Jim Self – 2011

I take the liberty of calling him Harvey even though he had many titles including Mr., Dr. and Distinguished Professor. But he always made me feel comfortable with calling him by his first name. I don’t worship anything (especially other mortals) but Harvey Phillips was as close to a “tuba god” that I have ever known—he was inspirational!

My special relationship with Harvey Phillips began in 1966 when I was in the US Army Band in Washington, D.C. I was studying for my Master’s degree at Catholic University and the man who taught tuba was a distinguished trumpeter but had no interest in teaching tuba and so I was pretty much left on my own. I needed direction. My band mate Dan Perantoni had been commuting to New York City and taking lessons from Harvey Phillips...