Speaker Information

Music 2010

Jay Hunsberger

Mr. Hunsberger is the Principal Tubist with the Sarasota Orchestra and the Sarasota Brass Quintet, and a professor of tuba and euphonium at the University of South Florida, Tampa. A hallmark of Mr. Hunsberger’s career has been the substantial number of new works which have been written for him and which he has premiered. In 2003 he performed the world premiere of Jan Bach’s Concerto for Tuba. In 2004 he premiered a new work (written for him) for tuba and organ, Celestial Keys, by the renowned American composer, Gwyneth Walker. In the fall of 2006 he premiered Jan Bach’s Oompah Suite.

Jay performed Jan Bach’s Suite for Tuba and Strings at the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Budapest, Hungary. In addition, he has performed numerous premieres by the likes of Tony Plog, Francis Schwart and Dick Hyman. Mr. Hunsberger received both BM and MM degrees in tuba performance from the Indiana University School of Music. He has participated in the Grand Tetons, Tanglewood, and Los Angeles Philharmonic Music Festivals.

"He is a virtuoso on an instrument that is too often misunderstood and underestimated. Hunsberger brings the tuba into the spotlight with elegance and dynamism..." -The Longboat Observer, March 2003.