Biography
Velvet Brown, recognized as a leading tubist, maintains an international presence through performances and teaching while issuing multiple recordings on the Crystal Records imprint. Raised amid a musical household, she first encountered the tuba during a middle-school ensemble session and drew inspiration from the Annapolis Brass Quintet as well as from wind instrumentalists and vocalists such as Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mahalia Jackson. At Boston University she assumed the role of associate director of university bands and trained under the Empire Brass; a subsequent sixteen-month Fulbright fellowship took her to Italy for concerts and instruction, after which she worked briefly with renowned orchestral tubist Roger Bobo.
Earlier faculty appointments included Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Ball State University in Indiana. Her first recording, Velvet Brown, Tuba, appeared on Crystal Records in 1999, and she has remained with the label for subsequent projects. The Fulbright period initiated an extensive schedule of solo appearances and pedagogical engagements across numerous Western European nations, extending also to Russia, Japan, and Cuba; she has additionally appeared as guest principal tubist with Finland’s Lahti Philharmonic.
Domestically she has collaborated with the Detroit Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, and the River City Brass Band, among other ensembles, while holding principal tuba positions with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra and Pennsylvania’s Altoona Symphony Orchestra. In jazz settings she has shared stages with tubists Howard Johnson and Bob Stewart as well as trumpeter Doc Severinsen. A 2023 Crystal Records release presented works by Barbara York, Roger Kellaway, John Stevens, Meyer Kupferman, and Drew Bonner. Since 2003 Brown has taught at Penn State University, advancing there to the rank of Distinguished Professor.
Earlier faculty appointments included Bowling Green State University in Ohio and Ball State University in Indiana. Her first recording, Velvet Brown, Tuba, appeared on Crystal Records in 1999, and she has remained with the label for subsequent projects. The Fulbright period initiated an extensive schedule of solo appearances and pedagogical engagements across numerous Western European nations, extending also to Russia, Japan, and Cuba; she has additionally appeared as guest principal tubist with Finland’s Lahti Philharmonic.
Domestically she has collaborated with the Detroit Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, and the River City Brass Band, among other ensembles, while holding principal tuba positions with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra and Pennsylvania’s Altoona Symphony Orchestra. In jazz settings she has shared stages with tubists Howard Johnson and Bob Stewart as well as trumpeter Doc Severinsen. A 2023 Crystal Records release presented works by Barbara York, Roger Kellaway, John Stevens, Meyer Kupferman, and Drew Bonner. Since 2003 Brown has taught at Penn State University, advancing there to the rank of Distinguished Professor.
Albums
