Desperate need to rent/borrow tubas in Hawai'i

[BopEuph]

Saw this on TubeNet. He said he posted here, but I don't see it--and I can't imagine any help will be coming from the other site.

He just signed up for TubeNet just to post this, so he's probably awaiting approval or something, but I'm kind of interested if there'd even be a solution, which I wouldn't have high hopes for.

This is a super-longshot and extraordinarily short notice, but needs must. Is there anyone on the island of O'ahu who would have or have a contact from which 6 Bb/C tubas could be rented or borrowed?

My son's HS band (Troy Colt Bands) is leaving next Thursday (March 26) for their spring trip to Hawai'i. We are now learning that despite assurances that rental instruments would be available, they are in fact NOT available, or not available in the quantities they need. The tuba traveling party is 6, of which two can play either Bb or C, and the remaining 4 are Bb only. My understanding is that at the moment, the parties they are working with have only managed to locate two convertible tubas, which only one of our six members has any experience with.

The instruments would be needed Friday March 27 and Saturday March 28. Their concert performance is at 9am Saturday (Remember the Heroes Concert at Pearl Harbor), and the instruments could be returned as early as noon. The band remains in Honolulu through Wednesday afternoon, so early-week return would also be feasible.

Please reach out to me via DM or email (billwilliamsatgmaildotcom) with specific contact information that I can provide to the band/trip coordinators, or if you have any additional group/forum suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments. Thanks as always for the engagement of this community! This is crossposted on tubaforum.net and a couple of FB Groups.

[russiantuba]

The tubists I know in Hawaii are mainly from the great state of Ohio:

Dr. Thomas J. Ricer
Dan Honaker

Both are in the Royal Hawaiian Band. Andy Abel won the Hawaii Symphony position but commutes from the Pacific Northwest Region for symphony weeks.

I would start by messaging either of them. Though TJ has had a nice tuba collection, those guys will be more interconnected with resources in the area.

[tofu]

Wouldn’t the best route be to contact all the local HS in the area they are going to and see if they could borrow tubas/sousaphones? Seems like one HS would be willing to loan to another HS. Plus make them an offer to do the same reciprocal thing should one of the local HS visit their area. Perhaps even offering to host them and put them up in band homes. I don’t know if schools have restrictions these days on loaning out instruments.

I remember when I came home for the summers while in college (1970’s) my old HS was happy to let me take my old school Rudy Meinl home and use it for the summer. It was still only a couple years old at that point. I didn’t even have to sign anything or provide insurance - all word of mouth - just have it back before schools starts up again. These days I’m sure that wouldn’t happen - at least without a lot of paperwork. I miss the old way of doing things where your word was your bond.

[billsquared]

OP here. Based on conversations at a band event last night, I understand from the directors that they are comfortable with the instruments that they will have access to on the island (two actual concert tubas, supplemented with sousaphones). I truly, deeply, appreciate the engagement of this community in rallying around these kids. ❤ The instrument coordination on this whole trip has apparently been much, much less smooth than we were led to believe it was going to be, sadly.