The first Friday of May is designated as International Tuba Day thanks to then high schooler Joel Day back in 1979 while attending Lower Merion H.S. in a suburb of Philadelphia. He made up fifty percent of his band’s tuba section and finding a lack of respect among fellow bandmates, decided to set aside a day of recognition for their contributions and sacrifices made when playing the behemoth instrument. Continuing his higher education at Millersville University, what was a national day soon turned into an international event under his tutelage.

The sousaphone in Sousa’s Band and their players perhaps took some of the spotlight away from those who actually played tuba in the band until in the later years, only sousaphones were utilized. Prior to the sousaphone’s invention, the great Herman Conrad coming from Gilmore’s Band played tuba and was occasionally featured in works highlighting each first chair musician in elaborate theme and variation compositions. This J.W. Pepper ad on the verso of an 1898 Sousa Band program still lists Conrad as BBb Bass although being the well-established sousaphone virtuoso by this time. [Fig. 1]

This business card-size 1893 photograph of Sousa’s Band features a helicon and two tubas most likely played by Herman Conrad, Eldon Baker, and William Jeschka. The inset image is of clarinetist Chet Bronson who perhaps made duplicates for professional purposes? [Fig. 2]

The clarity of this 1898 photograph is so great that “Sousa” can be seen engraved into the stack of the Conn sousaphone played by Herman Conrad. Joining him are tubas August Helleberg, Sr., Domenico Mirenda, and Horace Seavey. [Fig. 3] The Helleberg name was a dynasty of sorts among tubists in Sousa’s Band as sons August, Jr., and John also played for Sousa but apparently never at the same time.

This famous 1900 image of Sousa’s Band from Hamburg, Germany, features newcomer Luca Del Negro to the tuba section along with August Helleberg, Sr., and Horace Seavey and Herman Conrad on sousaphone. [Fig. 4]

Luca Del Negro played from 1900-1908 as well as the radio broadcasts of 1929. He also performed with both Innes’ and Conway’s Bands. His son Ferdinand, was a 43-year veteran bassoonist and contrabassoonist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This handsome image of Del Negro and his tuba was used as advertising on a series of C.G. Conn postcards. [Fig. 5] This 1907 partial program from the famous Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD features Mr. Del Negro in a rare solo performance. [Fig. 6]

While some gaps exist in Sousa Band personnel and instrumentation records; circa 1904-05, the tuba/sousaphone section increased to five players based on this image appearing in a Sousa Band promotional booklet. {Fig. 7]

Of all the photographs of Sousa’s Band, the image taken on March 31st, 1911, in Johannesburg, South Africa is my favorite. Due to the length of the World Tour, many Sousa ‘regulars’ begged off this trip while creating unique performance and travel opportunities for others. The tuba and sousaphone section on this journey included from l. to r.: Arthur Storch, Emil Mix, Arthur Griswold, and August Helleberg, Jr. [Fig. 8]

Emil Mix performed in Sousa’s Band during the tours of 1910 as well as the 1911 World Tour. While a Sousa Band member for a relatively short period of time, his impact and presence were lasting ones as he not only met, fell in love with, and married violin soloist Nicoline Zedeler in 1912, Mix along with a few others, documented the World Tour in hundreds of photographic images as well as four moving pictures. Following his career, with Sousa, he compiled a distinguished resume of top professional bands and orchestras and even managed both the New York Symphony and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras and it is in this latter capacity, I close with this amusing story that shows off Mr. Sousa’s artistic temper toward his former tuba player!

In 2013, I was most fortunate to acquire a large portion of the Mix estate collection of materials pertaining to both Emil and Nicoline’s (nee Zedeler) careers with Sousa’s Band. Mr. Sousa stayed in contact with both over the years and within this archive was this fiery epistle to Mrs. Mix upon Mr. Sousa’s learning of Emil’s plan to cherry-pick key position Sousa musicians for a new orchestral venture! As Mr. Sousa’s handwriting is tricky in calmer times to decipher, here is the original followed by the transcription. [Fig. 9]

October 11th, 1927

Dear Nicoline,

I am sorry you did not hear the evening concert. I was under the impression you did for I asked Mr. Askin whether he gave the tickets out he said only six were asked for.

I want you to give that husband of yours a good scolding. He wrote me that a gentleman named Foch who is to conduct a new orchestra commissioned him to write me to let off ten of my players. That husband of yours should have told this gentleman named Foch that my organization is more important in the musical world than all of the Symphony Orchestras combined, that it has made five tours of Europe and once around the world, isn’t subsidized and is beloved of the world.

When I received that letter from Mr. Mix I almost fainted. I could understand some long-haired goggle-eyes fiddler claiming attention for an embryonic orchestra against our organization but I couldn’t adjust my brain pain to think that a healthy, red-blooded, Athletic American like your husband would ever depart from his love for me, by asking me to commit hari-kari to help out the birth of a mere symphony orchestra.

Sorrowfully,
John Philip Sousa

Happy International Tuba Day everyone!