Tuba Player Cristina Cutts Dougherty is used to shocking people and smashing barriers. In 2017, she became the first tubist in history to win the Grand Prize in the Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition; a prize usually awarded to string players. Dougherty is often the only female tuba soloist in the room and now, she is Performance Today’s first tubist Young Artist in Residence.

Dougherty has performed with brass musicians from the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She was a part of the "Full House Brass Quintet" at Music From Angel Fire Festival in 2019 and in 2020 she joined the guest-artist roster of Seraph Brass, a touring all-female brass quintet. Currently, Dougherty holds the position of Principal Tuba with Symphony in C, in Camden, New Jersey, and is the 2020-2021 Tuba Fellow for the Music Academy of the West.

When she’s not performing or practicing her technique, Dougherty is also a scholar. After she learned about Connie Weldon, the first woman to play tuba in a major American orchestra, Dougherty decided to write a book about fourteen pioneering women in brass. Dougherty says these women are “giants in the brass world” and she’s trying to do what she can to ensure that their legacies live on.

Dougherty is now a student of Craig Knox and Paul Krzywicki at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. And, she is the first female tubist to attend the Curtis Institute since its founding in 1924. Her book is expected to be released sometime in 2022.

Cristina appears in these performance with collaborative pianist Blair Salter.

To see Cristina Cutts Dougherty’s PT in the Classroom lesson and video performances, click the following link: