Velvet Brown is a professor of

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

and

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. Prior to joining the faculty at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

in 2003, she taught at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

(Ohio) and

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

(Indiana), and served as an associate director of university bands at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. Brown is currently a member of the

International Tuba Euphonium Association The International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA), founded in 1973 as the Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association (TUBA), is an international organization dedicated to performers, teachers and friends of the tuba and euphonium. The first asso ...

Board of Directors and has served as the secretary of the executive committee for ITEA (2001–2007). She is also a founding board member of the International Women’s Brass Conference. Brown is noted for receiving the 1999–2000 William Fulbright Fellowship Vinciguerra Award. She has had many successful students who have won prestigious playing and teaching positions or become prizewinners at various regional, national and international competitions. Velvet Brown also enjoys a professional career as an international soloist and chamber ensemble performer, recording artist, conductor and orchestral player. She has made regular appearances in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Finland, France, England, Hungary, Slovenia, Russia, Japan, Canada and the United States. Brown is the former principal tubist of the Altoona Symphony Orchestra and the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra. She has served as principal tuba with the River City Brass Band, and as substitute or additional tubist with the

Detroit Symphony The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music ...

Saint Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orc ...

, San Francisco Women’s Philharmonic, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. In 2004, Brown joined Howard Johnson’s “Gravity” Tuba Jazz Ensemble as lead tuba. She has also garnered high praise as a founding and current member of the Monarch Brass Quintet and Brass Ensemble, the Junction Tuba Quartet, and the Pennsylvania Brassworks (Faculty Brass at Penn State). She has released three solo CDs on the

Crystal Records Crystal Records is an American producer and distributor of classical chamber and solo music recordings. The company was founded in 1966 by Peter George Christ (born 1938) and is incorporated in the state of Washington. Christ, who has served as p ...

label and a CD for the Nicolai Music label. Velvet Brown can also be heard on

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record la ...

in her interpretation of

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

’ Tuba Concerto. Her latest CD was released in August 2011. Velvet Brown is a Meinl Weston Performing Artist, performing on the MW 2250 and 2182 F tubas, and the MW 2000 C tuba.

Discography

Solo recordings

* 1998 - ''Velvet Brown, Tuba'' (Crystal), tuba solo and piano * 2001 - ''Music for Velvet'' (Crystal), tuba solo and piano * 2005 - ''Perspectives in Rhythm'' (Crystal), tuba solo and percussion ensemble * 2011 - ''Simply Velvet'' (Potenza), tuba solo and piano

Other recordings

* 2000 - ''Heart of a Wolf'' (Nicolai Music) ** Solo tuba and tuba/euphonium duet * 2003 - ''Monarch Brass'' (2003) ** Monarch Brass Ensemble and Brass Quintet * 2004 - ''New Music From Bowling Green, Vol. 3'' (Albany) **''Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra'' by

with the

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

Philharmonia

References

External links

Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Living people Pennsylvania State University faculty American classical tubists Women tubists West Virginia University alumni African-American musicians Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century tubists Year of birth missing (living people) Bowling Green State University faculty 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century tubists {{US-brass-musician-stub