Houghton Bland Low Brass is a new collaboration after a long-time friendship between musicians Vurl Bland and Dennis Houghton. With over 90 years of combined experience, Houghton Bland Low Brass offers a wealth of knowledge, the best products, and world-wide / first class quality support.
Offering instrument sales to in depth repair and restoration. Call us today for a quote!
About Us
Vurl Bland
After completing his bachelor’s degree at Cameron University and continuing with Graduate Studies in Orchestral Performance with Don Little at the University of North Texas and Arnold Jacobs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Vurl Bland was appointed Principal Tuba of the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra (CTSO) in Cape Town, South Africa in 1987.
In addition to his duties as Principal Tuba, Mr. Bland also served as the Orchestra Coordinator. During his tenure in Cape Town, he was a member of the Solid Brass Quintet and Intsholo – a brass and African percussion ensemble. As a member of the CTSO, Solid Brass and Intsholo, Mr. Bland toured South Africa on numerous occasions, performed at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and toured Taipei, Oslo, and the Canary Islands. As a soloist, he presented the first solo tuba recital tour in South Africa and appeared on four occasions with the CTSO. He also hosted “The Mostly Brass Show” on Fine Music Radio 101.3 for three years.
After 14 years in the CTSO, Mr Bland returned to the United States and settled in North Texas. Since his return, he has played with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Opera Orchestra, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, the Pavarotti Tour Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, Texas and Dallas Wind Symphonies and the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo Band, and is Principal Tuba for the Las Colinas, Garland and Arlington Symphonies. As an active chamber musician, he is a member of Orion Brass and Perennial Brass.
Mr. Bland was a founding member of the Cape Town National Brass Congress and was involved with the Genesis Brass Project. He served as adjunct brass faculty at the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town, was Tuba Instructor to the SADF Band, taught at the Beau Soleil and Hugo Lamperchts music centers and was Teaching Assistant at UNT. In addition to his teaching responsibilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, he also serves as Low Brass Specialist at Houghton Custom Horns in Keller.
Since his return to North Texas, Mr. Bland has been actively involved as coordinator of the Dallas and Fort Worth Tuba Christmas.
Name, Title
Dennis Houghton
Dennis Houghton earned his Bachelor’s degree in music performance at California State University, Long Beach.
He went on to post-graduate study at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold (Germany) with Michael Hoeltzel.
Dennis' notable teachers include Fred Fox, James Decker and William Scharnberg.
He has held the position of Co-Principal horn of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Valle (Cali, Colombia), and has performed as a freelance Hornist in California and Texas for over thirty years.
Dennis is currently 4th horn in the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra.
Dennis' technical background in brass instrument repair, customization and restoration includes thousands of projects over more than thirty years. He seeks to combine the best qualities of traditional brass craftsmanship with the advantages of technology.
His experience has gained him recognition as an instrument design consultant with industry-leading music brands and professional brass players.
Dennis’ outstanding service and reputation have yielded clients from across the United States and abroad. He is an owner of Houghton Horns and serves as Head Craftsman.