By AnnaBelle Boone / The Jambar
Overseas in France, Team USA medaled in various sports, but one Youngstown State University student brought home an international gold medal in music.
Ryan Lamb, a sophomore music performance major with a focus in tuba, competed in the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival, earning a gold medal for Youngstown State University. The festival brought in talent from all over the world, including Korea, Italy and England.
The competition took place over Aug. 9–12, at the Blue Lakes Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan. Lamb’s favorite moment was meeting the players from all over the world.
“I felt right at home with all these people,” Lamb said. “It didn’t feel like a competition. It just felt like a presentation of our earthly skills, which was really nice. It was just a really welcoming community.”
The audition process began in December 2023, when Lamb had a professor reach out to him and encourage him to enter.
In March, Lamb recorded himself here at Bliss Hall and submitted it. He was then notified in May that he had advanced to semifinals. For the semifinals, he went to Twin Lake to compete against five other people in his division. The competition ended with a final performance in front of 12 judges.
“We got the day off, and then found out if we advanced to finals or not. I fortunately advanced to finals. And then on the last day, I got to play the final round…and then right then, they announced the results and I was the gold medalist,” Lamb said.
When asked about what piece of advice from the judges stuck with him, Lamb said it was to have more musical moments.
“I was very academic in my playing … very precise.” Lamb said. “But they said I can feel it, and they know I want to dive into the music a little more, because that’s what we musicians do. We just try to make an art, try to make something to touch the human soul that’s listening and the human ears that are listening. It’s really nice to be told, ‘Hey, don’t worry about what you’re playing, just feel it.’”
Lamb also discussed how this event has shown him where he wants to take his career post-graduation.
“This is the start of a pretty prestigious resume that I want to build,” Lamb said. “It’s been a nice kickstart for me to think, ‘Oh, I really love doing this sort of thing, and this is what I want to do with my life.’”
Lamb said the advice he received helped how he worked with the YSU Marching Pride, on field staff as the brass technician.
“I really take a lot of passion into teaching other brass players with my own tips and tricks into being successful,” Lamb said. “It’s just so fulfilling to see how successful they can be by just one little intricate detail that they can always incorporate into their future endeavors.”
Winning the gold medal meant a lot to Lamb, and he said he was proud to represent Dana School of Music.
“It was really nice to tell people I was from YSU and Dana. They [were] like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome, you guys are out here,’” Lamb said. “It’s so nice to take a deep breath and know that YSU is not totally forgotten.”
Joseph Carucci, the director of Dana School of Music and University Theatre, gave a statement about Lamb’s success in the competition.
“The best collegiate tubists in the world are represented at the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival,” Carucci said.
Carucci said Lamb’s medal speaks to his skill, and to the quality of education at Dana.
“Ryan’s gold medal not only speaks to his incredible musicianship and dedication to his craft, but the level of musicianship that is fostered in [Yukitada] Onitsuka’s tuba and euphonium studio at YSU’s Dana School of Music,” Carucci said. “We are immensely proud of Ryan and look forward to his future successes and career as a professional musician.”
