Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Muter.
Bill, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
So, if you want to be fancy and official about it, I am a best selling author, musician, producer, show designer, and United States Cultural Ambassador (in no particular order) but realistically my work changes every day depending on the time of the year.
It is hard to pinpoint an actual beginning of when I got started in music because it has always been a part of my life. My mother played guitar and sang at church through most of my childhood. Her best friend was the Music Director at the church and also my elementary music teacher. My grandfather played organ at church as well, so all of this was largely my inspiration early on in music. I began my formal training at around eight years old when I started with a private teacher. The next 15 years were as awkward as you could imagine for an overweight shy momma’s boy that plays the tuba all day long. The real payoff did not come until years later.
Today, I make it my mission to show the shy awkward kid of my past that it is okay to pursue something that the rest of society thinks is silly or not cool. I have been very fortunate enough to travel around the world making a nice living doing many things in music. The unfortunate thing is, most kids coming out of high school and college are not encouraged to “take risks” but rather choose the safer route that does not involve a career in music. Those kids are my are the people that I seek out and coach. I want to show them that because there is nobody doing what they envision as their future career means that the land is fertile and the opportunities are plentiful. I currently reside in Delray Beach with my wife and travel as needed for my work.
Has it been a smooth road?
It was never really a smooth road for me early on so I have developed a great talent in managing my emotions and reactions to difficult situations. As a tuba player, nobody knocks down your door asking you for gigs. It took me many years to become financially solvent. The early years were exceptionally difficult. Hell, one time I was pulled over and arrested in front of a school I was teaching at because I had no license, no insurance and an expired tag. The charges were dropped but realistically, what I did have at the time was NO MONEY and I had to learn the hard way that poverty is considered a crime. The thing is, nobody teaches you in school how to handle your taxes, buy a car, manage bills and what happens when you get behind in the system. Many musicians have had to deal with this struggle over the years and some get out of it and some don’t. Lucky for me, I have a supportive family and I learn from my mistakes. Ultimately, I am thankful for my experiences because it helps me educate up and coming musicians and entrepreneurs to hopefully skip some of the problems that I have dealt with in my early career.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
At the core of everything I do, I am a musician. Everything else stems from that. I am most proud of my students that are able to stand on my shoulders and accomplish bigger things than I could ever set out to do. I think what ultimately sets me apart from others is the fact that I am not trying to be like anyone else or any other tuba player. I am just focused inward on my own journey.
All that being said, I copied my bio before that provides more information and backstory to my career.
A multi-instrumentalist, author, producer and tuba mogul Bill Muter has a performance career as diverse as his audience. Having performed in venues across the globe, Bill is without a doubt one of the leading tuba and bass players earning him the nickname “Tuba Visionary.” The New Times also hails Bill as a “Showstopper” and “The most innovative tuba player we’ve seen.”
As an educator and clinician, Bill has served as a Cultural Ambassador to the US Department of State and has worked with music organizations across the globe. Bill is a best selling author and has written multiple instrumental technique books as well as his latest biographical novel “Topless in Tokyo.” His writing has been developed into brass pedagogy curriculum for numerous Universities and Bill has also served on the Curriculum Advisory Board and Philanthropist for Honeyland College in Lagos, Nigeria. Bill is also heavily involved with the marching arts activity as clinician and designer. Bill has worked with the Boston Crusaders, Crossmen and Colts Drum and Bugle Corps and was also the Caption Head for the WGI Gold Medalist “Stryke Wynds.” Bill is currently an adjudicator in the FMBC circuit.
As a performer, Bill was a tuba soloist, percussionist, and keyboardist in the Tony and Emmy Award-winning “Blast!” with numerous tours in Japan, South Korea, and North America. Bill is the Music Director for The New Standard and played the 2018 Rivera Maya Jazz Festival along with other headliners Norah Jones, Bobby McFerrin, Lalah Hathaway and more. Bill has also played the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Jacksonville Jazz Fest and GroundUP fest along with the likes of Grammy-winning Snarky Puppy’s horn section and rhythm sections as well as MonoNeon, James Francies Trio, Matthew Whitaker, Warren Wolf, Black Violin, Sarah Reich, Marlow Rosado, Gabel (Haitian Kompa), multi-platinum French singer Mani Hoffman and Ariana Grande (with the South Florida Philharmonic). Bill’s recordings have been featured on BET, Okayplayer, XXL and more. His solo albums have reached #1 on the iTunes Charts in South Africa and in the Top 30 Global R&B charts.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success, once defined is very different from person to person and my own definition of that term has changed greatly over the years. Initially, it was just to make music. Then, came the need to make money making music. After that, it was to go tour on the road and play with other significant artists. Then, I wanted to gain my own significance as an artist. Now, my focus and markers for success rely heavily upon balance. I still want to do all of those things mentioned, but in moderation. In my 20’s, I toured for five years straight and largely lived out of a storage unit. That was great but I’m not about that life anymore. I want to be able to balance a healthy career and a healthy marriage at the same time. I would say that my largest measure of success is how much I own my own time. Forget about money and all that other crap. Time is everything! We all have a limited amount of time on this earth and having the freedom to choose how you spend that time is a success to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: tubavisionary.com
- Phone: 561-866-8822
- Email: bill@tubavisionary.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/tubavisionary
- Facebook: facebook.com/tubavisionary
- Twitter: twitter.com/tubavisionary
- Other: atlanticarts.org (booking)
Image Credit:
Slodak Photography, Wisler Elias
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