Roger Rocco — Tubist & Master Brass Teacher

Roger Rocco is an internationally respected tubist, brass pedagogue, and master teacher whose career has combined orchestral performance with a lifelong commitment to understanding and teaching the art of brass playing. A longtime student of legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra tubist and teacher Arnold Jacobs, Rocco has devoted much of his professional life to preserving, developing, and sharing the principles that made Jacobs one of the most influential brass teachers of the twentieth century.

As a performer, Rocco served as Principal Tuba of both the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including nearly a full season as principal tubist under Sir Georg Solti, as well as performances and recordings alongside Arnold Jacobs. Among his notable recording credits is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's celebrated, Grammy-winning recording of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique under Sir Georg Solti. Rocco's firsthand experiences performing beside Jacobs gave him an unusually close perspective on the relationship between Jacobs' teaching principles and his extraordinary accomplishments as a performer.

Rocco's influence as a teacher extends far beyond the tuba. In fact, he has worked with more horn players than players of any other brass instrument. He has taught at Northwestern University, VanderCook College of Music, Western Michigan University, and other colleges and universities, working with musicians throughout the brass family. He has also presented masterclasses at numerous institutions, including Indiana University and the University of Michigan, sharing his approach to brass performance, musical communication, and the efficient use of the body with students and professional musicians. His students have gone on to careers in major orchestras, bands, universities, and other professional musical organizations in the United States and internationally. Former students repeatedly describe his ability to simplify complex concepts and redirect a player's attention away from excessive physical analysis and toward the musical result.

At the heart of Rocco's teaching is a deceptively simple idea: “The music tells us all we need to know.” His approach encourages musicians to develop a vivid concept of sound in the mind and allow the body to respond naturally to that musical intention. His frequently expressed philosophy of “Sing, Buzz, Play” reflects the belief that the instrument itself is ultimately only the vehicle through which an already imagined musical sound is communicated. On his Brass Pedagogy and Performance Practices website, Rocco describes the goal as transcending the “mindless brass tube” through the musical sound heard in the player's mind.

This philosophy represents a direct continuation of Arnold Jacobs' emphasis on the power of imagination, imitation, sound, and musical communication. Rather than encouraging players to consciously manipulate every physical detail of breathing, embouchure, or muscular activity while performing, Rocco teaches musicians to direct conscious attention toward the desired musical product. The body, trained through experience and guided by a clear musical intention, is then allowed to perform its task with minimal interference. His teaching has proven applicable not only to tuba and euphonium players, but also to trumpet, horn, trombone, and other wind musicians.

Rocco has also made significant contributions to the literature of brass pedagogy. He has written numerous articles for The Instrumentalist, contributed to Brian Frederiksen's landmark book Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind as well as many other books about Jacobs, taught courses and seminars devoted to brass pedagogy, and collaborated in presentations examining Jacobs' teaching and legacy. He also wrote the foreword to Sérgio Carolino's book Mind Over Metal. His writings address subjects ranging from beginning brass instruction to the psychology of performance and the dangers of excessive self-analysis.

Rocco's own website is dedicated to the memory of Adolph Herseth, Edward Kleinhammer, and Arnold Jacobs, musicians whose artistry, integrity, and musical leadership profoundly influenced his life and work. He explains that sharing these concepts fulfills a promise he made to Jacobs shortly before Jacobs' death in 1998: that his work would continue through his students.

Today, Roger Rocco's legacy can be heard not only in his own distinguished career as a tubist, but in generations of brass musicians and teachers who continue to apply his central message: “It's just the singing.”