Dr. Patrick E. Young is director of bands and assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at Samford University. He works with the athletic bands, conducts the wind ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting and leads the tuba and euphonium studio. Before joining Samford, Young served as director of bands and low brass at Idaho State University and Young Harris College.
An active conducting clinician and adjudicator, Young works with regional and state-level wind bands and is regularly invited to adjudicate solo, marching and large ensemble competitions across the western and southeastern United States. He previously served as higher education chair for the Idaho Bandmasters Association, where he organized the annual Idaho All-Collegiate Band. He routinely commissions and premieres new works by younger and underrepresented composers for wind band and frequently presents at state and national music conferences. His past presentations include Sing Through Your Baton – Expressive Conducting for the Band Director, Conducting Tips: A Performer’s Perspective, SPEAK CLEARLY: Articulation Tips for the Band Director, cNAFME - Preparing for the Job Interview and Exploring Chat GPT for Music Teachers.
In addition to his duties at Samford, Young is principal tubist of Opera Colorado in Denver and the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, Missouri. As a soloist, he has performed at International Tuba & Euphonium Conferences and regional conferences in the Southeast and Northwest. He received two Global Music Awards in the solo instrumentalist and creativity categories for his album Counting Rests and won first place in the Rocky Mountain Brass Solo Contest. He was also a two-time semifinalist in the International Leonard Falcone Festival and Competition in Michigan and previously served as principal tubist with the Symphony of the Rockies and the Longmont Symphony Orchestra in Colorado.
An advocate for chamber music, Young regularly provides chamber coaching and tuba/euphonium masterclasses with the Cantare Brass Quintet, a group dedicated to premiering new and diverse works for brass quintet while also performing classic repertoire. He has coached at institutions including the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Colorado State University, the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Wyoming, the University of Utah, Boise State University, Brigham Young University–Idaho and the University of Oregon. In 2019, he toured Russia as a guest artist with the Fortress Brass Quintet, performing as a soloist with the St. Petersburg Conservatory Orchestra, teaching masterclasses and lessons and presenting recitals at the Moscow Conservatory, the Gnessin Musical College and the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
Young is a Melton Meinl Weston and B&S Tuba performing artist and a member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association, the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. He earned a bachelor of music education from Young Harris College, a master of music performance in tuba from the University of Georgia and a doctorate of musical arts in music performance and pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder.
In his free time, Young enjoys grilling, watching the Atlanta Braves and hiking with his fiancé, Jenna, and their Siberian husky, Kirby.
Learn more about Dr. Young: https://www.youngtuba.com/
Degrees and Education
- Young Harris College - Bachelor of Music Education (BME)
- University of Georgia - Master of Music (MM), Music Performance
- University of Colorado, Boulder - Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), Performance and Pedagogy
