For this blog post, we are featuring a euphonium player from the other side of the world. Jo Stephenson is British but is an Australian citizen and lives in Australia. She is the solo euphonium of the Canberra Brass Band, we used to sit next to each other many years ago when we both played for the GUS Band, and I have witnessed her amazing clarinet playing as well!!
Before reading her interview, you MUST listen to her playing! 🎵
I hope you enjoy reading her interview!
Do you have a favourite composer or piece of classical or brass music?
I don’t really have favourites, but there’s a fair few standout brass band test pieces – they stick out either due to the amount of time I’ve had to put into them, or for just generally being great pieces! You usually can’t go wrong with a test piece by Phillip Sparke or Peter Graham. Standout pieces for me include, Year of the Dragon which I’ve played in both concert band and brass band and Harmony Music. I also have fond memories of playing Extreme Makeover by Johan De Meij in a concert band – when I finally played it in a brass band, I was rather disappointed that I still didn’t get to play the bottles!
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?
Oh sooo many unique experiences - banding really defined my youth, especially the travel and the friendships made through music. I’ve been lucky enough to go on band tours all over Europe and play in some amazing venues. You’ll be shocked to hear that Butlins in Skegness does not rank in my list of top venues however! Now I get to play in venues across Australia too.
Because you asked for a funny story – my brass band at the time was hired to play at a wedding in a small village in France – bus left the UK at 5am. Being 18 at the time, we thought it would be a great idea to go on a night out and get the bus at the end of the night & hopefully wake up in France… we did wake up in France, but let’s say getting through the wedding ceremony and following reception was quite the challenge!
Bonus fact – I’ve played a clarinet solo in two separate brass bands!
What 3 songs do you love the most and why?
Ah this is a difficult question as I don’t really have favourite songs, and I have an extremely varied non-band music taste! If I like a song, I’ll probably listen to it on repeat until I’m bored of it… top played on my Spotify at the moment is some new Cat Empire stuff, Scandinavian power metal (it's good at the gym!) and I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan!
Tell us about some of your achievements as a euphonium player and musician.
When thinking of an answer to this question, I nearly thought “I haven’t really achieved anything musically lately” which is really not true but based on the fact that I’ve been prioritising my (non-music) career over the last few years. I’ve still got a ton of music achievements!
Up until about 3 years ago I was a baritone player, very comfortable on first baritone – never having really played euphonium or held a principal euphonium position. I may have even made the comment that “I’m a baritone player and will never play euphonium”. Now I even have my own euphonium!
I moved to euphonium to challenge myself and, wow, what a (rewarding) challenge it has been! Sitting in the top chair is a really different experience from being in the middle of the band on baritone – the pressure is high constantly and there’s always a ton of solos in test pieces. This year my band, Canberra Brass, played Dances and Arias as our own choice test piece in the Australian National Band Championships – playing the solo for me was a huge deal as it felt like my first “real big solo” as a euphonium player. Overall, I was really proud of my performance (and for holding my nerve!). On to the next one!
What would you still like to achieve in your life, musical or not musical?
Oh so much! Too much to fit into a lifetime probably…
Musically wise, I would like to continue to grow into the euphonium (I’m still surprised how much more air it takes than the baritone!). I would like to nail some more juicy test piece solos and maybe at some point do solo competitions again. I would like to teach again when I’m less busy and mentor more junior players. I’ve also started feeling a bit of a pull towards learning to conduct, so I might explore this in my future.
How did you first get involved in music, and what was your early inspiration?
I actually started as a musician learning the clarinet (which explains my clarinet comment earlier!). It was only when my brother started playing trumpet/cornet and joined a brass band, I got jealous, so got passed a baritone in a local village band, and never looked back! After that I was lucky enough to live near some really awesome youth bands (Youth Brass 2000, Northants County Youth Brass & Concert band, National Youth Brass Band GB) which kept me really engaged in music all through my youth. As a teenager I always dreamed of playing in a UK championship band one day, so it really was a highlight playing 1st baritone in the GUS band along-side some inspiring musicians! I also love contesting – it really gives me a push to improve my playing and listening to the top bands is always super inspiring.
Do you have a website, business, or social media page you would like to promote? Please tell us all about it.
Oh no I actually don’t! I sometimes think I should make a social media practice diary or something. I’ll instead take this opportunity to plug my current bands.
I play with the Canberra Brass Band in Australia – if anyone in Canberra is reading this and wants to join – please reach out! We have three bands, a contesting band, non-contesting band and a training band. https://www.canberrabrass.org.au/ (or on Facebook / Instagram)
I’ve also played in the Australian Wind Symphony for the last 9 years, which has been fantastic – there’s some really amazing wind symphony music out there.
You can listen to us here:
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?
Definitely. I think people are still surprised to see a woman playing a larger brass instrument. I’ve had multiple comments to this end through my musical career, many well-meaning but delivered poorly with sexist undertones. It used to make me sad as a young girl to think that I would never be able to play in the top brass bands due to my gender. I’m so glad this has changed.
Fighting for equality & diversity is exhausting and time consuming so I would love to see male allies continue to support women in more stereotypically masculine areas. Thanks to all the people who have supported me in my musical career reading this!
What piece of advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?
Oh this is a good one – I think, always have a growth mindset – most things can be achieved with consistency over time. The consistency gets hard when life gets busy – keep going! Also – if something makes you nervous, acknowledge it, and do it anyway.
What piece of advice would you give to young brass players (or any instrumentalists) to help them find success?
I can’t remember where I heard these from, but they’ve stuck with me. For overcoming nerves – remember that brass instruments work on air – breath! And, if you’re going to play in the wrong place or play a wrong note, at least do it with confidence! – i.e. don’t be nervous about making mistakes (even with the scariest of conductors.).
A big THANK YOU to Jo for being interviewed in this blog series!
I hope you enjoyed reading the interview, please share it, like and subscribe and look out for the next one very soon!
To return to the overview page to see who is next to be featured, just CLICK HERE!
Mark Glover
8/11/24
I was surprised by Jo's comment: It used to make me sad as a young girl to think that I would never be able to play in the top brass bands due to my gender. I'm 73, retired and bought a euphonium as a hobby when I was 68. I'm progressing steadily under Mark's guidance and working on Grade 7. I've attended Brass Band Summer School four times. As a newcomer, I haven't noticed shades of sexism in the banding community. More ladies play the horn, and more guys play the tuba, and sure, that reflects the size and weight of the instrument.
Banding (like football, cricket, marathons, and golf) was once an all-male domain. Thanks to the inspired playing by…