If a janitor hadn't stumbled upon a tuba in James Gourlay's primary school in Scotland, life might be very different for the conductor and virtuoso tubist.

"When I was 10, the school janitor came around with a few instruments that he had found in the attic and asked if anyone would volunteer in a band," said Mr. Gourlay, 54. "No one did, so the headmaster read off a list of people he had 'volunteered.' "

The determining factor for handing out the instruments was far from scientific.

"I got the tuba because I was the tallest," Mr. Gourlay says with a hearty laugh. "The short boys had coronets and horns. People with long arms got a trombone."

The arranged marriage proved to be a perfect match for Mr. Gourlay -- "The sound really said something to me. It can do many things, it is so flexible."

Turns out, flexible also was one of his main attractions to the River City Brass (nee River City Brass Band), which Mr. Gourlay will lead beginning with concerts next week. He is the third music director in the group's history, following Denis Colwell (1994-2009) and founder Bob Bernat (1981-1994). The band will celebrate Mr. Gourlay's appointment in a gala concert Sept. 17 at the Fairmont Pittsburgh Hotel, Downtown.

The "wide variety" of the ensemble's repertory is the reason Mr. Gourlay and the group jettisoned the word "band" in its name.

"If you see the word 'band' you automatically assume you will get marches and light music," he says. "The repertoire that we want to play is that which will entertain our subscribers, but I would like also to push forward the capabilities of the band into much more of an art music area. I will probably look into some special concerts where we can present the cutting edge of brass band music."

Growing up in Fife County, the birthplace of golf, Mr. Gourlay opted to spend many a warm summer day inside practicing the tuba. He didn't come from a musical family, but with some lessons with that janitor, a talented amateur musician, and with the vibrant tradition of brass bands in England, his musical talent and knowledge soared.

At 18, Mr. Gourlay attended the Royal College of Music in London, working in Harrods department store to support himself.

"I sold garden furniture in the day and in the evening played stage music," he says.

Later that year (1975), he won an audition in the City of Birmingham Orchestra. "They used to call me 'the boy.' "

A few years later, it was Mr. Gourley who was the elder, coaching for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.

"That involved wagging hands in front of the poor individuals that were there," he jokes. "Someone asked me to conduct the full band one day in rehearsal, and I enjoyed it as much as playing."

While his solo career as a tubist took off, and he later joined the Zurich Opera (for a time under Pittsburgh Symphony maestro Manfred Honeck), conducting opportunities kept arising.

"I never thought I would do it professionally [but] gradually the conducting work has taken over," he says.

Before long, Mr. Gourlay was heading one of the most esteemed brass bands in the world, the Yorkshire, England-based Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Actually, he led it three times, 1992-95, 2002-04 and 2007-10.

"People tend to get used to a music director, and it stops being special when you are in front of them," he says. "I have a fine sense for that."

Mr. Gourlay believes in the power and relevancy of contemporary music, and he feels the new wind band repertoire enjoys a healthier relationship between composer, ensemble and audience than does new music in symphonic circles.

"If someone writes a brass or wind band piece, it will get performances, but a symphonic piece may get only one performance," he says.

But he also touts the secondary benefits of programming new and art music.

"A musician needs to develop him or herself, be exposed to different types of music," he says. And that can lead the River City Brass to play at the high level needed for Mr. Gourlay's ultimate goal: touring worldwide.

"We want to go to the next level. We need to be playing at a high standard, even higher than now," he says. "We have to be attractive to concert promoters around the world. We need to tour to Europe and Asia. These are the connections I can bring."

Mr. Gourley's plan may seem bold for a group that presently tours Western Pennsylvania, and one that nearly went under two years ago due to financial problems and a rough contract negotiation with its 30 musicians. But he is an optimist:

"We are not a big group to tour and our fee levels are not so high that we would price ourselves out of the market," he says.

And he is well-connected and known on the concert circuit. In addition to Grimethorpe and his solo fame, Mr. Gourlay is a vice president of the International Tuba and Euphonium Association.

For him, the newness ("We are completely unknown in Europe") and the "American" makeup of the River City Brass -- using French horns instead of alto horns -- are advantages for touring. In the United States, the River City Brass is distinguished because of its size. The top ensembles tend to be sextets or quintets, such as Canadian Brass or Empire Brass.

Either way, Mr. Gourlay has big plans for River City Brass.

"Our goal is to become the most famous brass band of its type in the world," he says.

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.