Editing Euphonium

{{short description|Brass instrument}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name = Euphonium
| image = Yamaha Euphonium YEP-621.tif
| background = brass
| classification = [[Wind instrument|Wind]], [[Brass instrument|brass]]
[[Aerophone]]
| hornbostel_sachs = 423.232
| hornbostel_sachs_desc = Valved [[aerophone]] sounded by lip movement
| developed = 1840s from the [[ophicleide]]
| range = <div style="text-align: center; background-color: white;">
  <score lang="lilypond">
    {
      \new Staff \with { \remove "Time_signature_engraver" }
      \clef treble \key c \major ^ \markup "written" \cadenzaOn
      \tweak font-size #-2 \ottava #-1 fis, \finger \markup \text "pedal" \glissando c
      \ottava #0 \arpeggioBracket <des d'''>1 \arpeggio
      \once \hide r1
      \clef bass ^ \markup "sounds"
      \tweak font-size #-2 e,,4 \finger \markup \text "pedal" \glissando bes,,4
      \arpeggioBracket <b,, c''>1 \arpeggio
    }
  </score></div>The B♭ euphonium sounds an octave and a [[major second]] lower than written when notated in treble clef.  It is also notated by its concert pitch in bass clef.{{sfn|Herbert|Myers|Wallace|2019|p=484|loc=Appendix 2: The Ranges of Labrosones}}
| related = * [[Saxhorn]]s
** [[Flugelhorn]]
** [[Tenor Horn]]
** [[Baritone horn]]
* [[Mellophone]]
* [[Ophicleide]]
* [[Sousaphone]]
* [[Tuba]]
}}
{{Brass}}

The '''euphonium''' is a medium-sized, 3- or 4-valve, often [[Tuning compensation|compensating]], [[Bore (wind instruments)|conical-bore]], [[tenor]]-voiced [[brass instrument]] that derives its name from the [[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]] word {{lang|grc|εὔφωνος}} ''euphōnos'',<ref name="Euphonium">{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphonium|title=Euphonium|dictionary=Merriam-Webster|access-date=2012-05-26|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131090408/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphonium|archive-date=31 January 2013}}</ref> meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ({{lang|grc|εὖ}} ''eu'' means "well" or "good" and {{lang|grc|φωνή}} ''phōnē'' means "sound", hence "of good sound"). The euphonium is a valved instrument. Nearly all current models have [[piston valve]]s, though some models with [[rotary valve]]s do exist.

[[Euphonium repertoire|Euphonium music]] may be notated in the bass clef as a non-[[transposing instrument]] or in the treble clef as a transposing instrument in B{{music|flat}}. In British brass bands, it is typically treated as a treble-clef instrument, while in American band music, parts may be written in either [[treble clef]] or bass clef, or both.

A person who plays the euphonium is known as a euphoniumist, a euphonist, a euphophonist or simply a euphonium player.

== Name ==

The euphonium is a member of the large and diverse family of valved bugles, and thus has many relatives among the low brass. The ''[[baritone horn]]'', although similar, has a narrower conical bore, smaller bell, and usually lacks a fourth valve.<ref name="Grove"/> In the US, band scores and even some manufacturers have sometimes treated them as the same instrument, or used the word "baritone" to refer to the euphonium.{{sfn|Bevan|2000|pp=266-268}} As with the cornet and flugelhorn, the two instruments are easily doubled by one player, with some modification of breath and [[embouchure]], since the two have identical range and essentially identical fingering.<ref name="DW">{{cite web| last = Werden| first = David| title = Euphonium, Baritone, or ???| url = http://www.dwerden.com/eu-articles-bareuph.cfm| access-date = 2008-01-29| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080212225121/http://www.dwerden.com/eu-articles-bareuph.cfm| archive-date = 12 February 2008}}</ref>

German inventor Ferdinand Sommer's original name for the instrument was the ''Sommerophone'', but it quickly became known as the ''euphonion''.<ref name="Grove">{{Cite Grove |last=Bevan |first=Clifford |author-link=Clifford Bevan |title=Euphonium |id=09077}}</ref> It is sometimes called the ''tenor tuba'', notably in ''[[The Planets]]'' (1917) by English composer [[Gustav Holst]], although this can also refer to other [[Tuba#Types and construction|varieties of tuba]]. Names in other languages, as included in scores, can be ambiguous as well. They include French ''basse'', ''saxhorn basse'', and ''tuba basse''; German ''Baryton'', ''Tenorbass'', and ''Tenorbasshorn''; Italian ''baritono'', ''bombardino'', ''eufonio'', and ''flicorno basso''.<ref name="Grove"/> The most common German name, ''Baryton'', may have influenced Americans to adopt the name "baritone" for the instrument, due to the influx of German musicians to the United States in the nineteenth century.<ref name="Grove" />

[[File:Yamaha Euphonium YEP-211.tif|thumb|Yamaha bell-forward euphonium, suitable for marching bands]]
Late 19th century American instrument catalogs often listed a euphonium-like instrument as the ''B♭ bass''. The 1894 catalog from [[Lyon & Healy]] depicts it alongside ''B♭ tenor'' and ''B♭ baritone'' instruments of the same pitch and construction, differing only in bore and bell width, and the larger E♭ and BB♭ basses; all with three valves.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lyon & Healy's Band Catalogue |edition=35 |date=1894 |publisher=[[Lyon & Healy]] |pages=39-41 |url= http://www.horn-u-copia.net/books/L&H-1894.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120407064700/http://www.horn-u-copia.net/books/L%26H-1894.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2012 |via=Horn-U-Copia }}</ref> Along the same lines, [[Drum and bugle corps (modern)|drum and bugle corps]] in the 1950s introduced a wider-bore version of the baritone or ''baro-tone'' bugle called the ''bass-baritone'' bugle, which eventually replaced it.

The ''American baritone'', featuring three valves on the front of the instrument, a hybrid conical-cylindrical bore, and a curved forward-pointing bell, was dominant in American school bands throughout most of the 20th century. As a [[marching instrument]], its weight, shape, and configuration conform to the needs of [[marching band]]s. Along with similar-looking [[cylindrical bore]] instruments like the ''[[trombonium]]'', it was almost universally labelled a "baritone" by both band directors and composers, thus contributing to the confusion of terminology in the United States.{{sfn|Bevan|2000|p=222}}

== History and development ==

{{Multiple image
  | total_width = 220px | align = right
  | image1 = Mondstuk van een serpent, BK-NM-11430-77-1.jpg
  | image2 = Bass Ophicleide in C MET DP249364.jpg
  | alt1 = A serpent
  | alt2 = An ophicleide
  | footer = Euphonium ancestors: [[serpent (instrument)|serpent]], {{circa|1800}}, ''left''; [[ophicleide]], {{circa|1825}}, ''right''. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York | footer_align = left
}}
As a baritone-voiced brass instrument, the euphonium traces its ancestry to the [[ophicleide]] and ultimately back to the [[Serpent (instrument)|serpent]]. The search for a satisfactory foundational wind instrument that could support massed sound{{Definition needed|"massed sound" is not a familiar term and I couldn't find a definition|date=March 2024}} above its pitch took many years. While the serpent was used for over two centuries dating back to the late [[Renaissance]], it was notoriously difficult to control its pitch and tone quality due to its disproportionately small open finger holes. The ophicleide, which was used in bands and orchestras for a few decades in the early to mid-19th century, used a system of keys and was an improvement over the serpent but was still unreliable, especially in the high register.

With the invention of the piston valve system {{circa}} 1818, the construction of brass instruments with an even sound and facility of playing in all registers became possible. The euphonium is said to have been invented, as a "wide-bore, valved bugle of baritone range", by Ferdinand Sommer of Weimar in 1843, though [[Carl Wilhelm Moritz|Carl Moritz]] in 1838 and [[Adolphe Sax]] in 1843 have also been credited.{{by whom|date=October 2019}} While Sax's family of [[saxhorn]]s were invented at about the same time and the bass saxhorn is very similar to a euphonium, there are also differences—such as the bass saxhorn being narrower throughout the length of the instrument.<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=An Argument in Favor of the Saxhorn Basse (French Tuba) in the Modern Symphony Orchestra |last=Kleinsteuber |first=Carl |date=2017 |institution=University of North Texas |degree=DMA |url= https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc984120/m2/1/high_res_d/KLEINSTEUBER-DISSERTATION-2017.pdf |access-date=9 May 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190509133600/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc984120/m2/1/high_res_d/KLEINSTEUBER-DISSERTATION-2017.pdf |archive-date=9 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The "British-style" compensating euphonium was developed in 1874 by [[David Blaikley]], of [[Boosey & Hawkes|Boosey & Co]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The History & Development of the Euphonium |url=http://www.davechilds.com/reviews-and-articles/article=the-history |publisher=David Childs |access-date=2021-04-16 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019170247/http://www.davechilds.com/reviews-and-articles/article=the-history |url-status=live }}</ref> and has been in use in Britain since then, with the basic construction little changed.

Modern-day euphonium makers have been working to further enhance the construction of the instrument. Companies such as Adams<ref>{{cite web |title=Adams Euphoniums |url=https://www.adams-music.com/en/adams/brass/adams_euphoniums |publisher=Adams Musical Instruments |access-date=2021-04-16 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416010212/https://www.adams-music.com/en/adams/brass/adams_euphoniums |url-status=live }}</ref> and Besson<ref>{{cite web |title=Euphoniums |url=https://www.besson.com/en/instruments/euphoniums/ |publisher=Buffet Crampon |access-date=2021-04-16 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411153217/https://www.besson.com/en/instruments/euphoniums |url-status=live }}</ref> have been leading the way in that respect. Adams euphoniums have developed an adjustable lead-pipe receiver, which allows players to change the timbre of the instrument to whatever they find preferable. Besson introduced an adjustable main tuning-slide trigger, which allows players more flexibility with intonation.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

== Construction and general characteristics ==

[[File:EuphoniumAndTuba wb.jpg|thumb|A euphonium (left) and tuba (right), the two lowest conical-bore instruments]]
The euphonium, like the tenor trombone, is pitched in concert B♭. For a valved brass instrument like the euphonium, this means that when no [[valve]]s are in use the instrument will produce partials of the B♭ [[Harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]].

Professional models have three top-action valves, played with the first three fingers of the right hand, plus a fourth valve, generally found midway down the right side of the instrument, played with the left index or middle finger; such an instrument is shown at the top of this page. Such models also have compensating "knuckles" to resolve intonation issues below E<sub>2</sub>. Beginner models often have only the three top-action valves, while some intermediate "student" models may have a fourth top-action valve, played with the fourth finger of the right hand. Compensating systems are expensive to build, and there is in general a substantial difference in price between compensating and non-compensating models. For a thorough discussion of the valves and the compensation system, see the article on [[brass instruments]].

As with the other conical-bore instruments like the [[flugelhorn]], [[French horn|horn]], and [[tuba]], the euphonium's tubing (excepting the tubing in the valve section, which is necessarily cylindrical) gradually increases in diameter throughout its length, resulting in a softer, gentler tone compared to cylindrical-bore instruments such as the [[trumpet]] or [[trombone]]. While a truly characteristic euphonium sound is rather hard to define precisely, most players would agree that an ideal sound is dark, rich, warm, and velvety, with virtually no hardness to it. This also has to do with the different models preferred by British and American players.<ref name="Harvard Dictionary of Music">{{Cite book|last=Apel |first=Willi|date=1972|title=Harvard Dictionary of Music|pages=105–110|location=Cambridge|publisher=Belknap Imprint of [[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=9780674375017|oclc=21452|url=https://archive.org/details/harvarddictionar0000apel/page/104/mode/2up}}</ref>

=== Notation and range ===

In [[British brass band]]s, all instruments except the [[bass trombone]] are [[transposing instrument]]s using the [[treble clef]] notation popularized in France by instrument maker [[Adolphe Sax]] for his families of instruments. Thus the euphonium, along with the tenor trombones and [[baritone horn|baritones]], are notated as B♭ instruments in treble clef sounding a major ninth lower than written, like the [[tenor saxophone]] and [[bass clarinet]].<ref name="Grove" />

In orchestral, [[concert band]], and US [[military band]] music, the euphonium is generally written at [[concert pitch]] in the [[bass clef]], treating the euphonium as a non-transposing instrument like the [[trombone]], with high passages often written in [[tenor clef]]. [[Concert band]] music often provides the euphonium parts in both bass and B♭ treble clef, to accommodate players from either background. In continental European band music, parts for the euphonium may also be written in transposing bass clef in B♭, sounding a major second lower than written.<ref name="Grove" />

{{Image frame |align=center |innerstyle=background:white;padding:0.5em;
  |caption = Range of the modern euphonium <br> (''4v'' indicates notes requiring a compensating instrument with four valves)
  |content = <score lang="lilypond"> {
    \new Staff \with { \omit Score.TimeSignature }
    \clef bass \key c \major \cadenzaOn \omit Stem
    \tweak font-size #-2 b,,,4 \finger \markup \text "4v" ^ "pedals"
    \glissando
    \tweak font-size #-2 ees,,4
    e,,1 \glissando bes,,1
    \bar "|"
    \tweak font-size #-2 b,,4 \finger \markup \text "4v"
    \glissando
    \tweak font-size #-2 ees,4
    e,1 \glissando f' \tweak font-size #-2 c''4 \finger \markup \text "poss."
  }</score>
}}
The euphonium has a large range of at least four octaves. Intermediate players can access a range from E<sub>2</sub> to about F<sub>4</sub>, and in professional hands this extends from B<sub>0</sub> up to at least C<sub>5</sub> and as high as B♭<sub>5</sub>.{{sfn|Adler-McKean|2020|p=}} The upper range is limited only by the fitness of the players' [[embouchure]], but a working ''[[tessitura]]'' from existing repertoire tops out around C<sub>5</sub>.{{sfn|Herbert|Myers|Wallace|2019|p=484|loc=Appendix 2: The Ranges of Labrosones}}

The lowest notes obtainable depend on the valve set-up of the instrument. All instruments are chromatic down to E<sub>2</sub>, but four-valved instruments extend that down to at least C<sub>2</sub>. Non-compensating four-valved instruments suffer from intonation problems from E♭<sub>2</sub> down to C<sub>2</sub> and cannot produce the low B<sub>1</sub>; compensating instruments do not have such intonation problems and can play the low B<sub>1</sub>.<ref group="note">Thus, only on four-valved, compensating instruments is a full chromatic scale from the pedal range up possible.</ref> Although less satisfactory, a good player can provide these notes on a three-valve instrument using [[Falset (music)|falset tones]], which are more distinct on instruments with wide conical bores and large bells.{{sfn|Adler-McKean|2020|p=105}} From B♭<sub>1</sub> down lies the [[pedal tone|pedal range]], the fundamentals of the instrument's [[Harmonic series (music)|harmonic series]]. They are more easily produced on the euphonium and tuba than on other brass instruments, and the extent of the pedal range similarly depends on the instrument. A compensating four-valved instrument can produce a B<sub>0</sub> six ledger lines below the bass clef with all valves down, sometimes called ''double pedal'' B.

Though the euphonium's fingerings are no different from those of the trumpet or tuba, beginning euphoniumists will likely experience significant problems with intonation, response and range compared to other beginning brass players.<ref>{{Cite book |first=David |last=Kish |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1267765869 |title=Brass Methods An Essential Resource for Educators, Conductors, and Students. |date=2021 |publisher=GIA Publications |isbn=978-1-57463-545-4 |oclc=1267765869}}</ref>

== Types ==
===Compensating===
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
The compensating euphonium is common among professionals. It utilizes a three-plus-one-valve system with three upright valves and one side valve. The compensating valve system uses extra tubing, usually coming off the back of the three upright valves, in order to achieve proper intonation in the lower range of the instrument. This range being from E<sub>2</sub> down to B{{music|flat}}<sub>1</sub>. Not all four-valve and three-plus-one-valve euphoniums are compensating. Only those designed with extra tubing are compensating. There were, at one time, three-valve compensating euphoniums available. This configuration utilized extra tubing, just as the three-plus-one compensating models did, in order to bring the notes C<sub>2</sub> and B<sub>1</sub> in tune. This three-valve compensating configuration is still available in British style baritone horns, usually on professional models.

=== Double-bell ===
{{Main|Double bell euphonium}}
[[File:Conn20Double20Bell201.jpg|thumb|Double bell euphonium by Conn]]
A creation unique to the United States was the [[Double bell euphonium|double-bell euphonium]], featuring a second smaller bell in addition to the main one; the player could switch bells for certain passages or even for individual notes by use of an additional valve, operated with the left hand. Ostensibly, the smaller bell was intended to emulate the sound of a trombone (it was cylindrical-bore) and was possibly intended for performance situations in which trombones were not available. The extent to which the difference in sound and timbre was apparent to the listener, however, is up for debate. Michele Raffayolo of the Patrick S. Gilmore band introduced the instrument in the U.S. by 1880, and it was used widely in both school and service bands for several decades. ''Harold Brasch'' (see "List of important players" below) brought the British-style compensating euphonium to the United States c. 1939, but the double-belled euphonium may have remained in common use even into the 1950s and 1960s. In any case, they have become rare (they were last in Conn's advertisements in the 1940s, and King's catalog in the 1960s),<ref>1963 H.N. White/King catalog (Baritone/Euphonium), {{cite web |url=http://www.hnwhite.com/Euphoniums%20and%20Baritones.htm |title=H N White Euphoniums & Baritones |access-date=2013-04-20 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524063626/http://www.hnwhite.com/Euphoniums%20and%20Baritones.htm |archive-date=24 May 2013}}</ref> and are generally unknown to younger players. They are chiefly known now through their mention in the song "[[Seventy-Six Trombones]]" from the musical ''[[The Music Man]]'' by [[Meredith Willson]].{{clear left}}

=== Marching ===
[[File:Marchingeuph.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[King Musical Instruments|King]] marching euphonium]]
Marching euphoniums are used by [[marching band]]s and in [[Drum and bugle corps (modern)|drum and bugle corps]]. Typically in a drum corps, there will be two baritone parts and one euphonium part, with the euphonium playing the lower parts comparatively. Some corps (such as the [[Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps|Blue Devils]]) march all-euphonium sections rather than only marching baritone or a mix of both.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Legget|first=John A.|url=https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2346/10257/31295019541480.pdf?sequence=1|title=Aspects for Arranging for Drum Corps: It's All About the Music!!!|year=2004}}</ref> In high school marching bands, the two will often be used interchangeably.

Depending on the manufacturer, the weight of these instruments can be straining to the average marcher and require great strength to hold during practices and performances, leading to nerve problems in the right pinky, a callus on the left hand, and possibly back and arm problems. Marching euphoniums and marching baritones commonly have three valves, opposed to the regular euphonium having four.

Another form of the marching euphonium is the convertible euphonium. Recently widely produced, the horn resembles a convertible tuba, being able to change from a concert upright to a marching forward bell on either the left or right shoulder. These are mainly produced by Jupiter or Yamaha, but other less expensive versions can be found.

=== Five valves ===
The five-valve euphonium (non-compensating) is an extremely rare variation of the euphonium manufactured in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Britain's [[Besson (music company)|Besson]] musical instrument company and Highams of Manchester Musical Instrument Company.
Higham and Besson's ''Clearbore'' five-valve euphonium was economical but not widely used.<ref name="Arnold Myers 2000">Arnold Myers, in Trevor Herbert, ed., ''The British Brass Band: A Musical and Social History'' (Oxford, 2000), 179. {{ISBN|0191590126}}</ref>

The Besson five-valve euphonium featured the standard three [[piston valve]]s horizontally not on top, but had an additional two piston valves off to the side. The standard euphonium has eight possible [[Fingering (music)|fingering]] and non-fingering positions by which sound is produced. The Besson and the Highams "clearbore" model rare fourth and fifth extra "side" valves change the possible fingering and non-fingering positions from eight to thirty-two.<ref name="Arnold Myers 2000"/>

The term 'five-valve euphonium' does not refer to variations of the [[double bell euphonium]] made by various brass instrument companies during the same time period. Some of the double-bell euphoniums had five valves, with the fifth valve either not on top with the other four, or by itself off to the side, but the double-bell fifth valve was used for switching the sound to the second smaller [[trombone]]-sized [[Wind instrument#Parts|bell]], and not for changing the fingering [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] of the instrument. Also, [[Václav František Červený|Cerveny]] Musical Instruments manufactures several euphoniums with five vertical [[rotary valve]]s today, but this is an unrelated recent development.<ref>https://www.bigbandinstruments.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Catalogues/Cerveny_Rotary_Valve_Instruments.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306105145/https://www.bigbandinstruments.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Catalogues/Cerveny_Rotary_Valve_Instruments.pdf |date=6 March 2023 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref>

== Notable euphonium players ==
{{Main|List of euphonium players}}

German Ferdinand Sommer, if one discounts the claims of Moritz and Sax each of whose horns also approached a euphonium in nature, in addition to being credited with inventing the euphonium as the Sommerhorn in 1843, as a soloist on the horn, qualifies as the first euphonium player to significantly advance and alter the understanding of the instrument.<ref>Baritone History, North Dakota State University, at {{cite web |url=http://www.nd.edu/~baritone/history.html |title=Baritone History |access-date=2011-10-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120221235020/http://www.nd.edu/~baritone/history.html |archive-date=21 February 2012}} retrieved 10/15/2011</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1=Lloyd E. Bone Jr.|editor2=Eric Paull|editor3=R. Winston Morris|title=Guide to the Euphonium Repertoire: The Euphonium Source Book|publisher=[[Indiana University]] Press|date=1 March 2007 |page=7|isbn=9780253348111|oclc=611786614|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7UWPZNqmXYC&pg=PA7}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
* [[Alfred James Phasey]] (1834–1888), English [[ophicleide]], baritone and euphonium artist credited with modifying the bore of the baritone [[saxhorn]], precursor of the [[baritone horn]], to enlarge it and make it more resonant thereby creating the first true euphonium which he went on to popularize as a performer and author of an early instructional method for tenor brass.<ref>Bouldersdome, H. J., The Late Mr. A. J. Phasey, The British Bandsman, November 1888, Derby, England, P.33</ref>
* [[Steven Mead]], English euphonium soloist and professor at the [[Royal Northern College of Music]] noted internationally for advancing the British euphonium sound.<ref>Roy Newsome, ''The Modern Brass Band: From the 1930s to the New Millennium'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=O6-iHNQwga8C&pg=PA338 252]. {{ISBN|0-7546-0717-8}}.</ref>
* [[David Thornton (musician)|David Thornton]], principal euphonium of the [[Brighouse and Rastrick Band]] and student of [[Steven Mead]] noted for winning several prestigious international competitions and advancing the British euphonium sound through broadcast as well as recording media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perfectpeople.net/biography/6610/david-thornton.htm |title=David Thornton biography from Perfect People |access-date=2011-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721014958/http://www.perfectpeople.net/biography/6610/david-thornton.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>
* David Childs, Professor of Euphonium at the [[University of North Texas]]. Noted for extensive soloist experience with multiple organizations, amongst other musical accolades.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.davechilds.com/about-david-childs/david-childs | title=David Childs - David Childs }}</ref>

=== United States ===
* [[Simone Mantia]] (1873–1951), an Italian-born American baritone horn/euphonium virtuoso and also trombone artist at the start of the 20th century. Playing as soloist with the [[John Philip Sousa|Sousa]] and the [[Arthur Pryor|Pryor]] Bands, Mantia was the first euphonium virtuoso to record and popularized this non-orchestral instrument in the United States.<ref>Bierley, Paul A., The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa, Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL. 2006</ref><ref name="Mantia1">Lehman, Arthur, A Quick Analysis of Simone Mantia's Artistry on the Euphonium, 2008, {{cite web |url=http://www.dwerden.com/eu-articles-lehman-Mantia2008.cfm |title=Euphoniumist Simone Mantia Remembered (2008) - by Euphoniumist Arthur Lehman |access-date=2011-04-01 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930213508/http://www.dwerden.com/eu-articles-lehman-Mantia2008.cfm |archive-date=30 September 2011}}, retrieved 4/1/2011</ref>
* [[Leonard Falcone]] (1899–1985), Italian-born American baritone/euphonium soloist, arranger, professor, Director of Bands at [[Michigan State University]], and teacher of many noted euphonium artists. Falcone advanced an operatic passionate baritone style and is the namesake of the [[Leonard Falcone International Tuba and Euphonium Festival]], the leading venue for the instrument in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Michigan State University]] Archives - Leonard Falcone Collection |url=https://www.msu.edu/unit/msuarhc/falcone1.htm |title=Leonard V. Falcone |access-date=2011-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509104649/http://www.msu.edu/unit/msuarhc/falcone1.htm |archive-date=9 May 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Life and Work of Leonard Falcone|author=Myrna Delford Welch|publisher=[[University of Illinois]] Press|date=1973 }}</ref>
* [[Arthur W. Lehman]], (1917–2009), American euphonium soloist known as 'Art', Recording Artist, United States Marine Band, noted euphonium author of works such as ''The Art of Euphonium''. Lehman was a student of Harold Brasch and [[Simone Mantia]] and advanced the concept of a rich resonant sound with no vibrato pioneered by Mantia.<ref name="Mantia1"/><ref>Schudel, Matt (28 June 2009). "Arthur W. Lehman, 91, Retired Sergeant Played Euphonium With the Marine Band". The Washington Post. {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/27/AR2009062702268.html |title=Arthur W. Lehman, 91, Retired Sergeant Played Euphonium with the Marine Band |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=2009-07-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108112434/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/27/AR2009062702268.html |archive-date=8 November 2012}}. Retrieved 2/24/2011</ref>
* [[Brian Bowman]], former soloist with the U.S. Navy Band (1971–75) and [[U.S. military bands#Air Force Band|U.S. Air Force Band]] (1976–91); former professor of euphonium at the University of North Texas, co-editor of "Arban's Method for Trombone and Euphonium". Bowman innovated a fusion of the mellow British sound with deep passion heard in Falcone recordings, becoming the best known American artist at the end of the 20th century through recording, teaching and the first euphonium recital at [[Carnegie Hall]].<ref>Morin, Alexander J., Classical music: the listener's companion, Backbeat Books, San Francisco CA, 2002, Page 1113</ref><ref>Brian Bowman Euphonium, ''[[The Instrumentalist (magazine)|The Instrumentalist]],'' Volume 63, 2008, P.34</ref>
* Bernard Atwell McKinney, later [[Kiane Zawadi]] (1932–2024) jazz trombonist and euphonium player, one of the few jazz soloists on the latter instrument.

=== Japan ===
* [[Toru Miura (Musician)|Toru Miura]], professor of euphonium at the [[Kunitachi College of Music]]; soloist and clinician who was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the [[International Tuba Euphonium Association]] (formerly TUBA) for his role in promoting the instrument.<ref>Artist profile: Toru Miura, Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival 2007, at {{cite web |url=http://jiwef.org/english/competition/sub_01_07_view.php?jd_no=31&jd_typ=15&PHPSESSID=06d3bdf28359df449e07590a1deac751 |title=♬ 제주국제관악제 ♪ |access-date=2011-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005161633/http://jiwef.org/english/competition/sub_01_07_view.php?jd_no=31&jd_typ=15&PHPSESSID=06d3bdf28359df449e07590a1deac751 |archive-date=5 October 2011}} , retrieved 4/12/2011</ref>

=== Brazil ===
* Irineu de Almeida (known as Irineu Batina) (1863–1916), one of the most influential musicians and professors of the genre of [[Choro]], the first Brazilian typical music. Irineu was an active composer, euphoniumist, ophicleidist and professor, and has participated in the first commercial recordings of Brazilian music, from 1900 onwards, in Rio de Janeiro, playing both euphonium and ophicleide, as a composer, soloist and counterpointist. De Almeida was also professor of the prodigy [[Pixinguinha]], who later became the most important developer of the whole genre of Choro, and one of the most important creators in Brazilian music history. Due to Irineu Batina and his contemporaries, the bombardino is an essential part of the genre of Choro, which is an intangible cultural heritage in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dicionariompb.com.br/irineu-batina |title=Irineu Batina - Dicionário Cravo Albin da Música Popular Brasileira<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030194212/https://dicionariompb.com.br/irineu-batina |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Repertoire ==
{{Main|Euphonium repertoire}}
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2020}}

The ''euphonium repertoire'' consists of solo literature and orchestral, or, more commonly, concert band parts written for the euphonium. Since its invention in 1843, the euphonium has been important in ensembles. While the euphonium is predominantly a [[concert band]] instrument, certain composers have featured it in [[symphonic music]]. Notably, it has iconic appearances in [[Holst]]'s [[The Planets]]. Still, solo literature was slow to appear, consisting of only a handful of lighter solos until the 1960s. Since then, however, the breadth and depth of the solo euphonium repertoire has increased dramatically.

[[File:Amilcareponchielli.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amilcare Ponchielli]], composer of the first original euphonium solo]]

Upon its invention, it was clear that the euphonium had, compared to its predecessors the serpent and ophicleide, a wide range and had a consistently rich, pleasing sound throughout that range. It was flexible both in tone quality and intonation and could blend well with a variety of ensembles, gaining it immediate popularity with composers and conductors as the principal tenor-voices solo instrument in [[Brass band (British style)|brass band]] settings, especially in Britain. It is no surprise, then, that when British composers – some of the same ones who were writing for brass bands – began to write serious, original music for the concert band in the early 20th century, they used the euphonium in a very similar role.

When American composers also began writing for the concert band as its own artistic medium in the 1930s and 1940s, they continued the British brass and concert band tradition of using the euphonium as the principal tenor-voiced solo.
This is not to say that composers, then and now, valued the euphonium only for its lyrical capabilities. Indeed, examination of a large body of concert band literature reveals that the euphonium functions as a "jack of all trades."

Though the euphonium was, as previously noted, embraced from its earliest days by composers and arrangers in band settings, orchestral composers have, by and large, not taken advantage of this capability. There are, nevertheless, several orchestral works, a few of which are standard repertoire, in which composers have called for instruments, such as the Wagner tuba, for which euphonium is commonly substituted in the present.

In contrast to the long-standing practice of extensive euphonium use in wind bands and orchestras, there was, until approximately forty years ago, literally no body of solo literature written specifically for the euphonium, and euphonium players were forced to borrow the literature of other instruments. Fortunately, given the instrument's multifaceted capabilities discussed above, solos for many different instruments are easily adaptable to performance on the euphonium.

The earliest surviving solo composition written specifically for euphonium or one of its saxhorn cousins is the ''Concerto per Flicorno Basso'' (1872) by Amilcare Ponchielli. For almost a century after this, the euphonium solo repertoire consisted of only a dozen or so virtuosic pieces, mostly light in character. However, in the 1960s and 1970s, American composers began to write the first of the "new school" of serious, artistic solo works specifically for euphonium. Since then, there has been a virtual explosion of solo repertoire for the euphonium. In a mere four decades, the solo literature has expanded from virtually zero to thousands of pieces. More and more composers have become aware of the tremendous soloistic capabilities of the euphonium, and have constantly "pushed the envelope" with new literature in terms of tessitura, endurance, technical demands, and extended techniques.

Finally, the euphonium has, thanks to a handful of enterprising individuals, begun to make inroads in jazz, pop and other non-concert performance settings. One well-known euphonium player from the world of popular music is [[Don McGlashan]], the New Zealand musician who began his musical career as an orchestral brass player<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Vicki |date=2015-06-18 |title=Don McGlashan - counting his lucky stars |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/69470819/don-mcglashan---counting-his-lucky-stars |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> before finding success in popular music with bands such as [[Blam Blam Blam]] and [[The Mutton Birds]].

== See also ==

* [[List of euphonium players]]
* [[Baritone Horn]]
* [[William Bell (tuba player)]]
* [[List of euphonium, baritone horn and tenor horn manufacturers]]
* [[Steven Mead]]
* [[Brian Bowman]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===

{{refbegin}}
{{ubli
  | {{Cite Q|Q134349391|last=Adler-McKean |date=2020 |first=Jack}}
  | {{Cite Q|Q111040769|last=Bevan |date=2000 |first=Clifford |author-link=Clifford Bevan}}
  | {{Cite Q|Q114571908|editor1-last=Herbert |editor1-first=Trevor |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Arnold |editor3-last=Wallace |editor3-first=John |date=2019 |url=unset}}
  | [https://web.archive.org/web/20051030200338/http://www.lowbrassnmore.com/euponiumhistory.htm The History of the Euphonium and its use in Orchestral Music by Jeff Cottrell] 2005 Archive retrieved 28 January 2008
  | [https://web.archive.org/web/20051217074115/http://nikknakks.net/Euphonium/ Euphonium Asylum site by Nikk Pilato] 2005 Archive retrieved 28 January 2008
  | [https://web.archive.org/web/20150623105708/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2198574/HISTORY-OF-THE-BARITONE-AND-THE-EUPHONIUM History of the Baritone and the Euphonium by historyman 2008] 2015 Archive
}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.iteaonline.org ITEA] — The International Tuba Euphonium Association
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}
* [https://www.tubaforum.net/ TubaForum.net] — online forum
* [https://historyofthetuba.substack.com/ History of the Tuba Podcast] — Jake Kline & Jack Adler-McKean, also discusses the euphonium
* [http://www.dwerden.com/emg/ Euphonium Music Guide] — a list of original euphonium literature
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Euphonium}}

{{Brass instruments}}{{Bass (sound)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:B-flat instruments]]
[[Category:Concert band instruments]]
[[Category:German musical instruments]]
[[Category:English musical instruments]]
[[Category:Tubas]]
[[Category:Marching band instruments]]
[[Category:Orchestral instruments]]