For anyone who has seen CASH Back yet, here are a few more chances:

We’ll be playing this Sunday, May 16th at Abilene Bar and Lounge from 7-11 PM. Abilene is located at 153 Liberty Pole Way in Rochester.

For those of you who have followed us on the web, but haven’t gotten to see us live, we are coming down to Ohio in early June. Right now, shows are confirmed in Dayton on June 3rd and Woodsfield on June 5th. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more info!

The Sunday show is in tribute not only to Johnny Cash (of course), but also to the graduates of the Eastman School of Music. ESM graduation is earlier that day and we hope that this will be a great event for families. . . Each member of CASH back holds at least a Master’s degree in music from the Eastman School. I will be playing my first gig as Dr. T. J. Huzzah!

Well, it is done. As of noon on Monday, April 5th, I have successfully completed my Doctor of Musical Arts degree program! I am the only doctoral student Don Harry has ever had (at the Eastman School or Julliard) and am the first person to receive a tuba DMA from the Eastman School in the new millennium – in fact, I am only the ninth person to recieve a DMA in Tuba in the history of the Eastman School!

Life is really rolling along for me right now: I’ve finished the doctorate, I’ll get married this summer, we’re releasing a CASH Back album soon, both the Dave Rivello Ensemble and the Po’ Boys have been invited back to the Xerox/Rochester International Jazz Festival, and I’m the head judge for the quartet competition at the upcoming International Tuba and Euphonium Conference!

CASH Back had a great time in the studio over the past weekend. We managed to lay down 21 solid tracks. . . now comes the hard part: deciding which ones get on the album and which ones don’t.

CASH Back is going into the studio this weekend in hopes of releasing our first album! We’ll be recording down at Finger Lakes Community College with Bob Potter More info on this, as it becomes available.

If you’re near Palmyra, NY this week, check out Pal-Mac High School’s production of “The Music Man,” I’ll be playing upright bass and might even sneak in a sousaphone for 76 trombones (instead of tearing my fingers off to compete with the brasses on that tune!).

I’ve had a big couple of weeks. . . in the last two weeks I have given a masterclass, a lecture, a solo recital, a quintet recital, a quartet performance/lecture, played with a professional symphony orchestra, a modern jazz ensemble, and my Johnny Cash band, played on the radio, given a newspaper interview, and taught a handful of lessons ranging from junior high to graduate students. Hopefully, I can keep this momentum going as I finish my graduate school career!