In December 2024, Dr. Magdalena Adamek, VCU Music Piano Faculty and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies, and Bob Powers (VCUarts Music ’72), euphonium, recorded an album of Spanish Meditations and Dances by American contemporary composer Gregory Fritze. Dr. Ross Walter, VCU Music Professor of Low Brass, served as producer of the CD. Adamek and Powers’ peer-reviewed proposal for a performance of the music at the 2025 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference in Valencia, Spain was selected from a competitive field, and both musicians were featured in concert at the Palau de Musica in Valencia.
This extensive research and recording project culminated in a Mark Masters CD publication that was released worldwide in the summer of 2025 and appeared on many online platforms, including Apple Music Classical, Spotify, and other music retailers. The project yielded further benefits for members of the VCU Arts community including Madeline Walter (’23, VCUarts Communication Arts) who was commissioned to create the cover art and booklet for Powers and Adamek’s album.
Dr. Adamek was also engaged to perform six additional, very well received, recitals at the conference with top international tuba and euphonium performers from Japan, Hungary, Germany, South Korea, and the United States. Among many highlights of the conference, Adamek’s performances with two international tuba stars, Andreas Martin Hofmeir from Germany, professor of tuba at Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and Roland Szentpáli, the principal tubist of the Hungarian National Philharmonic and professor at Ferenc Liszt Academy, garnered enthusiastic response from the attendees.
Dr. Walter was invited to perform in a tuba-euphonium ensemble entitled ‘Uluru’ alongside many outstanding artists in the field in a special concert featuring music by Gregory Fritze.
In addition, two other VCUarts – Music Alumni were prominently featured at the international conference: Dr. Stephanie Ycaza, Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (’06 VCUarts Music) was featured twice at the conference. She performed in a duo recital and also lectured on her newly published book of studies for the tuba.
Brian Dobbins, Principal Tubist – Santa Fe Symphony and Professor of Tuba at the University of Oklahoma (’99 VCUarts Music) also presented a solo recital on the conference.
VCU Music was well represented again this year at the most important gathering of Tuba and Euphonium players in the world, and the broad representation of faculty and alumni raised the awareness of VCU Music on the world stage.
