Five days a week, just past the crack of dawn, you can see them coming from all corners of campus, awkwardly misshapen packages in tow. Though it's early, as soon as the family of 18 congregates, the joking, giggling and snickering commences. A silent signal from the man in front tells them it's time to make love ... to their tubas, that is.
Synchronically, 18 tubas stand to attention and something magical happens. A wave of toots, rumbles and hums crash through the small recital hall, meeting somewhere in the middle to form a mesmerizing melody. Their songs tell stories of triumph and tales of defeat. They are the ASU Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble - a little bit of silly and lot of dedication and talent.
Next week, along with more than 50 universities across the country, the ensemble will celebrate a special tradition known as Octubafest. The weeklong festival of tubas spread across the country in the 1970s to raise awareness of the instrument. Over the years, its events have become some of ASU's most attended recitals.
"It's this funny thing that's really grown," says music professor Sam Pilafian, who directs the ensemble. "[The tuba] is what they call a support instrument. It's payback time [for other musicians]. They need us."
Pilafian has been teaching at ASU for 10 years and says every year Octubafest gets crazier. It now requires a week of events just to showcase all of the talented students. Each student - 12 tuba players and six euphonium (the smallest tuba) players - will have a solo recital, culminated by a party unlike any other on Halloween.
This year there will be two special performances by two students who composed original pieces for their solos. Curtis Peacock, a first-year orchestral performance master's student, will perform his first original piece Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The 10-minute piece is "a set of miniatures - short, abstract pieces" for a tuba and piano.
"The actual writing of the piece, formulating it in my mind took only a couple of days, but putting it down on paper took months," Peacock says. "It's dark, but that's because of the dark political world right now."
The festival also includes guest soloists, including "A night in Canada" with featured performer John Griffiths Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the music building's recital hall (E510). Griffiths, who used to be a Canadian Mountie, is making a repeat performance at ASU and will play music from all Canadian composers.
After a busy yet rewarding week of performances, by Friday the ensemble is ready to let loose. Enter Octubaween, "a program in which anything can happen," Pilafian says. Basically, he says, the group recital is turned into a theater program with shadow plays, theater pieces and short vignettes. The ASU Marching Band's sousaphone players also come to join in the fun. Players and audience members come dressed in costume, and there are always gallons of candy to go around.
"The last night gets wilder every year," Pilafian says jokingly. "It's completely student-run because I don't want to get fired; who knows what they're going to do. It's fantastic stress-reduction for my studio right in the middle of the semester. While other students are stressing out, they're having a ball."
For the second year, music education senior Bill Staub will try to conduct the mayhem. Staub, who plans to dress as "one of the 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' guys," says Octubaween is more of a variety show than a concert, with skits and musicians letting their hair down and going wild. Pilafian agrees.
Octubafest, Oct. 25-31. Free admission. Call 480-965-TUNE for full schedule.
"[The tuba] is a very playful, very fun instrument," Pilafian says. "When we all get together there's some kind of fun that's going to break out."
Past Octubaweens have been host to skits such as "Tuba on the Roof," "My Fair Tuba," and "Phantom of the Tuba." This year there are many important decisions to be made at the show, Staub says, including who will win "Tuba Jeopardy," who will be named "American Tuba Idol," and which lucky tuba player will get a special makeover. As the anticipation mounts and the competition gets stiff, one thing is always guaranteed: Octubaween doesn't end until after the end-of-concert bratwurst bash.
"Every year we look forward to it," Staub says. "The group is really talented. We're a really tight studio."
And that's the plan. Five years ago, Pilafian developed a method for creating an amazing tuba ensemble. The secret was letting the students choose their co-players. Each year anywhere from 100 to 200 people apply for one or two open positions in the group. Each current member participates in the selection process, choosing the best-suited people whom they think will fit in with the group. It's been said that the family that plays together stays together. In this case, it couldn't be truer.
"The chemistry is amazing," Pilafian says. "They don't compete with each other, but they don't want to let each other down ... it's like family."
Reach the reporter at jaime.schneider@asu.edu.
