David LeClair composer / arranger

David LeClair is second principal tubist and tutti-contrabassist in Sinfonieorchester Basel. Having studied with Harvey Phillips at Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, he received a Bachelor of Music with High Distinction in 1976 and emigrated to Munich, Germany in 1977. In April 1977 he became principal solo-tuba at the Bavarian State Theater at Gaertnerplatz and played there from May of 1977 until August of 1982. During his entire 5-year stay in Munich he studied with Robert Tucci. After winning the audition for the Swiss Radio-Sinfonieorchester in Basel in 1982, he played there until 1997, when in the course of reorganization, the Radio Sinfonie merged with the Basel Sinfonieorchester to form the Sinfonieorchester Basel. In addition to his contractual duties in these orchestras, he has played regularly as a substitute in the Munich Philharmonic, the Symphony-Orchester of the Bavarian Radio, the Bavarian State Opera, the Symphony-Orchester of the Süddeutsche Rundfunk in Stuttgart, the Frankfurt and Saarbrücken Operas, the Orchestra della RAI in Turin, Italy, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle in Zurich and in the Zurich Opera.

Since 1983 David LeClair has been teaching tuba and euphonium at the Conservatory of the Musik-Akademie in Basel. From 1985 until 1992, he was teacher of brass pedagogy and didactics at the Conservatory. In addition to the students at the professional level, he also coaches chamber music ensembles at the Academy and teaches a small class of amateur pupils.

Composing has always been one of David LeClair's passions and a few of his compositions can be heard on the following CDs: "Swingin' Low" and "The Dragon's Dance", both available at Marcophon of Editions Marc Reift, and on his solo CD, produced by "Grammont Portrait".

During the past few years David LeClair has been working closely with Rudolf Meinl in the further development of his very fine instruments. Together with Rainer Egger he has created a series of excellent mouthpieces for tuba, based on the principals of response, intonation and flow.