Gail Robertson, associate professor of tuba and euphonium, made some noise with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 30.
“The hall is just marvelous,” Robertson said. “Just the acoustics — It’s a beautiful, beautiful hall. I look forward to our final performance of the opera.”
She said her experience with the Boston Symphony Orchestra has been “breathtaking.”
“It’s one of those things where you want to kind of pinch yourself because you feel like ‘is this really happening?’” she said. “It’s Boston Symphony Orchestra. It’s just incredible.”
Robertson played in the banda, the offstage brass ensemble, for “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” an opera by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Robertson said the opera included not only the Boston Symphony Orchestra but also guest vocalists and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
“We’re a part of the whole big production of a huge 100-member orchestra,” she said. “There’s a ton of people in the choir, and then there’s a whole bunch of opera sub-celebrities from all around the world.”
Robertson said this was her second time playing in Carnegie Hall; the first time, she was a featured euphonium soloist with Purdue University Wind Ensemble.
This is also Robertson’s second time playing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra; she also performed with them in 2014.
Robertson said she started playing the euphonium in high school.
“I began my beginning band years as a woodwind player and played the saxophone,” she said. “Then my high school band needed more brass players, and I reluctantly switched to the tuba in the ninth grade. Then about my junior year when I moved to euphonium, and I never went anywhere else. I’ve been playing euphonium since probably 1982.”
She said the euphonium is an instrument from the low brass family that plays an octave higher than the tuba.
“The word euphony means good sound. It’s a very rich-sounding, mellow instrument,” Robertson said. “It is more like the voice of a male tenor or baritone singer.”
In all, Robertson plays the tuba, trombone and saxophone. She said she got into music because of her parents.
“My mom played flute. My dad was a percussionist. And my older sister, Nancy, was a flute player in the band,” she said. “We used to go to the rehearsals, because we were younger, and I just knew I wanted to be a band because my parents were.
“My younger brother played clarinet. And then my younger sister is a trumpet player. So we all played,” she said.
Robertson said there is no set process for getting a musical gig.
“No one ever really knows what the process is, you just get an email and you hope that you see it fast enough,” she said.
Robertson said one of her favorite compositions to play is “The Planets” by Gustav Holst; “There’s a big euphonium solo,” she said.
Robertson said she’ll be playing “The Planets” with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in honor of the total eclipse. Performance dates include April 5-7 and April 9.
Robertson said she has played with several orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
She said it is important to make connections in the music industry.
“Always be kind to everyone, be reliable, and trusted,” she said. “All I can think is that I’m so glad I wasn’t a jerk toanybody in this orchestra along my path because you get jobs based on recommendations most of the time.”
Robertson said that musicians let their talent speak for them.
“Rather than me telling you, ‘Oh, I do this, I do that and I can play really hard,’ I just play and people hear you and they hear how great you are versus me telling them,” she said. “There’s nothing worse than someone saying how great they are. I would say be kind, be reliable, be trusted and let your instrument do the talking.”
Robertson said she is proud to represent UCA through all of her accomplishments.
“My students helped me celebrate it. They gave me a great send-off and when I come places like this, it’s not just for my own self, it’s for our whole university,” she said.
Gail Robertson, associate professor of music for tuba and euphonium, holds her instrument in an aisle of Carnegie Hall in New York. This was Robertson's second time performing in the hall.
