Donald C. Little, Principal Tuba of the Dallas Opera Orchestra and Texas Wind Symphony, performs frequently in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with a variety of orchestras and brass ensembles including the Texas Winds Brass Quintet. He recently retired from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra after serving as Principal Tuba for 21 years through 2001. Little has recorded with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera Orchestra and the German Radio-Symphonie-Orchester of Berlin. He is a former member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the Colorado Festival Orchestra. He has also performed with the Chicago, St. Louis, San Antonio and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestras.
Now in his thirtieth year of full-time university teaching, Little is a tenured
Professor at the University of North Texas College of Music and was previously
a faculty member at the University of Northern Iowa. Former students hold
teaching and performance positions throughout the world, such as in the Hague
Orchestra of Holland, the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias of Spain, the
Oklahoma City Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, Disneyworld, the US Coast Guard
Academy Band, the US Navy Band of Washington, DC, and numerous universities
and colleges.
Donald Little has been active in the International Tuba Euphonium Association (formerly called TUBA) throughout his career and has served the association in many capacities including President, Past-President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, Conference Coordinator and Chairman of the Board of Directors. He presently serves the association as a member of the Honorary Advisory Board.
Mr. Little has transcribed, arranged, edited and/or composed numerous published works for the tuba, euphonium and brass ensembles. A respected pedagogue and low brass specialist, he contributed instructional materials and solo editions for the tuba and euphonium to Belwin Mills', Medalist Band Course and Contemporary Band Course, which includes his text for high school and college tubists—Practical Hints on Playing the Tuba.
Born in Philadelphia, Donald grew up on the southern New Jersey seashore in
Wildwood Crest where his first tuba teacher was Bernard V. Switzer, Jr., his
band director at Wildwood High School. He received his B.M.E. at the Peabody
Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with John Melick,
and M.M. at Northwestern University where he was a student of Arnold Jacobs.
He has also completed further graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music
as a student of Cherry Beauregard. Don is married to Laura Bruton, principal
violist with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. They reside with their family
in Argyle, Texas.
Visit the Tuba Website
|