On Thursday, May 3rd, we will conduct our Tuba Euphonium Research Fair. I think all of you have selected areas of research that have proven to be very educational, and will be helpful to the entire studio.

In some cases, the biggest challenge will be converting and adapting your research for a poster presentation. From the Iowa Center for Research for Undergraduates, the resources, FAQs, and links below should prove very helpful.

There will be prizes for the best posters/presentations in the form of gift cards for Starbucks and iTunes!

Presentation Resources

General information on preparing an effective poster can be found on many websites located below. One can also Google "poster presentations" and come up with many additional helpful sites:

General links to faqs on Poster Presentations
Preparing Effective Posters
Designing Effective Posters
Writing Guides for Poster Sessions

These websites include a few consistent messages:
1. Be simple; don't include too much
2. Think big; everything should be legible from 6-10 feet away
3. Be colorful; use color to provide both consistency and highlights

And remember, most poster viewers will not be as knowledgeable as you are about your area of study - keep the poster simple and offer more detail in your discussions. Beyond that, be creative but not outlandish.

ICRU's Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make a poster?

• Poster size – 3 X 4 or less (posters bigger than this can be used, but some of the poster will not be on the board. If you already have a printed poster, there is no need to print another one, unless you want to.)
• Should include your name (with additional authors, mentors, etc, research department area(s), and institution.
• ICRU will provide tacks, etc to attach posters.
• ICRU will provide numbers for each poster (these correspond to the numbers in the program)

Where do I print my poster?

• UI Printing and Mailing Services can print in house. The charge for large-format printing is $2.50 per linear inch (1”x48”). They may soon be able to laminate these posters, too. Everything is on line, so students may send files over the web. They accept University IDs, cash, checks, UI requisitions, and “m-numbers” (standing accounts) as payment.
  
  
• Design Center in the Department of Internal Medicine at the UIHC is also able to provide poster printing for students (as well as faculty and staff). They charge $6 per square foot (e.g., 3’ x 4’ poster = 12 sq ft = $72). They offer full color printing on either matte or semi-gloss finish, and turn-around time is usually 1-2 days. They accept cash, check and University MFK accounts as payment. Poster files can be emailed or brought directly to their office on a memory stick or CD.
  
  
• 2008 Copy Works costs (Coralville) pricing is $8.95/sq ft for color and $4.95 per print for black and white (width 3ft by 4ft with $1.00 each additional foot)

• 2008 Zephyr costs (East Side) – (downtown doesn’t do it) $ 7.50 a sq ft. for color and one time $10 set up fee & $ .45 for sq ft and one time $10 set up fee

What do I wear?

• Professional Attire and Grooming
• Appropriate but Comfortable Shoes

What do I do/How do I talk about my research?

• Stand by your poster to answer questions/talk about your research.
• Having fun is the most important objective for the day
• Your poster is a vehicle for conversation.
• Minimize the writing and maximize the visual impact on your poster. (Make it interesting!)Have ONE basic sentence to explain your project.
• Try to engage the viewer – Ask them questions too. This is a conversation!
• People will know very little about your topics. Take an elementary approach at first. Then beef it up if they want to know more!
• Steer away from words/jargon that are too “Profession specific.” (Technical terms sound good, but may lose the viewer.)Find a way to relate your project to the person you are talking too. Smile, Relax, Enjoy
• If appropriate, connect with the viewer by asking for a business card, etc.
• Bring a pen to write down any contacts, etc.

What did I forget to ask?

• Add this to your resume!
• Talk about this experience in your Interview conversations
• Ask for Business cards of people that you would like to contact again!
• Send thank you notes! (Thank you notes, are a nice touch, especially to your mentor, and anyone who you had a good conversation with – don’t forget this is networking too!)

ASA – Acoustical Society of America

ESCOM – European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music

ICMPC – International Conference of Music Perception and Cognition

SEMPRE – Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research

SMPC – Society for Music Perception and Cognition

Our guest artist last semester was Dr. Ben Pierce, who teaches at the University of Arkansas. This video, demonstrating how the physics of the tuba works, was produced there, and you can even see a Dr. Pierce in several frames of the video. This may not be the type of research you might choose, but it is the first thing that comes up when you Google "tuba research".

• A YouTube recording of James Levine conducting "Jupiter: Bringer of Jollity" the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

• A YouTube video The low brass section of the Atlanta Symphony playing excerpts from "Mars: The Bringer of War"

The description that follows below is from the official Gustav Holst website:

"During the 1910's, Holst was undoubtedly going through a period similar to a midlife crisis. His first large scale work, and opera called Sita failed to win a cash prize at a Ricordi composition competition and his other large works of the time, notably The Cloud Messenger and Beni Mora were premiered without great success. In March of 1913, Holst received an anonymous gift which enabled him to travel to Spain with Clifford Bax, the brother of the composer Arnold Bax (and later the librettist for Holst's opera The Wandering Scholar). Clifford Bax was an astrologer, and he and Holst became good friends, with Bax introducing him to the concepts of astrology.

Perhaps due to this friendship, Holst began to rediscover his childhood intrigue with theosophy. He had a book in his library called, "The Art of Synthesis," by Alan Leo. Leo was himself an astrologer and Theosophist who published various books on astrology, however if you look at "The Art of Synthesis," each chapter is labeled with a heading, offering a precursor to how The Planets was constructed. Alan Leo divided his book into chapters based on each planet, and described the astrological characteristics of them. In fact, "Neptune, the Mystic," is given the same title in both the book and the suite! Holst may have been introduced to Leo by George Mead, a Sanskrit scholar and a fellow member, along with Holst, of the Royal Asiatic Society. Mead and Leo were friends.

Holst called his piece "a series of mood pictures." In actuality, this helps lead into other influences for this work. Before Holst started to compose The Planets, both Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky made trips to England and caused quite a stir. Schoenberg came to England and conducted his Five Orchestral Pieces Op. 18. Holst must have gone to this concert and been impressed, for Holst labeled the preliminary sketches of The Planets "Seven Orchestral Pieces." Around the same time, Stravinsky came to England and conducted his Le sacre du printemps. Holst must have noticed this unconventional way to use the orchestra, because in the first movement, "Mars," the blatant dissonance and unconventional meter seems to be riddled with the influence of Stravinsky.

Gustav Holst seemed to consider The Planets a progression of life. "Mars" perhaps serves as a rocky and tormenting beginning. In fact, some have called this movement the most devastaing piece of music ever written! "Venus" seems to provide an answer to "Mars," it's title as "the bringer of peace," helps aid that claim. "Mercury" can be thought of as the messenger between our world and the other worlds. Perhaps "Jupiter" represents the "prime" of life, even with the overplayed central melody, which was later arranged to the words of "I vow to thee, my country." "Saturn" can be viewed as indicative of Holst's later mature style, and indeed it is recorded that Holst preferred this movement to all others in the suite. Through "Saturn" it can be said that old age is not always peaceful and happy. The movement may display the ongoing struggle for life against the odd supernatural forces. This notion mat be somewhat outlandish, but the music seems to lend credence to this. "Saturn" is followed by "Uranus, the Magician," a quirky scherzo displaying a robust musical climax before the tranquility of the female choir in "Neptune" enchants the audience.

The piece displays that Holst was in touch with his musical contemporaries. There are obvious ideas borrowed from Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Debussy (the quality of"Neptune" resembles earlier Debussy piano music.) Holst never wrote another piece like The Planets again. He hated its popularity. When people would ask for his autograph, he gave them a typed sheet of paper that stated that he didn't give out autographs. The public seemed to demand of him more music like The Planets, and his later music seemed to disappoint them. In fact, after writing the piece, he swore off his belief in astrology, though until the end of his life he cast his friends horoscopes. How ironic that the piece that made his name famous throughout the world brought him the least joy in the end.

The Planets was first performed in a private concert in 1918 with Adrian Boult conducting as a gift from Henry Balfour Gardiner, who was also responsible for the premieres of Holst's Two Eastern Pictures and The Cloud Messenger. The first complete performance of the piece was under Albert Coates in Queen's Hall in 1920."

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) is a great work to study as a tuba team. Both instruments have similar excerpts, and have a few powerful independent moments as well. This PBS documentary and video of a performance of the work is on YouTube. It is of Daniel Barnboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1993. Also check out the other links below.

Would you like to learn more about the piece, and the book? Check out these links below:

Probably the most demanding and challenging works for our final project is Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which is scored for two tubas. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Fransisco Symphony have produced a multimedia project called Keeping Score. Besides this works use of two tubas, the story about and behind this work is amazing. I encourage you to read up on the history of this revolutionary work in the Riotous Premiere section, and the Explore the Score section features the fine recording of the San Fransisco Symphony accompanied by a scrolling score and video window.

I especially enjoyed this feature, where MTT explains conducting in three. Although rudimentary, the sample excerpt shows him conducting the tubas ascending whole tone scale at the end of the first part. To the left, you can view the YouTube playlist I created to accompany this post.