Four Frenchmen, who play the tuba: Philippe Wendling, Patrick Couttet, Philippe Gallet and Olivier Galmant show as Miraphone Tuba Quartett, what the often too little appreciated instrument is capable of.

For 14 years now, the artists have been giving concerts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the USA.

With that, they received such excellent reputation as a quartet, that amazed even experts in music of brass instruments.

The four musicians already met several times in the course of their education, but it was not until 1993, when they again met at the National Conservatory in Paris, that they got to know each other very well, personally as well as musically.

Although four tubas are not a customary cast, the musicians want to show that, also with these instruments, it is possible to offer an entertaining repertoire.

We spent the first months searching for suitable arrangements that emphasize the abundance of variants rather than the heavy character of the instruments, recalls Philippe Wendling. The search proved to be so successful, that the quartet decided to appear before the public for the first time, but without taking themselves too serious.

For this reason their first concert did not take place in a concert hall, but at the opening of a restaurant in Paris.

In 1995 Philippe Wendling and Patrick Couttet went to the Music-Fair in Frankfurt, in order to test the euphoniums of various manufacturers, among others also the instruments of the company Miraphone.

At the fair the musicians got talking to Rudolf Schott, the manager of the Miraphone e.G., who invited the quartet to Waldkraiburg to visit the company.
For us it was really fascinating to be able to watch for the first time live how our instruments are produced. And so, as a thank-you, we gave a brief concert for the staff, explains Olivier Galmant.

The concert should not remain without consequences, Miraphone surprisingly made the musicians the proposal for an extensive sponsorship.
This was the hour of birth for the Miraphone Tuba Quartett. "For such young musicians like us, this proposal was like a dream coming true", tells Philippe Wendling. Miraphone equipped the quartet with new instruments and ensured the necessary publicity.

By now the four artists had the opportunity to follow their aim with completely new means: They wanted to increase the name recognition of tuba and euphonium and get the audience a young and sparkling impression of the instruments.

Since then the name Miraphone
Tuba Quartett is connected with an exceptionally wide-ranking repertoire and the musicians Philippe Wendling, Patrick Couttet, Philippe Gallet and Olivier Galmant are known around the world for their mastery on their instruments.

The quartet's repertoire extends for Brückner to Monti, from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Paul Mc Cartney.
The musicians have one major aim: They want to combine classical and modern music in their program and by doing that, they want to emphasize the versatility of their instruments.
" The tuba and the euphonium are close to classical music as well as they are to jazz", explains Philippe Gallet.

In its concerts, the Miraphone Tuba Quartett surprises the audience with unusual arrangements and the ability to perform even technically demanding pieces of music with noticeable lightness. The intention is to offer a sophisticated, but always entertaining program that conveys the audience, that tuba and euphonium do have a legitimacy to be played as "solo-instruments".

We do not follow one musical line. The main thing for us is the tone and the fun in music, that ought to reach the listeners.