University President wants to improve tuba playing in the New Year

Often times when people make New Year’s resolutions, it’s for ideas such as get six-pack abs, read more books, or spend less time on their phone. While all of these are good resolutions, not many people (at least non-musicians) want to improve their tuba playing – let alone university presidents.

This is different for Matthew Wilson, President at the University of Akron. Professor Wilson has dabbled in music since he started playing trumpet in middle school, and eventually switched to french horn. While members of Wilson’s family are also musical, he believes this new endeavor of learning tuba will be great bonding with his son-in-law who is also tuba player. Having been playing the tuba for only few weeks, he is in great hands as his teacher will be Tucker Jolly, UA’s retired, Professor Emeritus of Tuba and Euphonium. Wilson’s concert (and solo) debut was at Akron’s TUBAChristmas held on December 10, 2016. You can see a video below of his short solo performance.

Click here to read more about this endeavor.

A post-performance tweet from the President –

U. of Akron TubaChristmas. 500 tubas. Can’t believe they invited me to guest solo. What will 1 week of experience do pic.twitter.com/CnnDFD0jTd

— Matthew Wilson (@profmattwilson) December 10, 2016