Through the encouragement of their mother, young Elder Owen Denison and his brothers were taught by Mr. Cleon Dalby, a well-known Salt Lake City music teacher and band leader.
Mr. Dalby taught his students to perform; there were many free summer concerts in and around Liberty Park in those days. The children of two families filled many of the positions of Mr. Dalby’s band: the Denison boys and the Cheney children.
Steve Cheney, the famous steel guitar player for the luaus at PCC and a BYU–Hawaii retiree, was also performing with Dalby’s band at the same time Denison was.
“Mr. Dalby didn’t have a tuba player, and I think he must have known it was a financial struggle for mom to keep her boys actively playing in his band, with lessons and all, so he told her that if I would play the tuba, he would give the lessons for free. Mr. Dalby was a generous and compassionate man,” remembers Denison.
He even secured a sousaphone (the tuba that wraps around the player’s body, made for marching bands), so that the weight could be handled better by a 10 year old. Perhaps he knew then what he was building in little Denison. Denison continued with Mr. Dalby, and he played through his junior high and high school years and one year at the University of Utah. Denison quit playing then; he focused on his university education.
But the instrument was not idle long. Once the military draft was announced, Denison and thousands of other young men knew the only way to have control over their lives for the next decade was to enlist in the National Guard. Denison’s draft lottery lineup was No. 4. More and more 19 to 25 year olds were having to leave their homes, jobs, education, wives and young families and become soldiers.
Denison knew he must enlist in the National Guard rather than be drafted, but because of the draft, all Utah units were packed and had waiting lists. Another avenue, the Guard Band for Utah, didn’t need a tuba player at the time. However, one week later, two of Denison’s friends, both tuba players from all the band years together, decided to resign from the Guard Band.
One, Charlie Eckenrode (who at age 25 became the lead tuba in the Utah Symphony), called Denison and advised him to see the company commander and audition for a tuba position. After some refresher lessons from Mr. Dalby and Eckenrode, he auditioned in the band’s rehearsal. That rehearsal was a turning point in Denison’s life.
“Thirty years!” Denison exclaimed. “I played the tuba for the 23rd Army Band of the National Guard, Salt Lake City, Utah, for 30 years! Forty-eight drills and two weeks of summer camp each year.” For these men, playing in the National Guard Band was an enlistment of service. They tutored and mentored students in junior highs and high schools throughout Utah. They played continental and overseas concerts during summer camps, including concerts in every possible venue in Utah.
While his musical skills took him to exotic locations, Denison continued his schooling and taught math for 39 years, which is what he does at BYUH. He also manages the Math Learning Center and its 13 student tutors. In the little blocks of time between math classes and tuba tooting, Denison does the tickets arbitration—dealing with drivers’ parking tickets, and bikers and skateboarders.
Soon after his arrival at BYUH, he sauntered over to the Music Department and said, “Hey, guys, could you use an old tuba player?” He now plays in the Brass Ensemble and the North Shore Winds Orchestra.
Sister Teresa Denison is busy with teaching online and assisting international applicants who are working on their admissions forms. Her current online class is Introduction to Chemistry. Sister Denison was also in charge of the Sewing Lab for a year. In addition, the Denisons serve in the temple one day per week.
Prior to the BYU–Hawaii assignment, the Denisons served a mission in New York City.