As the lone tuba player in the Martin Murphy Middle School band, 13-year-old Aaron Osborne did not have anyone to measure himself against. He had only picked up playing the large brass instrument one year earlier after being introduced to its sound by a family member.
“My uncle, he plays tuba and a while back I went to his house and he put it on my lap and I played it. It was really fun,” said Osborne, who has been playing the piano since the third grade. “I really like the deep noise that it makes.”
It is safe to say that the eighth-grader is a quick study, as he was one of six tuba players accepted into the the 2016 California Band Directors Association All-State Honor Band.
“My mom got an email from them and we read through it and looked at this list of people. When I saw my name, I was really excited and was jumping up and down,” said Osborne of learning the news of his accomplishment.
Osborne, who “practiced a lot and even took a (private) lesson” to fine-tune his tuba talents, was one of more than 1,000 students who sent in an audition tape across all of the state’s high school and junior high ensembles. His music teacher, Greg Chambers, made the recording for him at his home. After multiple attempts, Osborne nailed it and they sent it in.
“He’s just so committed to these kids,” said Murphy Principal Heather Nursement of Chambers. “It’s so awesome and we’re very lucky to have a band director like him.”
Chambers, also the band director at Sobrato High School, has built a “phenomenal program” at both levels and has the older students mentor the middle schoolers, Nursement explained. For Osborne, it has served as huge motivation.
“At the beginning of the year, Mr. Chambers told me I should audition so I looked it up and thought it was something fun that I could do,” said Osborne, who received a Feb. 11-13 weekend stay with the rest of the honor band at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. During that time, all students selected into the CBDA All-State Junior High School Honor Bands will rehearse together and then give a Feb. 13 performance at the San Jose Convention Center.
“I’m really excited because I’m used to being the only tuba player,” Osborne said. “But there’s going to be six other tubas in the band so it’s going to be really different and awesome.”
