Wind Symphony welcomes guest artist Jan Duga of the United States Air Force Band (ret.) as featured tuba soloist in Richard Strauss' Concerto No. 1, opus 11. The ensemble will also perform Profanation from Jeremiah, Leonard Bernstein/arr. Frank Bencriscutto; Symphonic Movement, Vaclav Nelhybel; Downey Overture, Oscar Navarro; Adagio for Wind Instruments, Joaquin Rodrigo; and Danzon No. 2, Arturo Márquez/arr. Nickel. Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor; Nicholas Enz, Phillip Day, and Andrew Lawrence, guest conductors.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Jan Z. Duga began playing tuba in fourth grade at the age of nine. While in junior high and high school, she gained valuable experience performing in solo and ensemble competitions and as a member of the Columbus Symphony-sponsored Cadet and Youth orchestras. Jan graduated from Bexley High School as a member of the National Honors Society and received the John Philip Sousa Award for Musical Excellence. Jan holds a bachelor of music education degree from The Ohio State University, graduating in 1980 and earned a master of music degree in tuba performance from Arizona State University in 1982. As a four-year member of The Ohio State University Marching Band sousaphone section, Jan made history in 1979 as the first female to “dot the i” in Script Ohio, taking after her father who was also an “i-dotter” in 1949. Her teachers include her father Jules Duga, Robert LeBlanc, Raymond Nutaitis, Michael Bunn and Paul Krzywicki. She became a music educator in the Chillicothe (OH) City Public School system prior to winning a position in The United States Air Force Band in 1983.
In 2013 Jan retired from a distinguished thirty-year career as a Chief Master Sergeant with The United States Air Force Band, Washington, D.C. As a tubist with the Concert Band, she traveled throughout the country and abroad and performed on over 60 community relations tours for the American public. She also participated in full-honor funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, played in ceremonies for various heads of state and foreign dignitaries at the White House, Pentagon and Joint Base Andrews, MD, and participated in the 50th Anniversary of V-E Day in Moscow, Russia and in military tattoos in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway.
Jan’s professional music affiliations include charter membership and service on the Board of Directors of the International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC), and as an ongoing member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association. Along with performances with The USAF Band, she was a featured soloist with the Brass Band of Columbus at the 1992 International Tuba Euphonium Conference (ITEC) and with the 34th Minnesota Infantry Division Band at the 1998 ITEC. In 2012 Jan was honored with the first Lifetime Service Award from the IWBC for her contributions to the brass world. She has also maintained a private teaching studio.
Jan continues to freelance in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and recently extended her creative artistry in pursuing a professional photography certificate from Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts.
Photo credit: Jennifer Tallman
