Interest and areas of expertise
Tuba and Euphonium performance in Band, Chamber Music and Orchestra
Education
B.M. Tuba Performance, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.M Tuba Performance, University of Akron
Classes I teach
Profile
John Cradler is the former Principal Tuba of the U.S. Marine Band, “The President’s Own”, in Washington, D.C. During his career with “The President’s Own”, he performed for 5 U.S. Presidents, toured 48 of the United States, and performed in Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland. He has performed under the batons of John Williams, Osmo Vanska, Giancarlo Guerrero, Gerard Schwarz, Timothy Reynish, and many other world-renowned conductors.
In addition to his duties with the Marine Band, John has performed with The Washington Ballet, The Chesapeake Orchestra, The National Philharmonic Orchestra, The National Gallery Orchestra, The Brass Band of Battle Creek, and The Cleveland Opera. He is a founding member of the Tuba-Euphonium Quartet: Off Bass Brass, which has produced two award-winning albums. He can also be heard on the recent website reference recording of Anne McGinty’s composition: “Tuba and 12”.
Over the course of his career, John has taught students ranging in age from 10 to 77 years old. He has contributed several articles to the International Tuba-Euphonium Association Journal and was the subject of an interview for that publication in 2010. His performing and teaching skills have earned him several invitations to International Tuba and Euphonium Conferences(ITEC). In 2016, he presented a lecture at the ITEC in Knoxville, Tennessee entitled “The Role of the Tuba in Wind Band Literature”. In 2022, he was a featured performer and presenter at the Great Plains Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, in Des Moines, Iowa.
John earned his Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Master of Music Degree from The University of Akron. His primary teachers were Mitchell Gershenfeld, Ron Davis, John Stevens and Tucker Jolly. He also completed additional studies at the Banff Centre in Canada where he studied with Daniel Perantoni and Dennis Miller.