Stacy Baker
Professor of Music, Euphonium/Tuba
Area(s): Brass, Private Applied
Bio
Dr. Stacy Baker is Professor of Music - Tuba/Euphonium at Morehead State University (KY) where she was honored as the 2016-2017 Distinguished Creative Productions Award recipient and the 2014-2015 Distinguished Teacher. Originally from Harsens Island, MI, she graduated summa cum laude with her B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of Michigan as a James B. Angell scholar, and holds a D.M.A. with highest honors from the University of Illinois.
Baker has toured and recorded throughout the United States Europe, and China as a soloist and founding member of SymbiosisDuo, the R.S.V.B. and JUNCTION tuba/euphonium quartets, Monarch Brass, the Athena Brass Band, as a member of the Lexington Brass Band and MSU’s Horizon Brass quintet. Her quartet, JUNCTION, presented the world premiere of the first Concerto for Tuba Quartet and Wind Band by Austrian composer Franz Cibulka at the prestigious Mid-Europe Festival in Schladming, Austria in 2002. Baker has performed with the Brass Band of Battle Creek and Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band. She is Principal Tuba of the Cave Run Symphony Orchestra and has performed in this role with the Warren Symphony and the Allen Park Symphony, and as substitute tubist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Symphony, the Champaign/Urbana Symphony, the Danville Symphony, the Owensboro Symphony and the Lexington Philharmonic.
Baker formed the professional tuba euphonium duo, SYMBIOSISDUO, with Dr. Gail Robertson in 2007 to increase awareness of the tuba/euphonium duo as a performance medium and to promote and disseminate new works for this unique combination of instruments. The duo chose the name "SYMBIOSISDUO" from the concert duet of that name written for them by composer Chris Sharp. In the program notes he writes: "Symbiosis is defined as, 'A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence . . . The technical and range requirements for each solo instrument are comparable, suggesting a 'separate but equal' relationship." This is an innovative and challenging approach to duet writing for tuba and euphonium producing 'the symbiosis effect' as the tuba is not relegated to an accompanying role, but is equal in all aspects of music with the other voice in the duo, the euphonium.
Her duo’s debut album, SymbiosisDuo, was selected as a finalist for the International Tuba Euphonium Association’s 2010 Roger Bobo Award for Recording Excellence in Chamber Music. The duo’s second album, Playground was released in 2015 including American composer James Grant’s double concerto, Playground, and Franz Cibulka’s Wall Street. Both albums were funded through Morehead State University Creative Production Grants. In 2016, they joined Dr. Deanna Swoboda and SSG Lauren Veronie-Curran to release the R.S.V.B. Tuba/Euphonium Quartet album - Fanfare and Flourish: Celebrating Women Composers. She and Dr. Gail Robertson presented the American premiere of the first double concerto for euphonium, tuba and orchestra, The World of Dreams by Spanish composer Eduardo Nogueroles with Orchestra Iowa at the 2019 International Tuba Euphonium Conference at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.
Baker has performed and presented clinics at numerous conferences hosted by the International Tuba/Euphonium Association (ITEA), International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC), U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Tuba/Euphonium Workshop, International Euphonium Tuba Festival, and the Kentucky, Florida and Michigan Music Educator’s Associations. A former camper, she was honored to return to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp as a featured tuba artist for the 32nd Annual Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival in 2017 where she and Robertson premiered their commission of American composer Eric Knechtges’ double concerto for euphonium, tuba and wind band, Twin Lake Reflections. She was the featured tuba artist for the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. In 2021, Baker performed as soloist for the premiere of Lucy Pankhurst’s Nightlights with the Athena Brass Band at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL.
Baker served together with Robertson as a co-instrumental advisor and co-curriculum designer for the Pro-Series Elite Practice Systems for Tuba and Euphonium, providing all exercises, instruction and quartet arrangements as well as performing as on-screen talent alongside some of their students for the revolutionary pedagogical series of 10 DVDs for tuba and 10 DVDs for euphonium. The project was fully funded and released by American Product Group, LLC in 2013 along with similar series for each of the wind instruments.
She has served on the board of directors of the International Tuba Euphonium Association and the International Women’s Brass Conference, and as co-editor of the IWBC Newsletter. Her feature article: “Making and Maintaining a Great Lip-Reed” appeared in the September 2019 edition of the ArbanZone online magazine.
Education
- DMA in Performance and Literature, University of Illinois
- MM, University of Michigan
- BM, University of Michigan
Profile
Dr. Stacy Baker is a Professor of Music - Tuba/Euphonium at Morehead State University (KY) where she was honored as the 2016-2017 Distinguished Creative Productions Award recipient and the 2014-2015 Distinguished Teacher. Originally from Harsens Island, MI, she graduated summa cum laude with her B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of Michigan as a James B. Angell scholar and holds a D.M.A. with highest honors from the University of Illinois.
Baker has toured and recorded throughout the United States Europe, and China as a soloist and founding member of SymbiosisDuo, the R.S.V.B. and JUNCTION tuba/euphonium quartets, Monarch Brass, the Athena Brass Band, as a member of the Lexington Brass Band and MSU’s Horizon Brass quintet. Her quartet, JUNCTION, presented the world premiere of the first Concerto for Tuba Quartet and Wind Band by Austrian composer Franz Cibulka at the prestigious Mid-Europe Festival in Schladming, Austria in 2002. Baker performs with the Brass Band of Battle Creek and Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band. She has also performed as principal tubist with the Warren Symphony and the Allen Park Symphony and as substitute tubist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Symphony, the Champaign/Urbana Symphony, the Danville Symphony, the Owensboro Symphony and the Lexington Philharmonic.
Baker formed the professional tuba euphonium duo, SYMBIOSISDUO, with Dr. Gail Robertson in 2007 to increase awareness of the tuba/euphonium duo as a performance medium and to promote and disseminate new works for this unique combination of instruments. The duo chose the name "SYMBIOSISDUO" from the concert duet of that name written for them by composer Chris Sharp. In the program notes for the work he writes: "Symbiosis is defined as, 'A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence . . . The technical and range requirements for each solo instrument are comparable, suggesting a 'separate but equal' relationship." This is an innovative and challenging approach to duet writing for tuba and euphonium producing 'the symbiosis effect' as the tuba is not relegated to an accompanying role, but is equal in all aspects of music with the other voice in the duo, the euphonium.
Her duo’s debut album, SymbiosisDuo, was selected as a finalist for the International Tuba Euphonium Association’s 2010 Roger Bobo Award for Recording Excellence in Chamber Music. The duo’s second album, Playground was released in 2015 including American composer James Grant’s double concerto, Playground, and Franz Cibulka’s Wallstreet. Both albums were funded through Morehead State University Creative Production Grants. In 2016, they joined Dr. Deanna Swoboda and SSG Lauren Veronie-Curran to release the R.S.V.B. Tuba/Euphonium Quartet album - Fanfare and Flourish: Celebrating Women Composers. She and Dr. Gail Robertson presented the American premiere of the first double concerto for euphonium, tuba and orchestra, The World of Dreams by Spanish composer Eduardo Nogueroles with Orchestra Iowa at the 2019 International Tuba Euphonium Conference at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.
Baker has performed and presented clinics at numerous conferences hosted by the International Tuba/Euphonium Association (ITEA), International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC), U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Tuba/Euphonium Workshop, International Euphonium Tuba Festival, and the Kentucky, Florida and Michigan Music Educator’s Associations. A former camper, she was honored to return to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp as a featured tuba artist for the 32nd Annual Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival in 2017 where she and Robertson premiered their commission of American composer Eric Knechtges’ double concerto for euphonium, tuba and wind band, "Twin Lake Reflections." She was the featured tuba artist for the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Baker served together with Robertson as a co-instrumental advisor and co-curriculum designer for the Pro-Series Elite Practice Systems for Tuba and Euphonium, providing all exercises, instruction and quartet arrangements as well as performing as on-screen talent alongside some of their students for the revolutionary pedagogical series of 10 DVDs for tuba and 10 DVDs for euphonium. The project was fully funded and released by American Product Group, LLC in 2013 along with similar series for each of the wind instruments.
She serves on the board of directors of the International Tuba Euphonium Association. She has served on the board of directors of the International Women’s Brass Conference and as co-editor of the IWBC Newsletter. Her feature article: “Making and Maintaining a Great Lip-Reed” appeared in the September 2019 edition of the ArbanZone online magazine.
