You have to hand it to Kettle’s Yard. The last time I think I heard a tuba not being aggressively drowned out by six or seven trumpets was when Tommy Sexton used to whip out his euphonium in primary school, wowing us all with the pure audacity of his choice, a growling intestinal tangle of pipes and pistons. We would hug our violins a little closer and listen in silent fascination. It was classic Tommy, though. He always broke the mould.

The euphonium is a smaller type of tuba. YouTuba consists of two euphonium players as well as two regular tuba players. Their self-arranged “Tuba Bears Picnic” also featured cameos from a trombone and a sousaphone, which is a body-hugging, python-like tuba invented for marching bands.

Virtuoso performances on instruments not normally associated with them are always exciting, and Youtuba is made up of four truly virtuosic musicians. Hari Eustice, Julian Hepple, Richard Evans and Chris Bearman, a.k.a. “Big Billy”, “Gallant Juan”, “Mason D’Mason Mason” and “Talking Hans”, each delivered stunning and intricate harmonies, playing the group’s own arrangements of Saint-Saens, Strauss and others. So… WHY THE NAMES? Why, why, why? Why the names and why the story line?

The Tuba Bears Picnic is a narrative created by Ian McMillan,the poet and BBC radio presenter, and Simon Callow, the actor, director, writer, and judge on Popstar to Operastar (what?). There is choreography, role-play, and costumes, and whilst it was an innovative and original approach, other than the music itself, it wasn’t brilliant. The poetry rhymed at best, and the story line was coherent, but a bit too silly for anything other than a children’s party.

To earn a reputation, YouTuba are forced to be actors and children’s entertainers as well. They are so accomplished that I wish this weren’t the case, but to their great credit they are raising the tuba’s profile in a world that needs to be tricked into realising just how good the instrument can be. If only there were more Tommy Sextons in this world, YouTuba, undiluted, would be excellent.

 

The next concert in Kettle's Yard New Music series will be Hard and Smooth on Sunday 12th February.