OkTUBAfest!

Overview

The Above Average Tuba Quartet storms into the taproom for OcTUBAfest! Enjoy deep music and fabulous Oktoberfest beer on the low down!

The Above Average Tuba Quartet was formed in 2013 by members of the Lake Wobegon© Brass Band. The Euphonium is the “tenor tuba” and plays an octave higher than the larger Bass and Double Bass Tubas. The AATQ has commissioned works from many composers and plays a variety of published works.

Musicians:

Euphoniumist Lee Dummer, who after graduating from Gustavus Adolphus and The Eastman School of Music played with the US Army Band (Pershing’s Own) in Washington DC. You’ll hear him in the Twin Cities with the Lake Wobegon Band and the Medalist Concert Band.

Euphoniumist Ben Bussey is an active member of the upper Midwest music scene. He plays with a trombone ensemble called Paper Clips, and with the Encore Wind Ensemble. He serves on the faculty of the MacPhail Center for Music as a low brass instructor, ensemble clinician, and Partnership Development Representative.

Tubist Dr. Gary Bird, is Professor Emeritus of Music at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and recent winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Tuba and Euphonium Association. He studied with some of the most well-known tubists in the US including Harvey Phillips. Gary’s students can be heard in world-class orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic. Gary is a member of the Sheldon Theater Brass Band, Metro Brass, and the Lake Wobegon Brass Band.

Roger Gomoll, Tuba

Roger Gomoll has been a public radio professional since 1977, with career that included 23 years at MPR and 8 years at PRI. After spending the first half of his life playing trumpet, Roger saw the light and picked up the tuba in 1992. He now plays in the Lake Wobegon Brass Band, the Northern Symphony Orchestra, and in the Ameriikan Poijat Finnish Brass Septet. He is the sole remaining founding member of the AATQ.