---In one way, this is a sad post, because it is the final one in the series. It could have gone on much, much longer but I hope everyone has been inspired by the interviews and continue to support all the amazing female musicians around the world.---
This however, is not a sad post because for the final one, we have a very special person. Gail Robertson is a highly decorated and distinguished musician with a global reputation as a world leader in low brass education and performance. She is a euphonium player who I have personally learnt a lot from, just by attending a few of her masterclasses and I still use some exercises which I learnt from her in my routine today. She effortlessly explores different styles, including jazz, both as a soloist and chamber musician and I am honoured that she agreed to be interviewed for this blog series.
Before reading her interview, you MUST listen to her playing! 🎵 We are approaching Christmas so this is fitting.
Here is a recording of her playing Carol of the Bells (but not as you know it!) 🔔🎄
I hope you enjoy reading her interview!
Q: Do you have a favorite composer or piece of classical or brass music?
A: Danny Elfman and John Williams would be some of my favorite composers. The way they can personalize a melody for a certain character and set the visual setting through notes is fascinating A favorite brass work or two would be Eduardo Boccalari’s “Fantasia di Concerto” and Barbara York’s “A Caged Bird.”
Q: Have you got any funny stories or unique experiences that you would like to share about any musical projects you have ever been involved in?
A: When I worked at Walt Disney World, I worked in a full-time tuba-euphonium quartet called “The Tubafours”. There were some great musicians in that group such as Willie Clark, Chris Olka, Mike Roylance, Carmen Russo, Pat Glynn, John Allred, Bob Tucker, and many others. You never knew what was in store for you on a daily basis and even more so for special events. I have been dressed like a dead French maid (“Earnest Scared Stupid”), a cheerleader (special event), a cavewoman (Disney’s “Dinosaurs” parade), a hippie (Volkswagen Beetle special event), Arabian bandsmen (Aladdin parade), and even some crazy Davy Crockett mess with just red long johns, hiking boots, and a fur hat (Disney’s Wilderness Lodge). We were dressed as newspaper boys (Disney’s MGM Studios), Bellhops (Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club), and Boy Scouts “Tuba Troop #8822” (Disney’s Animal Kingdom). We also got to perform on “The Bozo Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Star Search” with Ed McMahon, and many more productions.
Q: What 3 (I have 4) songs do you love the most and why?
A: “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang. It is an instant mood changer for me as it was my grandmother, Mamom’s, favorite song. Sometimes I cry and sometimes I just smile too big! She and my mom are why I am who I am. They made things possible for me such as loaning me money for buying instruments. Driving me an hour each week to play bari sax in the All-County Jazz Band and more. My grandparents sold me my first car (a 1977 Volkswagen Dasher).
“Oh Happy Day” by Queen Latifah. This amazing version of this great song brings an instant smile. It has such clever brass background licks and musical transitions. I arranged a special euphonium, tuba and trumpet version of this for Laura Lineberger’s wedding. She’s a hero of mine! I also love that at the very beginning of this Queen Latifah says, “You’ve got your head in the wrong place.” Check it out!
“Carwash” from the movie “Shark Tale” sang by Christina Aguilera. Another instant smile and snapping of your fingers song! The groove in the middle is the best!
“You Make Me Feel Brand New” by the Stylistics. I love any music by this group. The beautiful words, harmonies and the GLOCKENSPIEL!! This brings you “back in time.” I highly suggest that you add “the Stylistics” channel to your favorite playlists!
Q: Tell us about some of your achievements as a euphonium player and musician.
A: I have had a great ride so far. You could say my bucket list has many check marks on it. Playing with Earle Louder for 27 years in Keith Brion’s “New Sousa Band” was the best lessons ever. Working at Disney for 10 years as a full-time musician and arranger playing euphonium, trombone, and marching baritone was my first real gig right out of my MM degree at Indiana University.
Being a full-time member in the Brass Band of Battle Creek for over 20 years (I first subbed with the band in 1997). I have been on the cover of the ITEA journal as a featured artist twice - in Spring 1998 (vol. 25, no. 3) and Fall 2010 (vol. 38, no. 1). I am Euphonium Clinician at the American Band College in Ashland, Oregon. I serve as Principal Euphonium in the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra’s “Blossom Festival Band” each summer.
Recording three CDs, performing, and touring with my SymbiosisDuo buddy, Dr. Stacy Baker. Stacy and I also recorded 20 “Pro Series” pedagogical DVDs for tuba and euphonium. I am a member of the “Monarch Brass,” the “Pinnacle Brass” (Tubist - UCA’s Faculty Brass Quintet), and I teach at the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute and play in “The Summit Brass” with Brian Bowman. Last summer Summit Brass recorded my “Resolute Fanfare.” I performed and recorded with our euphonium heroes in “Symphonia” and “Euphoniums Unlimited” with Winston Morris and friends.
I won the 2016 “Clifford Bevan Award for Excellence in Research” for my paper “Restoring the Euphonium’s Legacy as Cello of the Wind Band.” I served as President of the International Women’s Brass Conference and the International Tuba Euphonium Association (the third woman and the third euphoniumist for ITEA). I am a founding member of the “Athena Brass Band” and the “Brass Band of Central Florida.”
I have had the honor of playing euphonium and bass trumpet with major symphony orchestras, including The Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Sarasota Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. I played bass trombone with “Diva” for a special event in Miami, Florida. I have played in Carnegie Hall twice. Once as a featured soloist with the Purdue Wind Ensemble and this past January with the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing “Lady McBeth.” I received a “University Distinguished Fellowship” from Michigan State University allowing me to complete my DMA in just 20 months. I was chosen as a member of the 4BarsRest 2022-23 “Band of the Year.” I received Tau Beta Sigma’s “Outstanding Service to Music Award,” the second euphoniumist to receive this award. I was awarded the “Partners in Excellence Award” and a “Mouscar Award” from Walt Disney World Company. I am most honored to get to work with so many wonderful students at the University of Central Arkansas, Indiana University, and Boston University.
Whew…writing all of this has made me suddenly tired!
Q: What would you still like to achieve in your life, musical or not musical?
A: This is tricky…I feel blessed with good health and great friends. I am forever surrounded by outstanding musicians and every day feels like a gift. Just talking to someone who means a lot to me on the phone is amazing. I have done so many great things. I used to want to kayak the Nantahala River, but I did that two summers ago! I’d like to record a Jazz Euphonium CD and I have always wanted to wear a red Grenadier uniform, a bearskin hat, and ride a horse with my euphonium. (I already have the jacket and fake hat)!
Q: How did you first get involved in music, and what was your early inspiration?
A: I come from a musical family. My mom played flute and my dad played percussion. My older sister, Nancy, was in band and we attended many of her weekly marching band rehearsals with my mom before we were old enough to be in band. I chose the saxophone after I heard someone play “Turn, Turn, Turn” at a church event. My sister inspired me as an outstanding flute player. I remember taking piano books and she would read the treble line and I covered the bass clef on tuba or euphonium. We loved Scott Joplin the most. An old high school buddy, Diane Martin, was also an excellent musician. We often played duets and she kicked my *#~. I didn’t start playing euphonium until the end of my junior year. I heard my classmate, Don Walters, play Leonard Falcone’s transcription of Klengel’s “Concertino in Bb” and I was hooked. I got to sub on tuba for my band director, Earle Goldstein (also an inspiration), in a semi-professional concert band in South Florida called the “Boca Pops.” The euphoniumist in that band was William G. Wells. My first euphonium hero. He was the uncle of the founders of the Brass Band of Battle Creek, Jim and Bill Gray.
Q: Do you have a website, business, or social media page you would like to promote? Please tell us all about it.
A: I dropped the websites several years ago. It was too much to manage with 25+ College students, running the Jazz Area, and dealing with four email addresses. I’m on Facebook and can be found easily on the web.
Q: Do you agree there are challenges facing female musicians today? If so, what do you think are the biggest changes that need to be made to improve this?
A: I have had a somewhat easy path here. Interestingly, I have been the first and often the only woman in many things I have done and continue to do. Perhaps I have just been bullheaded and didn’t let things bother me or get in my way. (That happens when you are a short kid.) Not too much to complain about. I am happy to have “earned my position in the band” vs. been asked to play so someone can “check off a box.” I dislike being asked to apply for job positions just so they can say “we invited women to apply.” The current trend is to include more women and that is great. We all just need to make sure we are ready for “the call” and that we represent “us” with precision and integrity. Don’t be afraid to say “no” if you are not qualified or ready. We are all currently paving the future for others. Everyone seems to be on a mission to play our music (more diverse composed music) and it has been here for decades and beyond. People should want to perform our music because it is great music. Gender shouldn’t matter.
Q: What piece of advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?
A: I am pleased with my path and it seems to just keep going and going. I guess I could say I have almost surpassed anything I have ever dreamt of doing. I have always treated others as I wanted to be treated. Kindness goes far!
Q: What piece of advice would you give to young brass players (or any instrumentalists) to help them find success?
A: Be reliable and always on time. “Let your instrument do the talking.” Don’t brag. Pick your path and have options along the way. Stick with it, but don’t be afraid if there is a “different exit” to take along the way. I wanted to be a band director living close to my younger brother, Johnny, as he would also be a band director. He was supposed to come to my school and write drill and teach woodwinds and I would go to his school and do the arranging and teach low brass. Neither of us became band directors, but we are both happy in all that we do. I also wanted to be a Marine so I could wear red. I won the job at Disney instead. It was a great “different exit.”
A big THANK YOU to Gail for being interviewed in this blog series! Simply inspirational stuff here and I hope many young musicians heed her expert advice.
I hope you enjoyed reading the interview, please share it, like and subscribe. ❤
To return to the overview page to see the past interviews, just CLICK HERE!
Mark Glover
06/12/24
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