The Musicians Union of Los Angeles
Douglas Tornquist, Trustee
“A player of astonishing flamboyance” (Los Angeles Times) and “impressive dash” (Orange County Register), Doug Tornquist grew up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley. He came to Los Angeles for his bachelor’s degree at the University of Southern California, where he studied with Jim Self and Tommy Johnson. He earned his master’s degree from Wichita State University, where he played the the WSU faculty brass quintet, the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and toured with the Saint Louis Symphony, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin.
He returned to Los Angeles in 1987 to earn his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from USC and soon became a busy freelance performer, playing everywhere from amusement parks to the ballet, opera and symphony (sometimes on the same day). He has played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and all the regional orchestras. He has recorded with Diana Krall, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Randy Newman, Meatloaf, and Beck, among others. The first time he was invited to play on a film score was in 1989 for Edward Scissorhands; since then he’s played on the soundtracks of over 600 films, tv shows and video games. He was the (tuba) voice of "Wreck it Ralph," played on John Williams’ most recent scores and was a featured soloist with John Lithgow on "I’m a Manatee." He regularly records for Alexandre Desplat, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson Williams, James Newton Howard, Randy Newman, Christophe Beck and many other composers.
Among his more notable recordings are the Grammy winning premiere of the Penderecki Credo (with the Oregon Bach Festival), two recordings with Quintadillac, a German brass quintet. He recently released a solo CD, "Feels Like Far," and produced a CD of holiday brass music, "Fiat Lux."
He teaches at he University of Southern California, California Institute of the Arts and the Colburn School, and serves on the National Advisory Board of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.
He was a prize winner at the 1997 International Tuba and Euphonium Competition in Riva del Garda, Italy.
He has served on orchestra committees of the Santa Barbara and Long Beach Symphony Orchestras, was vice president of Local 353, and is a board member of the RMA.