“This is a totally one-of-a-kind experience. You can't get the Humboldt Brass Chamber Music Workshop experience anywhere else,” says Tony Clements, the workshop’s longtime director. “Nobody else does what we do. Nobody.”
Founded in 1974 by former Music Professor and Department Chair Valgene Phillips, the workshop was inspired by a desire to bring brass musicians into the kind of intimate, conductor-less performance settings traditionally reserved for strings and piano.
Clements, a professional tuba player who first joined as a workshop coach in 1982, took over direction of the program in 1999. Since then, he’s helped guide the workshop through growth, challenges, and the continuation of a deeply cherished tradition.
Each day at BCMW, 70 to 80 participants are randomly placed into ensembles—ranging from trios to dectets—and given a new stack of music and a professional coach. After a day of rehearsal, the groups perform short excerpts for each other in an evening “program” that functions more like a supportive musical showcase than a concert.
“The performance is just kind of a brief showcase to say, ‘Hey, this is what we did today,’” says Clements. “The emphasis here is on developing skills and collaborating.”
After the daily program concludes, participants gather informally to “freelance,” a term used to describe the self-organized jam sessions where they choose music from BCMW’s legendary library and play into the night.
“They just read music until they’re tired,” Clements says.
And what a library it is. Housed at the University, the library has over 6,000 titles. BCMW boasts the largest brass chamber music library in the world. The collection includes everything from standard repertoire to one-of-a-kind works generated by the workshop’s international composition contest, which ran for 17 years and inspired more than 600 new brass pieces from composers in Japan, Poland, South Africa, Italy, and more.
“We have more than Harvard, we have more than Yale, we have more than Oxford,” Clements says.
The self-sustaining workshop embodies a grassroots, community-driven spirit supported by tuition and donations that keep the music alive.
That dedication—along with the breathtaking natural surroundings and Humboldt’s temperate summer climate—helps explain why BCMW maintains a 90% return rate. Musicians from California, Oregon, Arizona, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and beyond return year after year, drawn by what many describe as the BCMW “family.”
“It used to be that brass chamber music was the reason people came,” says Clements. “Now it’s the excuse they give to see each other.”
Those deep connections are a hallmark of the workshop. “There are people who met here and got married—me and my wife included,” says Clements. “It’s a place where friendships and relationships form because of the vulnerability that comes with making music together.”
That collaborative energy is core to the nature of chamber music itself, which Clements describes as a democratic, conductor-less art form.
“In chamber music, everyone has a voice,” he says. “You listen differently. You lead and follow, sometimes at the same time.”
Over the decades, BCMW has welcomed musicians of all ages and ability levels. The workshop still draws a multigenerational crowd. Coaches come from all over the country, and many are returning participants who understand the importance of musical skill, pedagogy, and personality in equal measure.
“We’re not just looking for great players,” Clements explains. “You have to be a great teacher, know the repertoire, and be a good hang. We’re in the trenches together, coaching all day, spending time in the music library, and building this community.”
Despite interest from other universities, BCMW has remained at Cal Poly Humboldt, thanks in large part to the region’s appeal.
“We’ve been approached by other campuses to move the workshop,” says Clements. “But our folks want to come here. They come from places where it’s 100 degrees, and it’s 60 here. Plus, Humboldt County is beautiful.”
As the workshop reaches its 50th anniversary, Clements reflects on the legacy he’s helped build. “We’ve created something that’s not only musically enriching but deeply human,” he says. “We’ll keep passing the torch. When I hang up my spikes, someone else will carry on the mission: to promote the love and performance of brass chamber music.”
Until then, the sound of horns, trombones, trumpets, and tubas will continue to ring through the redwoods each summer, echoing the passion, connection, and joy that define this truly singular gathering of brass musicians.
The College of Extended Education and Global Engagement also coordinates the Humboldt Chamber Music Workshop for adults, a tradition that has thrived since 1958, as well as the Sequoia Chamber Music Workshop for children and young adults, inspiring creativity and passion since 1972. For more information or to join the Brass Chamber Music Workshop and other programs, visit www.humboldt.edu/extended-education