Adventures in Louisiana

So it's about three weeks after my recital. Naturally, I'm wondering, "What's next?" I've always had trouble keeping a high level of motivation for long term endeavors. Well, SCRTEC ('Sir-Tech) came around at just the right time.

For those of you who don't know, SCRTEC stands for South Central Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference. It's kind of like the auto show for tuba players... Well actually the regional auto show for tuba players. Every two years ITEC (International Tuba Euphonium Conference) is hosted some where in the world. And in between those years, regional conferences are held all over the USA. It's rumored that next year's ITEC will be back in Bloomington, Indiana on the Indiana University campus.

So anyway, SCRTEC. It was a cool experience; my first tuba conference. There were some great performers who gave inspiring performances. Some of the usual big names were there: Demondrae Thurman, Ben Pierce, and Adam Frey among them. But what inspired me most were some of the people who are not always included in that constant adoration of tuba-euph performance. The first of which was Justin Benavidez. He played a program of Piazzola (Etude No. 3), Tibault (3 Danses), and Romanyhi (Parallels). My favorite was the Romanyhi. It was full of musicality and effortless phrasing. It left me breathless at one point; the second movement I think it was. It was just really good music playing.

Another mesmerizing performance was that of Kevin Wass. He's the Tuba-Euph Prof. at  Texas Tech. He premiered a piece by Carson Cooman called Shadowbook (Three Songs in the Night) written for tuba, clarinet, and piano. It had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the end. The music itself is really interesting. But what made the performance excellent was the intensity of the players. They took on the character of the movements without crossing a line into the overly dramatic. Dr. Wass really showed off  with his abilities to play with so many colors in rapid succession. It was a demanding piece and it didn't seem so hard for Wass.

By far my two favorite performances. 

I wasn't a big fan of the lectures I attended. Between speakers that were too awkward in front of a group of people and straight up boring presentation, I did not leave most sessions with a lot on my mind besides how I could've gotten a beer instead. There was one discussion, however, that really caught my attention and kept it. Joe Skillen, LSU tuba/euph professor, gave a presentation on entrepreneurship in art music. It was enlightening and informative as well as affirming. He's direct but also easy-going; the kind of guy who loves sharing new ideas but also likes putting them into motion. Skillen has a lot of it figured out and I have a lot to learn from him.

One word: Crawfish. 

LSU SCRTEC hosts Brian Gallion and Joe Skillen had a crawfish boil for the attendees and guest artists. First time I've ever eaten crawfish and it definitely won't be the last. It was a lot of work but it was delicious.

Had some gator for the first time at The Chimes, a Louisiana staple. It was really good. Chimes was great for its beer too. It's got a ton of beer on tap (a lot like Ashley's in Ann Arbor but way bigger). Juke Joint IPA was my favorite local beer. It's hoppy but just a little bit sweet, unlike the sharp citrus tastes that IPAs often have. So, it's something a bit different as far as IPAs are concerned but very enjoyable.


Also got to meet Mike the Tiger, official mascot of LSU.