euphonium

SFC Christopher Buckley

Laredo, TX

Group: The U.S. Army Ceremonial Band

Joined the Band: 2011

Alum: West Texas A&M University / The University of North Texas / The University of North Texas

SFC Christopher Buckley is one of the newest members of the United States Army Band. He grew up in a large family on the South Texas border. While in Texas he competed in several international euphonium solo competitions, including the Leonard Falcone International Solo Competition where he won 1st place in 2009. While at the University of North Texas he played in many professional ensembles including the Dallas Wind Symphony, Lone Star Wind Ensemble, and the Dallas Civic Wind Ensemble. He also performs on tuba and trombone in many jazz ensembles. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife Leah where they are constantly searching for Mexican food as good as the food in Texas. They live with two crazy cats named Oscar and Battle Cat.

Christopher Olka

Principal Tuba, Cincinnati Symphony

Principal Tuba of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2016 and former Principal Tuba of the Seattle Symphony and Opera from 1999-2016, Christopher Olka has had a wide and varied career in music before coming to Cincinnati. His orchestral experience includes Principal Tuba of Gerard Schwarz’s All-Star orchestra, Seiji Ozawa’s Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra, Guest Principal Tuba with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and New Jersey Symphony. Before becoming a full-time orchestral musician in 1999, Chris was an active freelance musician in New York where he performed with many brass quintets, Dixieland bands, and most of the major orchestras in the area while completing his Masters degree at The Juilliard School. From 1989 to 1996 he was a staff musician for the Walt Disney World Company in Orlando, Florida, where he was a member of many of the bands there including the TUBAFOURS tuba quartet, the world’s only full-time professional tuba quartet. An active soloist and advocate of solo tuba literature, Chris has performed across the world in recital and masterclass as well as soloing with orchestra, windband and various other groups. In 2006 Chris premiered and recorded the Samuel Jones Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra with the Seattle Symphony for the NAXOS Record Label. The concerto, which was written for him and commissioned by Sandra Crowder, received critical acclaim internationally for the premiere as well as recording. His education includes a B.M. from the University of Central Florida, and a M.M. from the Juilliard School. Chris’ teachers include Warren Deck (New York Phil. Retired), Joe Alessi (New York Phil.), and Abe Torchinsky (Philadelphia Orch. Retired). Chris is proud to be an Eastman Winds Performing Artist.

GySgt Hiram Diaz

U.S. Marine Band

Euphonium player Staff Sergeant Hiram Diaz of Miami joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in January 2012. He was named co-leader of the Latin jazz ensemble in 2017. Staff Sgt. Diaz began his musical instruction at age 12. He graduated in 2003 from the New World School of the Arts in Miami and continued his education at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM) where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2007. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree from the University of North Texas in Denton, where he studies with euphonium professor Brian Bowman. His instructors also included Timothy Northcut of CCM and Jay Bertolet, former principal tuba with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Staff Sgt. Diaz was a member of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band (283d Army Band) in Ft. Benning, Ga. Staff Sgt. Diaz performs with the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House, in the Washington, D.C., area, and across the country during the band’s annual concert tour. He performed Tom Davoren’s Ascension with trumpet/cornet player Gunnery Sgt. Amy McCabe as featured soloists on the 2016 national concert tour.