Steve Vettese
Steve started playing the tuba at age 12, when his music teacher somehow talked him into it after he initially chose the trumpet. While this may have cost him dearly in terms of his popularity in school at the time, he nonetheless took to the instrument and studied it under Sal Fratia at the University of Toronto, while majoring in Music Theory and History. He also has the good fortune to have had lessons with other eminent tuba pedagogues such as Don Harry (Eastman School of Music, formerly Buffalo Philharmonic) and Matthew K. Brown (Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass).
While he ultimately did not pursue music as a career, he has enjoyed playing in various community ensembles over the years, including the Greater Toronto Philharmonic, where he has been principal tuba since 2010, and Hart House Orchestra from 2013 to 2015. He has been principal tuba of OT since the 2019-20 season, having subbed in with them in two previous concerts in the 2015-2016 and 2018-2019 seasons.
Steve also enjoys reading, playing Flight Simulator, and building scale models. He lives in Toronto with his cat, Oslo.