The Philadelphia Orchestra Names 2025 C.Hartman Kuhn Award Recipient

Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch has won the award for excellence in the orchestra

Awarded annually since 1941, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s (PO) C.Hartman Kuhn Award recognizes an orchestra member who enhances "the standards and the reputation of the ensemble.” 

This year’s winner, PO Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch, was selected by Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who commended her artistry and dedication to the orchestra’s education initiatives, such as the All City Fellowship program. 

Jantsch first joined the PO in 2006, when she won the principal tuba role during her senior year at the University of Michigan — becoming the first female tuba player in a major symphony orchestra.

She has since performed concertos with the PO, Columbus Symphony, St. Petersburg Symphony, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, and the US Marine Band. 

Through her regular commissions of new tuba works, two major concertos were written for her as soloist: Reflections on the Mississippi (2013) by the GRAMMY-winning composer Michael Daugherty, and the Tuba Concerto (2021) by the Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz artist Wynton Marsalis.

As an educator, she has given masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and North America and been a featured artist at brass festivals in Finland, Germany, Canada, and the US. She is also on the faculty of the Yale University School of Music and Temple University’s Boyer College of Music.

In 2018, she founded Tubas for Good, a nonprofit that provides instruments for students in the Philadelphia School District. Each year, she also hosts Tuba/Euphonium PlayIN, a free event where players of all ages and skill levels are invited to perform as a mass tuba ensemble at the Kimmel Center.

Raised in a musical family, Jantsch began piano lessons at age six and began euphonium lessons at the Interlochen Arts Camp at age nine. Following her switch to tuba, she attended the Interlochen Arts Academy. After winning her role at PO, she returned to complete her bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan with Fritz Kaenzig. 

Her discography includes two solo recordings, Cascades (2009) and Powerhouse (2020). As a Yamaha Performing Artist, Jantsch plays a Yamaha YFB-822 F tuba, a YFB-826 “Yamayork” CC tuba, and a PT-6 CC tuba.