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I'm putting together my Junior recital next spring and I was just curious on what people are playing nowadays and how they are scheduling them. Have any good "fillers?"

Speaking of oboe music. The Raum - Romance for tuba is a beautiful piece. My instructor was working with me in a lesson on the piece when it struck him that it sounded as though a good oboe should be playing the line. After a bit of research, we found out that Raum played oboe! It is really quite a beautiful piece.

I put a vote in for the Ewazen - Concerto too!

I'm still in the thought process of my upcoming recital, but I will probably put together something with a wide variety. Here are some of my thoughts:

Standard piece: Vaughn Williams or comparable

Non-standard piece: ex: Jabba the Hut

Something the audience probably hasn't heard the tuba do: ex: Encounters II

And then a really audience friendly piece: ex: Czardas

I would like to experiment with accompanied, unaccompanied, and ensemble pieces.

I don't have anything set in stone yet, but I would come to a recital like this. Just my 2 cents.

Scooby Tuba wrote:

Quicksilvertuba wrote:Standard piece: Van Williams or comparable

What is this piece? Not familiar with it...

Must have come to us from the automotive industry. Don't you think?
No, wait! Maybe that is John Williams' more obscure brother.

(Just having a little fun)

ok so I let one slip


Sometimes I forget how to spell "teh"

bloke wrote: To me most "tuba music" reminds me of so much "band music". Double-tonguing, scale runs, and "band rhythms" in the outer movements / pointless, melancholy, emotion-without-direction-or-story inner movements.

I have felt this way for a very long time. So much excellent music is already written. I wonder why we often waste our time with the pointless stuff. We also have "up and coming composers" who are, or need to be, writing for tuba and euphonium. I do, however, believe the euphonium players have a better repertoire to draw from.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it! OK. I'm willing to hear the other side.

Quicksilvertuba wrote:ok so I let one slip

Sometimes I forget how to spell "teh"

Sometimes I forget how to spell.

A short two movement piece I have used on recitals is "Two Moods For Tuba" by Donald Swann. The piece does not seem to get much play but is challenging and nice. I think it is still in print.

i want to give a word of caution on over-programming because i have done it each and every time i gave a recital in college. i am happy that i played music that i enjoyed playing which meant that i could hopefully make it enjoyable for the listener. however there is something to be said about how much the listener wants to hear. at my college everyone typically adopts an approach of 3 pieces per half. depending on what you play, you could be on stage for 30 minutes or two hours. your face will also be displeased if you have merely added an extra piece when you've had enough music. i can name one or two pieces on every recital i've given that could have been omitted and i believe the performance would have been enhanced.

one other thing - try to do at least one piece that you feel you've "lived with" for a while. i always tried to program things i had just started so that the recital was a growth experience, but nothing beats finally pulling off the piece you've been playing since you started college, since you started f tuba, since you learned to double tongue, etc etc.

Scooby Tuba wrote:

Quicksilvertuba wrote:Standard piece: Van Williams or comparable

What is this piece? Not familiar with it...

Van (Van Zandt) Williams is an American actor (born February 22, 1934, in Fort Worth, Texas) best known for his brief yet world famous television role as "Britt Reid" aka "The Green Hornet"

I haven't Given my Junior Reciatl yet, but I have it planned.
I feel that you should play Tuba Rep in a Tuba recital (especially a degree required one) so my program:

Hindemith Sonata (tuba Rep)
Some late Romantic song cycle (not Tuba Rep)
Kraft Encounter II (tuba rep)
Monti Czardas (kinda Tuba rep)
Vaughn Williams Concerto (Tuba rep)

KevinMadden wrote:I haven't Given my Junior Reciatl yet, but I have it planned.
I feel that you should play Tuba Rep in a Tuba recital (especially a degree required one) so my program:

Hindemith Sonata (tuba Rep)
Some late Romantic song cycle (not Tuba Rep)
Kraft Encounter II (tuba rep)
Monti Czardas (kinda Tuba rep)
Vaughn Williams Concerto (Tuba rep)

I'd call that a rather serious Junior recital. Can you pull it off?

Here is my current mockup of my recital

Variations in Olden Style - Stevens
A slower piece Raum Romance/Meditation/Ave Maria/etc.
A contrasting fast piece
Martin Ellerby Concerto
Intermission
A couple of Tuba Quartet Pieces
A Brass Quintet piece
Tuba Polka

I thought I'd toss my hat into the discussion. This is the listing for the recital I'll be playing in a few weeks; it originally was a little more "out there" but I had to cut some of the weirder pieces.

Concertpiece No. 1-Vaughn (I thought this would be a nice way to open the thing up)
Four of the "Six Studies in English Folksongs" by Vaughn-Williams, (something nice and tuneful that the audience will like)
Cappricio-Penderecki (something challenging, plus I really, really like this piece.)
Two of the movements of the Sonate-Hindemith (nice standard)
Three Essays for Solo Tuba-Penn (the strange, serious piece that I also really like.)
I'm Still Here-Waits arr. Aaron Hynds-(a Tom Waits ballad that I thought would work well with tuba; plus, it leaves the audience with a nice sound in their ears as they leave.)


I purposely programmed this recital to have just about everything-fast, slow, serious, goofy, standard, obscure, etc....
That's how I've always approached putting together a program.
Just my two cents.
Aaron Hynds

Doc wrote:

UTTuba_09 wrote:Here is my current mockup of my recital

Variations in Olden Style - Stevens
A slower piece Raum Romance/Meditation/Ave Maria/etc.
A contrasting fast piece
Martin Ellerby Concerto
Intermission
A couple of Tuba Quartet Pieces
A Brass Quintet piece
Tuba Polka

Now for a serious though...
I've never done the Stevens or the Ellerby, so I don't know if they are w/ accompaniment. Thought of doing an unaccompanied solo for contrast and to showcase your playing all by yourself? That would throw the audience a change-up, and that's one less piece you have to pay a pianist to work up.

Doc

Hmm, that's true, thanks Doc!

Actually, I haven't heard of any of his works. Would you recommend any of his works?

My Junior Recital from last Fall:

The Organic Tubatron (a piece I wrote involving a tuba, a PA, 3 mics, a looping pedal, a delay pedal, and a didgeridoo)
Gabriel's Oboe (my own arrangement based on the rearrangement that Ennio Morricone did with Yo-Yo Ma)
Concerto for Tuba - James Barnes (a piece that I had been working on for about a year and a half)
Fnugg - Baadsvik (hands-down the most fun piece ever written)

I'm not a huge fan of tuba music either. The last recital piece I did in college was the Telemann Trumpet Concerto in D-major.

I'm with bloke, the oboe rep is wonderful. My favorite solo work to play is the Albinoni Concerto in D-minor. Five Bagatelles for Clarinet by Gerald Finzi is a wonderful showcase of the tuba as well. I'm also a Prokofiev freak, so the Visions Fugitives for Piano that Gene Pokorny recorded on his "Big Boy" CD is next on my must purchase list. I hope that Tales Of an Old Grandmother is published soon. Play anything you want, that shows off your talent and wht you do best on the tuba. A piece that gives your inner musical voice a chance to be heard. Regardless of what instrument it may have been written for.

Doc wrote:Ok...

I finally hammered out the program for my next recital:

The Spartan
Hall of the Mountain King
Honor and Arms
The Happy Hippo

- BEER and PISS BREAK (audience can take a break also if they wish) -

His Majesty the Tuba
Solo Pomposo
Sea Songs - Sailing the Mighty Deep/Asleep in the Deep/Shenandoah
Excerpts from Carmen

Encore:
Bill Medley - Barnacle Bill, Bill Bailey, Don’t Mess With Bill,
Bill (Showboat), Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now

- BARBECUE AND BEER RECEPTION -

Entertainment provided by The Travelers.

Doc

Looks like the encore will fill the bill(or Bill).

For my second annual mid-life crisis recital in a local church, I'll be playing some standards on the euphonium, come the second Sunday in September:

Horovitz, Concerto, Mvt 1
Sparke, Harlequin (the slow 1st section only!)
Ellerby, Concerto, Mvts 1 & 3
Piazzolla, Cafe 1930 (b flat soprano sax version)

I'm thinking of calling the recital 'Bits of Pieces.'

John