The 17th annual Octubafest will include six concerts featuring low brass.
Octubafest is putting the low brass instruments in the spotlight rather than putting them on the bass line.
Ohio University is celebrating its 17th annual Octubafest on Oct. 4. Six concerts total will take place throughout October.
This year's Octubafest is more student-oriented and will give students the chance to perform in public early in the year, Jason Roland Smith, the professor of tuba and euphonium, said.
“When we all perform together, no matter how difficult it was to get to where we were with all the hard work we put in, it’s cool that this is our thing,” John Rodesh, a junior studying music education and a euphonium player, said. “We have Octubafest and we also have TubaChristmas. It’s cool at the end of the concert to have that ownership.”
Harvey Phillips started Octubafest in 1974 at Indiana University, and since then it has been celebrated around the world.
“It’s a time when you’re able to play fun stuff,” Andrew Tatman, a junior studying tuba performance, said. “Sitting in a band, you don’t always play the melody or fun part, but in the ensemble, there is a lot of music where you get to play the fun parts.”
Octubafest is a way to show attendees the different styles a tuba can play, said Tatman, and it’s also a way for students to collaborate.
Tatman is playing in the tuba/euphonium ensemble as well as in a small quartet of tubas and euphoniums.
Rodesh, will be playing alongside Tatman in the quartet. Rodesh, who has been in Octubafest ever since first attending OU, said he’s more excited this year because of the small groups.
“We all dictate what goes on. It’s not dictated by a conductor,” he said. “We can be independent with the music. We can express or work through it the way we want to.”
Rodesh added the challenge of a small chamber group is being able to listen to the others rather than being able to focus mainly on a director.
Working alongside others to achieve the same performance goals reflects the meaning of Octubafest, Rodesh said.
“In a cheesy way, that’s the whole overall idea, I think, of Octubafest — it’s camaraderie and education,” he said.
Joan Engel, a senior studying tuba performance, said being a part of Octubafest has become more sentimental over the years because of the meaning behind it. Phillips began Octubafest to help the tuba become more known as a solo instrument and it continues now for the same reason, Engel said.
Rodesh said participating in Octubafest and attending the events is beneficial to him because he’s seeing performances he’ll never be able to see again. He’ll be able to share his experiences with future students.
When people attend the concerts, Rodesh said they tend to leave with a completely different idea of the tuba.
“Those non-music people see it’s just as lyrical, it’s just as classical, its just as elegant, it can be just as beautiful as a violin or any other solo instrument you can think of,” he said.
Engel said she hopes the audience is able to relate to the music being played and uses the time to reflect on their lives.
“Music makes us think about or lives, no matter what kind of music, that’s what music does,” Engel said. “When you come to a classical chamber music recital, you just sit and think about stuff and I think that’s very good for the soul.”
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