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Biography
 The
late John Fletcher (1941-1987) is
England
’s most celebrated tuba player.
John was known to his closest colleagues
simply as “Fletch.”
He was best known as the Principal Tubist
with the London Symphony Orchestra and also the
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble.
It is fortunate that his artistry with the
LSO and PJBE is documented on many recordings.
Probably the most well-known of
Fletcher’s LSO recordings is his performance of
the Vaughan Williams Concerto in F Minor for Bass Tuba and Orchestra (RCA-60586).
Although virtually all PJBE CDs include
excellent representations of his playing, probably
the first one to acquire would be the double CD Philip
Jones Brass Ensemble—Greatest Hits (Decca-
467746). Mr.
Fletcher also published a number of solos and
ensembles.
John
Fletcher was awarded the coveted Lifetime
Achievement Award by the International
Tuba-Euphonium Association (I.T.E.A.).
A book entitled A
Celebration: John
Fletcher Tuba Extraordinary was published in
1997. There
is also a CD of his playing entitled The
Best of Fletch.
Additional information about Mr.
Fletcher also appears in the book The
Odyssey of The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, published
in by Editions BIM in 1986.
More
information about Fletcher may be found at http://www.johnfletcher-tuba.co.uk/.
The site includes a number of nice
photographs, information about the book and CD
mentioned above, as well as the John Fletcher
Trust Fund.
Dr.
Steve Shoop
Ennis
,
Texas
March
26, 2005
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