Warren Deck Joins San Francisco Conservatory Of Music

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music has announced the appointment of Warren Deck to its brass faculty. Deck brings decades of experience to SFCM in music performance, education, instrument development, and studio work. He will join SFCM in Fall 2025 with a select studio of students. 

“When David Stull called with an invitation to join the faculty, I was completely surprised and delighted and I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing school,” Deck said. “I look forward to getting started this fall."

His long and illustrious career includes 23 years as Principal Tubist of the New York Philharmonic and many years as a teacher, as well as giving lauded masterclasses across the globe. Before his appointment to the Philharmonic, Deck held the position of Principal Tubist with the Houston Symphony.

"I visited SFCM recently as a guest artist and had the most wonderful experience,” Deck continued. “The culture, the people, and the facilities were all very uplifting and I went home an extremely happy person for having had a peek into such a remarkable institution.”

Deck most recently visited SFCM for a masterclass in late 2024, where he discussed his focal dystonia diagnosis in 2001, which ended his playing career but led to new breakthroughs in his teaching technique. “I'm not interested in anybody imitating me or somebody else; I'd like to help that person find their own unique voice within the bounds of what works in an ensemble,” Deck said at the time. 

“Warren brings virtuosity to every aspect of his work,” SFCM President David H. Stull said. “Through his vast contributions as an artist, a teacher, and a builder, he has transformed the art of performance and the capacity of the modern tuba. From my personal experience within the brass world, I can share that he is a unique and inspiring presence. We are deeply honored to have him with us.”

Apart from the orchestral records Deck made with the Philharmonic, he has made four recordings with The Canadian Brass for Sony Classical and Philips labels and Tuba!, a recording of leading tuba and euphonium players from Germany and the US, on EMI Angel Records. Deck is also a recipient of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Deck first encountered the tuba at age nine in the Denver, Colorado public school system. At the age of twelve, his family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan. During the summer, he received musical training at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan and went on to attend the University of Michigan to study with Abe Torchinsky, former Principal Tubist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

Deck played in the Grand Rapids Symphony and spent four summers as a student and Scholarship Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado, from 1972-1976. In 1976, Warren left the Grand Rapids Symphony to move to New York City. There, his freelance career included repairing brass instruments at Giardinelli's Music Store in Manhattan. With this knowledge he began collaboration in the mid-1980s with Gerhard Meinl to design and build tubas for the Meinl-Weston Company. The result of that collaboration is three models of tubas, one of which is still in production today. 

The SFCM Brass Department inspires and challenges the next generation of musicians through world-class instruction and mentorship. Its esteemed faculty, consisting of members of the San Francisco Symphony and principal players from the San Francisco Opera and Ballet orchestras, provides individualized training in a small studio setting, ensuring a high level of personalized attention.

Learn more about the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

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