Floyd Cooley

Floyd Cooley was an internationally renowned tubist and teacher whose extraordinary sound, musicianship, and artistry influenced generations of tuba players. Best known for his years as Principal Tuba of the San Francisco Symphony, Floyd was admired for his beautiful, singing approach to the instrument and his deep commitment to musical expression. His legacy continues through his recordings, his students, and the many professional tubists who were influenced by his playing and teaching.

Floyd also had a lifelong interest in mouthpiece design and worked to develop mouthpieces that complemented his approach to sound and playing. The CHI Brass Floyd Cooley Collection preserves several of these important designs and makes them available to a new generation of players.

The Floyd Cooley 1 is based on an exceptional example of Floyd's original Helleberg-style F tuba mouthpiece design from the 1990s. The Floyd Cooley 2 recreates one of only ten larger special mouthpieces originally made for Floyd—a design that became highly sought after among his students and colleagues. The Floyd Cooley 3 is based on one of Floyd's favorite earlier mouthpieces, used on some of his memorable recordings, combined with Floyd's own rim design and an updated shank for modern instruments.

The Floyd Cooley Collection is more than a group of mouthpieces—it is a continuation of Floyd's remarkable legacy and his lifelong pursuit of beauty of sound, clarity, flexibility, efficiency, and musical expression.