Hail, Sisters of the Tuba!

Carol Jantsch has been named the Philadelphia Orchestra's principal tuba player. We who fell by the wayside on the way to tuba excellent salute you. We have an inkling of what it takes to be that damn good at a really tough instrument.

Not to mention how mean people can be when you first start playing it. Though you probably were never referred to as "Tuba Sue." And because she was such a good player so early, she probably never did the high school marching band thing, in which the Sousaphone is seen as an attractive moving target for crap thrown by kids at football games.

Instead, she was focused and talented and hardworking, and now she'll be making beautiful music in Philadelphia on a powerful and underappreciated instrument. And one can hope that you, and all the other cool women playing the tuba, will influence a new generation to resist the petite and go for the brass...er...tube.