We want to showcase the students who have crossed paths in the Texas Tech University School of Music; past, present, and FUTURE! In this story, we are celebrating the success and journey of TTU SoM Alumnus: David Hummel, 2009 graduate.
David Hummel is an active performer, educator, and music advocate in the greater Austin, Texas area. Mr. Hummel has been the principal tubist of the Central Texas Philharmonic since 2011 and is a founding member of the Austin Brass Collective.
We recently interviewed Mr. Hummel who graduated from the TTU School of Music in tuba
performance and music education, about his background, education, and current endeavors
in Austin, Texas.
During his time here, 2004 – 2009, David Hummel was a tuba performance and music education
major, studying with Dr. Kevin Wass.
Hummel was born and raised in a musical family:
“Music was always on in the house in my childhood and my parents realized at a young age that I enjoyed and had an aptitude for it. Disney, musicals, Christmas music, anything was playing at all times. My dad and his dad were both hobbyist musicians, so I guess you could say it was in my blood. I actually started studying music in 4th grade in California on the French Horn. I was pretty bad.
I chose music as a career 100% because of the tuba studio that Dr. Wass fostered at Tech. I went into the program as a music major because I didn't know what else I would do, but I fell in love with it and teaching - during my time there.” But mainly, again, choosing the TTU School of Music was because of “Kevin Wass. He's the man. I always look forward to seeing him at TMEA and most summers.”
His greatest memories as an undergraduate were the practice sessions:
“I vividly remember late night practice sessions with other members of the studio during my undergrad. A lot of the time it wasn't actual practice, but rather talking about our aspirations and plans for the future, which seemed way more important than scales at the time. There was always a member of the tuba studio in the practice rooms, so there was always a friend around.”
Once graduating with his performance and education degrees, he pursued his master's degree in tuba performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2011. During this time, he competed in the International Tuba and Euphonium Conferences' quartet competition, as well as the mock band audition, making it to the semi-final round in both.
After his studies, he was appointed as (and still is) the principal tubist of the Central Texas Philharmonic in 2011. He is now currently living in Leander, Texas with his wife, Britni, and their dog, Dixie. It is now his 11th year of teaching private lessons in the greater Austin area.
He has had numerous All-State musicians over the years across multiple different school classifications. In 2021, he had his first student place in the Student Division of the Falcone Solo Competition and in 2018 he presented a clinic at the Texas Music Educator's Association, along with Kevin Wass, advocating for the presence of chamber music in the educational careers of young tuba and euphonium players.
“Since 2013, he has been co-founder and director of a summer tuba and euphonium festival called Teupha Camp. Since it's start, it's grown from a single camp of less than 30 participants to multiple events throughout the school year for the tuba and euphonium students of Texas like mock auditions, outdoor single day camps, and a summer camp pushing a hundred students. Teupha camp brings the joy and educational power of chamber music to those two instruments in a way that those students wouldn't have experienced otherwise.” (AustinBrassCollective)
Along with teaching, since 2021, he has been the president of the Austin Brass Collective. In our interview, Hummel shares the Austin Brass Collective's mission and its origin:
“The ABC was started in December of 2021 and was simply a pickup group of musicians organized into a very short and poorly planned Christmas concert. We found some free music online, asked to borrow a PAC from a local school, and set a date. We had one rehearsal beforehand and then did the gig. Looking back, I think everyone enjoyed the grass roots nature of the thing so much that it was instantly magnetic. We began giving monthly concerts, arranged a LOT of music for ourselves (thanks to some genius arrangers/composers in the group), and started building a small audience. We then decided to make it official and incorporate into a nonprofit, hold auditions, apply for funding from a variety of different sources, and really make a go of it. Now, we're a semi professional brass group that was created out of nothing. Also super empowering.”
“The ABC's main goal, at its essence, is to make people smile with brass music. There are a LOT of little steps that go into that, but that's ultimately what we (and most musicians I think) are trying to do. That leads us to program fun and engaging concerts (movie music, video game tunes, jazz charts, etc) that we think people will show up for and engage in. We're currently collaborating with another local chamber group called the Austin Sax Ensemble to perform the full Pines of Rome in concert: they are playing the string and woodwind parts and we are playing the orchestral brass parts. It sounds wild and I love it.”
You can learn more about the Austin Brass Collective on their website: https://www.austinbrasscollective.com/
Very active as a music advocate, teaching private lessons is his main gig. “I feel like I'm starting to figure out how to actually teach a little bit now, and that's very empowering.”