Dr. Eric Goode and I are elated to announce a compositional collaboration that has been years in the making – the creation of a brand new, multi-movement work for tuba, keyboard and drum set. Entitled Cherrywood Gazebo, the composition as a whole will be an ever expanding set of miniatures for the aforementioned instrumentation, all based upon the artistic inflections and musical sororities of the amazing tubists who have inspired Dr. Goode and I over the years. While the composition will feature some advanced aspects, the goal is to create a piece that is as accessible as it is interesting.
Consortium Details
The first iteration of the composition will consist of five miniatures, each approximately 3-5 minutes in length. Along with the tuba part taking center stage, the instrumentation will consist of electronic keyboard utilizing different patches and standard jazz drum set that will implement different types of sticks. The five amazing musicians of which each miniature will be based upon are Sam Pilafian, Kevin Stees, Velvet Brown, Howard Johnson and Mike Roylance. The Cherrywood Gazebo consortium is being led by Dr. Goode, who will retain total performance exclusivity until premiere in Fall 2025. Following the premiere, the composition will become exclusive to all consortium members and be delivered electronically.
In an effort to to create accessible solutions for everyone, there will be two buy-in options:
Professional buy-in: $120
Student buy-in: $30
Consortium Timeline
November 1st, 2024 – Consortium opens (Link to form is below)
January 1st, 2025 – Consortium closes
February 1st, 2025 – Payments due
May 1st 2025 – Piece Completed & shared with consortium members
Fall 2025 – Piece premiere & performance exclusivity ends
Winter 2026 – Piece becomes available to public
Interested in joining the consortium? Fill out the goole form below to learn about this project or to request any sort of pertinent financial information!
LINK TO CONSORTIUM FORM
About the Consortium
Over the years, I have been very fortunate to not only call Dr. Goode a fantastic friend and supportive colleague, but also one of the greatest musical collaborators that I ever known. We first got to know each other during our shared time studying at Boston University, where we performed in the wind ensemble and brass chamber music program together. In his final year of his master’s degree, Eric commissioned me to compose a multi-movement work for tuba euphonium quartet, to be premiered on his final graduate recital.
The recital premiere, as well as the subsequent recording session that followed at James Madison University led to the composition, entitled The Natural Lands: Suite for Tuba Euphonium Quartet, earning the 2019 International Tuba Euphonium Associations R. Winston Morris Award for Excellence in Tuba Euphonium Composition. That same summer, Dr. Goode and I served as assistants for the low brass workshops taking place at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. We were extraordinarily lucky to be placed in the same lodgings during our time at the workshop; a gorgeous house nestled in the forest of the Berkshire Mountains with a quaint gazebo in the front yard. While the days assisting the workshops were busy, Eric and I resolved to always find a time after our work had finished to meet in the gazebo and converse. Our conversations often centered around brass playing, our shared musical experiences, but most of all, the musicians we admired. From our dialogues, Dr. Goode and I found that we were inspired by many of the same low brass players, resulting in the creation of this compositional concept. As a composer and a performer, I have been fortunate enough to interact with truly remarkable artists: Dr. Eric Goode is no such exception, and I am thrilled to embark on this project with him to pay homage to the champions of the instrument we both love so much!
About the Consortium Leader
Dr. Eric Goode is an active freelance tuba player and music educator based in Boston, Massachusetts. He currently serves as the Principal Tuba for the Boston Festival Orchestra and Cape Ann Symphony, and has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and many more large and chamber ensembles.
In addition to his performing experience, Dr. Goode is an active educator, both in an applied lesson setting as well as chamber and large ensemble instruction/coaching. He currently serves as the Pep Band Director and Marching Band Low Brass Instructor at Boston College. In the classroom, Dr. Goode is the Instructor of Winds and Percussion at Milton Academy, where he coaches middle and high school wind and percussion ensembles and develops curriculum for jazz, general music, and orchestral courses. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Goode creates music based programming in his role as the Children’s Program Artistic Manager for the non-profit Shelter Music Boston.
Dr. Goode received his Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he studied with Professor Kevin Stees. He received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in 2017 and 2023 from Boston University, where he was a student of Mike Roylance, principal tuba of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
About the Composer
Shawn William Davern is an American composer, arranger, conductor, trombonist and music educator. He currently serves as a second year graduate teaching associate pursuing a doctoral of musical arts degree in conducting at The Ohio State University (OSU) School of Music, under the direction of Dr. Russel C. Mikkelson. He also serves as the conductor of The OSU Professional School Orchestra and sousaphonist for the Columbus-based brass band Island Fever Brass. Davern is the co-founder, leader, head writer and lead trombone of The Sages of Future Soul, a remote recording big band that performs contemporary jazz, funk and soul standards.
Prior to his appointment at OSU, Davern served as a performing arts instructor at the Manlius Pebble Hill School, where he oversaw the 3-12 concert band program and taught additional courses in music theory, keyboard and general music. Davern was the recipient of the 2017 Massachusetts Music Educators Association Promising Young Music Educator Award and worked as the trombone workshop assistant at the 2019 Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Davern made his international conducting debut at the 55th International Horn Symposium in Montreal on his own composition commissioned for and performed by the NUCORNO Jazz horn ensemble.
Davern’s compositions and arrangements have been performed in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and South Korea. He is the editor and transcriber of The Music Method, a new publication aimed to develop the artistry of the modern trombonist, authored by the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s principal trombone, Toby Oft. Davern is also a member of the Millennium Composers Initiative. Davern’s composition entitled The Natural Lands: Suite for Tuba Euphonium Quartet was the recipient of the International Tuba Euphonium Associations 2019 R. Winston Morris Award for Excellence for Tuba Euphonium Composition. His composition for wind ensemble entitled An Elegant Sufficiency was named a finalist twice in the National Band Association William D. Revelli Composition Competition and performed at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference by the Valley Wind Ensemble. The composition was also named a national finalist in the American Prize in Composition Band/Wind Ensemble Professional Division and the Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music.In 2018, Davern’s arrangement of George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm was performed live on NBC by the James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes for the 92nd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. He has also arranged for the Boston Brass, with performances in collaboration with the JMU Marching Royal Dukes and University of Missouri Marching Mizzou. His Sonata for Trombone and Piano, entitled Nostalgia Bostonia will be featured via commercial release by Dr. Brittany Lasch and Thomas Weaver. Davern’s new wind band work entitled Friendly City Overture, waswritten for and premiered in May 2024 by the JMU Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Stephen Bolstad. Davern is published by Cherry Classics Music and Warwick Music.
Davern received his bachelor’s degree in music education at Boston University and also studied abroad at the Royal College of Music in London. He received his master’s degree in wind conducting at James Madison University, where he served as the graduate assistant of the university’s band program.
Shawn W. Davern 