The shot appeared in a California newspaper in May 1911, while "Gus" was on tour with Conway's Band. But at that very time, one of his sons, August Helleberg, Jr., was playing tuba with Griswold, as well as Emil Mix and Arthur Storch, on the other side of the world, in Sousa's Band.
Gus Sr. had played tuba with Sousa in previous years (1898-1903), and another one of his sons, John Henry Helleberg, had played tuba with Sousa after his father had left that band (1904-1908).
Sadly, it appears that the three Hellebergs never played together with Sousa. But they all must have been top-notch players to get that gig over the years!
Greetings: Great site! I have some information for you. 1. I believe that the tubist in your Gilmore Band photo actually is Anton Reiter (1840-1915); Reiter was a soloist with the band in the 1880s-92. I have an 1891 photo of him with tuba, and the face and the horn appear to match the ones in your Gilmore photo. Also 2. The three Hellebergs DID play together with Sousa in the 1910 Season at least; there is a nice photo of them together in their Sousa uniforms and rotary valve CC tubas in Paul Bierley's book "The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa," p. 66. Incidentally, I used to conduct a symphony orchestra in August Helleberg's hometown in the Jutland region of Denmark, and he is still vividly remembered there! Sincerely, Rick Benjamin
ReplyDeleteHi Rick - I would love to connect with you to be able to see that photo of Anton Reiter. You can reach me at tubapastor[at]gmail.com. Also, concerning the Hellebergs, I'm not sure that they did play together in Sousa's Band. While that photo shows the three of them together, the text above says "He is shown here with his two sons, August Junior and John, both of whom played with Sousa's Band at later dates." This matches what it says about all three of them on p. 214. I hope to hear from you! -Dave
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