Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Festival
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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.
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[edit] Origin and goals of the festival
Leonard Falcone was a pioneer of euphonium artistry and a longtime professor at Michigan State University; the festival was founded by former Falcone students in 1986, the year after his death, 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." [1]
[edit] 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.
- 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.
[edit] 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 site[2].
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 0-2 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.
[edit] 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 University and former principal player with the River City Brass Band
- Matthew Tropman, 1990 Student and 1993 Artist winner, former member of the U.S. Marine Band, now instructor at Eastern Michigan University and Executive Director of the Brass Band of Battle Creek
- David Thornton, 1994 Artist winner, now principal player with the Black Dyke Band
- Adam Frey, 1997 Artist winner, now instructor at Emory University and Georgia State University and a freelance soloist
- Dr. Benjamin Pierce, 1998 Artist winner, now professor at the University of Arkansas
- Matthew Murchison, 1997 Student and 2001 Artist winner, now acting principal euphonium of the River City Brass Band and a freelance soloist
Tubists
- Joseph Skillen, 1997 Artist winner, now associate professor at Louisiana State University
- Dr. Charles Guy, 1999 Artist winner, now professor at the State University of New York at Potsdam
- Carolyn Jantsch, 2000 Student and 2004 Artist winner, newly appointed principal tuba of the Philadelphia Orchestra
- Dr. Benjamin Pierce, 2001 Artist winner, now professor at the University of Arkansas
