Tom Holtz – Tuba

Tom Holtz is a former member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in Washington, DC. During his career with the Marine Band, Tom served as a soloist, an arranger, and as a concert moderator. He also performed with the United States Coast Guard Band in New London, CT, and was featured as a soloist twice with the Army Blues, from Ft. Myer, VA. Tom retired from active duty in 2012, after more than 21 years of service. He is the Principal Tuba of the Maryland Winds and the Columbia Orchestra. Tom currently works for the Department of Veterans Affairs as the office manager of the Dundalk Vet Center, part of the VA Maryland Health Care System.

Tom is an active freelance musician in both classical and jazz venues across the mid-Atlantic region. He currently plays in the Bayfield Brass Quintet, from Annapolis, MD; and the Beltway Brass Quintet, from Fredericksburg, VA. Tom is also a regular member of two New Orleans-style jazz bands, Big Bertha’s Rhythm Kings, from Baltimore, MD; and the Creole Gumbo Jazz Band, from Chesapeake Beach, MD. He also plays in the Balkan gypsy band Balti Mare, from Baltimore, MD; Off Bass Brass, a tuba quartet based in Washington, DC.; and Heimat Echo, a traditional German polka band from Occoquan, VA.

Tom is a frequent recording artist, having made several CD’s with the Bayfield Brass Quintet, the Beltway Brass Quintet, and Off Bass Brass. His arrangements have been performed by numerous brass quintets, the United States Marine Band, the Chesapeake Orchestra, and the University of Maryland Marching Band. He is an active clinician and adjudicator nationwide.

A native of Geneseo, Illinois, Tom Holtz received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1991 from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. He now lives in Maryland with his wife, Becky, and his sons Alex, Doug, and J.J.

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