Josh Wirt, tuba

Josh Wirt has maintained an active professional career on the tuba, euphonium and bass trombone over the past 25 years. While completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Tuba Performance from Virginia Tech, Josh performed regularly with the Chamber Winds of Southwest Virginia and was also a member of the Virginia Tech Faculty Brass Quintet. He then went on to earn a PGDip (with Honors) from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (UK) where he studied with Roger Bobo, Mel Culbertson, and James Gourlay. During his time in the UK, Josh performed around England and Austria as a regular member of the world-famous Fairey Band (formerly the Williams Fairey Brass Band) as well as with the North Cheshire Concert Band under Dr. Timothy Reynish.

Before moving to Chicago in 2009 to pursue a Masters Degree at DePaul University with Floyd Cooley, Josh held Acting Principal Tuba positions with the Roanoke Symphony and Opera Roanoke as well as extensive chamber work with the Roanoke Chamber Brass, the Roanoke Jazz Orchestra, and Opera-on-the-James. Shortly after arriving in Chicago, he became an associate member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2010-2013 where he performed with the orchestra and frequently around Chicago with the Civic Orchestra Brass Quintet.

Currently, Josh is Principal Tuba with the Elmhurst Symphony and regularly performs as an extra/sub with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, Rockford Symphony, and New Philharmonic orchestras as well as being tubist with the New Chicago Brass. He is also on the faculty at VanderCook College of Music as well as the Merit School of Music. In addition to those teaching duties, Josh also maintains a large private studio of students from around the Chicagoland area and regularly adjudicates ILMEA/IHSA events.