Our founding conductor (2009-2013) for Merry TubaChristmas- Detroit was G.R. Davis, professor of tuba at Tennessee State University, pre-college program tuba instructor at Vanderbilt University, and Director/Coordinator of Nashville, Tennessee’s MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS. After four years of making the trip to Detroit on his own time, he felt he had done what he could to get us launched and it was time for Detroit’s Merry TubaChristmas to have a local conductor.
A computer programmer by day, teacher by evening, musician at night, and Musik Meister Oom Pah come Oktober, G.R. is an Alabama boy made good. This adjunct professor of Tuba at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music has award winning tuba students all over the country. Also a fine string and electric bass player, you'll find G.R. in many bands playing anything from bluegrass to Beethoven (From Music Meister's website. To see it click here)
Adjunct Professor of Music (tuba and euphonium) at several colleges in the Nashville area, including Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb University, Fisk University, Belmont University, Murray State University and Tennessee State University (Since 2010). Served as music director at Kingston Springs United Methodist Church, Kingston Springs, Tennessee, and at Goodlettsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Free lance artist on bass and tuba with various ensembles around Nashville, Tennessee. Worked at Opryland USA with the Firehouse Jazz Band and on the General Jackson Showboat. Substitute principal tuba for Paducah, (KY) Symphony. Member of Nashville Wind Ensemble, Tennessee Jazz Orchestra, Capitol Brass, Bradley Brass, The Establishment, Gloria Belle and Tennessee Sunshine (Bluegrass), Kingston Strings (Bluegrass), Die Musik Meisters (German), Nashville Weather (Irish), Chattanooga Broadway Series “State Fair”, etc. Free lance artist on bass and tuba with many ensembles around Chicago, Illinois playing with artists including Karl Linden, Franz Benteler, Frankie Masters, and Della Reese. Played bass in the staff orchestra at Executive Inn, Owensboro, Kentucky. In this capacity he performed with a 12 piece big band and a jazz trio. Some of the artists this band backed included Frankie Avalon, Johnny Desmond, Red Skelton, The Mills Brothers, Wayne Newton, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Sammy Davis Jr. He played bass with the U.S. Armed Forces Bicentennial Band and Chorus from Washington, D.C. This was a special multi-service band put together to tour the United States in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. They performed in all 50 state capitals, cities in between, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for about 1.6 million people in venues such as the Kennedy Center, Interlochen Bowl, Boston Symphony Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Wolftrap, and the Mormon Tabernacle. They made numerous appearances on national television. Some of the artists they worked with included the Mike Douglas Show, Frank Sinatra,and Jose Ferrar. The band played the official July 4, 1976, ceremonies with President Carter at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. G.R. was in the Marine Corps detachment and enlisted on a special contract with no basic training at the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was a free lance artist on tuba and bass in the Indianapolis, Indiana area where he played with such artists as Shirley Jones, Henry Mancini, Starlight Musicals, Clowes Hall Broadway Series, “No No, Nanette”, etc. (From Tennessee State faculty webpage. Too see it click here)
G.R. at Octubafest at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music (here)
Octubafest 2007 (here)
Merry TubaChristmas Nashville 2010 (here)
G.R. leads a Happy Birthday tribute to Harvey Phillips at Nashville's TubaChristmas (here)
Take a look at TubaChristmas Nashville's facebook page (here)
A computer programmer by day, teacher by evening, musician at night, and Musik Meister Oom Pah come Oktober, G.R. is an Alabama boy made good. This adjunct professor of Tuba at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music has award winning tuba students all over the country. Also a fine string and electric bass player, you'll find G.R. in many bands playing anything from bluegrass to Beethoven (From Music Meister's website. To see it click here)
Adjunct Professor of Music (tuba and euphonium) at several colleges in the Nashville area, including Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Lipscomb University, Fisk University, Belmont University, Murray State University and Tennessee State University (Since 2010). Served as music director at Kingston Springs United Methodist Church, Kingston Springs, Tennessee, and at Goodlettsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Free lance artist on bass and tuba with various ensembles around Nashville, Tennessee. Worked at Opryland USA with the Firehouse Jazz Band and on the General Jackson Showboat. Substitute principal tuba for Paducah, (KY) Symphony. Member of Nashville Wind Ensemble, Tennessee Jazz Orchestra, Capitol Brass, Bradley Brass, The Establishment, Gloria Belle and Tennessee Sunshine (Bluegrass), Kingston Strings (Bluegrass), Die Musik Meisters (German), Nashville Weather (Irish), Chattanooga Broadway Series “State Fair”, etc. Free lance artist on bass and tuba with many ensembles around Chicago, Illinois playing with artists including Karl Linden, Franz Benteler, Frankie Masters, and Della Reese. Played bass in the staff orchestra at Executive Inn, Owensboro, Kentucky. In this capacity he performed with a 12 piece big band and a jazz trio. Some of the artists this band backed included Frankie Avalon, Johnny Desmond, Red Skelton, The Mills Brothers, Wayne Newton, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Sammy Davis Jr. He played bass with the U.S. Armed Forces Bicentennial Band and Chorus from Washington, D.C. This was a special multi-service band put together to tour the United States in celebration of the U.S. Bicentennial. They performed in all 50 state capitals, cities in between, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for about 1.6 million people in venues such as the Kennedy Center, Interlochen Bowl, Boston Symphony Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Wolftrap, and the Mormon Tabernacle. They made numerous appearances on national television. Some of the artists they worked with included the Mike Douglas Show, Frank Sinatra,and Jose Ferrar. The band played the official July 4, 1976, ceremonies with President Carter at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. G.R. was in the Marine Corps detachment and enlisted on a special contract with no basic training at the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was a free lance artist on tuba and bass in the Indianapolis, Indiana area where he played with such artists as Shirley Jones, Henry Mancini, Starlight Musicals, Clowes Hall Broadway Series, “No No, Nanette”, etc. (From Tennessee State faculty webpage. Too see it click here)
G.R. at Octubafest at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music (here)
Octubafest 2007 (here)
Merry TubaChristmas Nashville 2010 (here)
G.R. leads a Happy Birthday tribute to Harvey Phillips at Nashville's TubaChristmas (here)
Take a look at TubaChristmas Nashville's facebook page (here)