Roger Bobo

Roger Bobo was one of the modern era's best-known tubists and did a lot to raise the stature of the instrument. Born in Los Angeles in 1938, he graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1961 and gave his first tuba recital soon after at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, meeting wide acclaim. Bobo then moved to the Netherlands to give solo recitals and play as member of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. In 1964, he returned to Los Angeles to play under the baton of Zubin Mehta in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a position he kept for over 20 years. In the late '70s and early '80s, Bobo began releasing solo records, mostly on Crystal Records, highlighting the existing catalog of works for tuba and premiering modern compositions written especially for the instrument or for himself. In 1990, he moved to Florence, Italy to teach music there and in England, lead the Italian National Youth Orchestra's brass section, and serve as mentor to those who wanted to devote their career to the instrument. Roger Bobo died in Oaxaca, Mexico on February 12, 2023 at the age of 84. ~ Ted Mills