The Philadelphia Orchestra Gives 2025 C. Hartman Kuhn Award to Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch

The Philadelphia Orchestra recognized six members of the Orchestra family for their exemplary contributions to the organization in a ceremony during the June 7, 2025 concert in Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch was presented with the 2025 C. Hartman Kuhn Award. Retiring musicians Udi Bar-David (cello), Jeffrey Curnow (associate principal trumpet), and Kiyoko Takeuti (piano and celesta) were honored after 99 years of combined service to the Orchestra. Jason DePue (violin) and Daniel Matsukawa (principal bassoon) were each recognized for 25 years of service.  

Established in 1941 and named for a charter member of the Orchestra’s Board of Directors who served from 1901 to 1933, the C. Hartman Kuhn Award is given annually to “the member of The Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of the ensemble.” Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin selected Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch, praising her artistry and dedication to the Orchestra’s education programs. Jantsch is an active and enthusiastic participant in PlayINs, side-by-side rehearsals and performances, and master classes and serves as a host of Sound All Around engagements both at home and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center during the Orchestra’s summer season. In addition, Jantsch has written arrangements for, and participated in, episodes of the Orchestra’s digital community outreach series, Our City, Your Orchestra, and she has been an active member on several musician committees, currently serving on the Members’ Committee and the EDI Committee.  

About the Kuhn Award recipient: 

Carol Jantsch has been principal tuba of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 2006. She won the position during her senior year at the University of Michigan, becoming the first female tuba player in a major symphony orchestra. She is a renowned tuba soloist and has appeared as a concerto soloist with various ensembles. She regularly commissions new work for the tuba, and two major concertos were written for her as soloist: Reflections on the Mississippi (2013) by GRAMMY® Award–winning composer Michael Daugherty and the Tuba Concerto (2021) by the Pulitzer Prize–winning jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. She can be heard on numerous Philadelphia Orchestra recordings, including the 2010 release of Ewald Quintets Nos. 1 and 3 with fellow Philadelphia Orchestra principal brass. Jantsch enjoys interacting with audiences in a very different way than her orchestra role as a member of Tubular, a tuba cover band that performs at bars and events. Comprised of tubas, euphoniums, drums, and vocals, Tubular is committed to presenting pop and rock music in a fun and engaging way, while guilefully stretching people’s notions of the capabilities of low brass instruments. As the chief arranger of Tubular, she revels in the challenge of adapting music from ABBA to Led Zeppelin for this unique setting. She has released two solo recordings, Cascades (2009) and Powerhouse (2020), and the Tubular album There’s No Going Back (2020).