Mike Forbes (b. 1973) has been hailed "…an outstanding tubist with a solid, colorful tone, terrific technical skills, and dramatic flair" (American Record Guide). Today, he is the Principal Tubist with the LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra and Tuba/Euphonium Professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Occasionally, he serves as the tubist with "Guy's All-Star Shoeband" on Garrison Keillor's popular radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion." He can also be heard on his solo album Forbes Plays Koetsier, where he features all seven works for solo tuba by Dutch composer, Jan Koetsier.
Staff Sergeant Forbes began his career as a tubist with the U.S. Army Band, "Pershing's Own", and subsequently served on the music faculties at a number of universities from the East Coast to the Midwest. He is an active soloist, in high demand throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has performed and taught at music conservatories and festivals in Spain, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Norway. As the founder and manager of Isthmus Brass and the Sotto Voce Quartet, Forbes enjoys performing and recording exhilarating chamber music with his colleagues around the globe. Some album highlights of the ensembles include Isthmus Brass Christmas, and Take This Hammer: Music Composed for the Sotto Voce Quartet.
Forbes has received numerous awards and accolades for his compositions and is regularly commissioned by notable brass artists and band directors. He has won the Dallas Wind Symphony Fanfare Composition contest numerous times, and his compositions have been given awards of merit by the U.S. Army Band, Humboldt Brass Festival, and the International Tuba-Euphonium Association. He was commissioned by the National Band Association of Wisconsin to compose a piece for their 25th State Band Festival and the Wisconsin State Music Association to compose a new work for the State Music Festival Orchestra.
Forbes performs on a Yamaha Custom 822 F Tuba. He acquired this instrument in 2001 from renowned tubist, Toby Hanks.
