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A friend has asked me to "play something" at her wedding in two weeks. Does anyone have any good suggestions for tuba solo music for weddings? I can probably rustle up a pianist but nothing spectacular (besides I don't think the Hindemith would go over all that well).

The last thing you want to play is a "tuba" solo. Play a pretty tune that you might expect to hear at a wedding. Go to the local music store or even a Border's Books or Barnes & Noble and you will probably be able to find a Piano/Voal collection of typical wedding tunes. You have plenty of time to adapt a tune to your needs. Some other tunes that are not typical wedding fare but might be interesting for the wedding guests to hear on tuba:

Girl With the Flaxen Hair
The Swan
Love Me Tender

You could go traditional and forgetable or make it original and memorable.
Have some fun with it and keep it short and simple.

.

A groom had heard the Chicago Symphony Orchestra low brass quartet perform "Sarastro's Aria" from Mozart's The Magic Flute and requested that my tuba-euph quartet play it for the ring ceremony at his own wedding. The arrangement came from a collection of trombone quartets that can be purchased from www.rkingmusic.com. Tuba 2 (or, as in this edition, trombone 4) takes the solo.

It's in the original key of F major, so your pianist should have no trouble with the accompaniment from the original piano-vocal score.

There is a song called Panis Angelicus, written by Cesar Frank. Very emotional but still technical easy to play.
I've performed it uncountable times, on trombone and later on on tuba.
Accompanied by organ or piano.
The song perfectly fits any occasion, funeral as wedding.
Highly recommended.
Contact me if you need the music, I've an arrangement for trumpet and piano, in concert treble clef (for C-instrument).

Lars Travén wrote:There is a song called Panis Angelicus, written by Cesar Frank. Very emotional but still technical easy to play. Accompanied by organ or piano. The song perfectly fits any occasion, funeral as wedding.
Highly recommended.

I agree. I've played this in church a few times on euph and always thought it appropriate for weddings.

Sample score - w/sound file:
http://www.8notes.com/scores/2941.asp

I prefer it with organ accomp myself.

A few years ago a guitarist I used to work with gave my number to an old groupie chick who used to hang at our bar in the 70's. She wanted our "sound" to be her musical statement at her wedding. She also told me of her cousin who would play piano and insisted on "Color My World" by Chicago instead of the traditional wedding march. I used to sing it and play the flute ride on trumpet back in the day-(That might be pretty on tuba as well.)
Foolishly, I agreed and met the pianist to rehearse the day before the wedding. She had played in church for a few years (reading only) so I wrote her a chord chart for Color My World. This song changes chords every four beats except for a C7th that goes for 8 beats. She kept playing the C7th for only four beats like the others so I drew a pair of glasses on her chart to remind her to watch for 8 beats on C7th.
At the wedding, she played C7th for four beats and quit playing-leaving me to finish the last six bars of the song alone.
The bride said she hoped nobody noticed.
I set up my P.A. and played the reception on guitar. The cousin sat in on piano for one tune she thought she knew and then retired to the bar and got really drunk.
The bride felt I should play free for old times sake but after a long negotiation I got paid.
I called my old guitar buddy and threatened his life if he gave out my number again.
Dennis Gray
tubatooter1940
www.johnreno.com/

I've played a couple of the Sherdian solos for a Wedding or two.
(like the Swan, Ave Maria {Bach, I might avoid the Shubert, becuase it is so well known and has been associated with the Catholic Church and I know some Protestants protest it } and anything else pretty that he played). You can find these from the Dillon Website:
http://www.dillonmusic.com/dmp/music_fo ... _tuba.html
or from Pat's Website:
http://www.patricksheridan.com/store/si ... &killnav=1

and also Alec Wilder wrote a very pretty piece that I have used in recital a bunch of times called Song For Carol which you can get :
http://www.rkingmusic.com/
Good luck, what a great opportunity to play beautiful music on the tuba for an audience that might never ever get to hear a tuba solo,
Good Luck,
Bill

Just a Thought by James Grant, available from www.tubaeuphoniumpress.com $9, I believe