organized the event the following year. Four years passed, after that, in which there were no Octubafests held in Suffolk County. In 1980, SCMEA President, Pat Burrows, asked Bill Troiano to take on the task of bringing the Octubafest back to Suffolk County.

The first Octubafest that Bill Troiano chaired, in 1980, was held at Copaigue High School and featured Dr. Harvey Philips as the guest artist. Since then, SCMEA has had a tuba festival every year. The name has changed a few times and the format has changed several times, but the basic concept remains the same. Now called HOWARD HOVEY TUBA DAY, the festival honors the man who brought the tuba legacy to Long Island and who contributed so much in making SCMEA's event so worthwhile.

Bill Troiano believes that the SCMEA festival remains true to the original concept in bringing performances of tuba music to the public and enlightening them as to the capabilities of the instruments. More importantly, doing this at a public school level also helps motivate these students to want to play and love their instruments. Professionals and college students already appreciate what their instruments are capable of and they already love to play. Most young euphonium and tuba students haven't played long enough to really know what it is all about yet. By attending the yearly event, they become familiar hearing and playing music in 4-part tuba ensembles. As they learn that their instruments can take on many roles in playing various voice parts and as they hear professionals play, they become more motivated and begin to develop a sense of what they can accomplish on their instruments, beyond playing background parts in a band.

It must be working, there are an awful lot of public school kids who are excited about euphonium and tuba music in Suffolk County. Long live HOWARD HOVEY TUBA DAY!!

• http://www.longislandtubaquartet.com
• http://forums.chisham.com/
• http://www.iteaonline.org/
• http://www.tubachristmas.com/
• http://www.dillonmusic.com/