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Can anyone recommend a good euphonium solo, preferably on the shorter side, by an Australian composer? Also good would be Australian solos for other instruments that could be/have been adapted for euphonium.

Thanks!

- CrappyEuph

Hi "CrappyEuph" (not his real name?)

Off the top of my head Percy Code is an Australian composer who wrote brass band style solos around the 1920's.

I have a copy of "Zelda" in front of me which is marked "Solo for Bb Cornet, Baritone or Euphonium". All his stuff is dated but very lyrical and tremendous fun to play. Even his harder pieces never seem to go higher then C above the treble clef stave. The melodies tend to have wider intervals than a purely vocal melody - I suspect lip flexibility might have been a feature of Percy's own playing.(I think he was a cornet player).

Zelda is an important part of the Australian brass band players solo repertoire.

Our brass band scene is very closely related to the English one - particularly with sound - our Eupho players sound very much like the English ones - recordings I've heard of American players sound like a totally different instrument, much more brassy, less of a singing voice. You could never use an Australian eupho player on something that really needs a trombone sound.

Do you read treble clef? - as far as I know all this stuff is only published in treble clef.

There may be more contempory works around - I just mentioned Percy off the top off my head.

Regards

Gerard

Yeah the old treble clef thing

I started on clarinet and piano so I could read both clefs.
When I first started playing BBb tuba it was in a brass band next to my brother reading treble clef.

A couple of years later we both joined a concert band formed to be the centrepiece of a local festival and recieved a big pile of tuba music in bass clef.

We could both read bass clef from playing the piano, all we had to do was learn concert pitch fingerings for BBb tuba which we did very quickly. (No choice)!

I now find being able to read either clef a major asset - I have repertoire and teaching materials in both clefs and I can play the EEb tuba part in brass band which seems to happen quite a bit - missing BBb parts - being the only tuba player in the room and needing to play an important bit in the EEb part not written in the BBb part etc.

I'm intrigued - why does CrappyEuph (his real name?????????) want an Australian Euphonium solo and is he after serious contempory repertoire or old fashioned stuff as mentioned above or doesn't it matter?

Regards

Gerard

Thanks, Gerard!

I've learned to read treble clef quite well since I last spoke to Nethereuph, so I will check out that piece. Are there any recordings available?

I am interested in any Australian literature regardless of time period, so if you have any more recommendations, that would be great!

Yvonne Anthony (Brisbane) wrote two brilliant solos for me a while back;

Journey To The Centre;

http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k309/ ... ?start=all

and The Kiss of Light;

http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/sh ... reid=44113

and a great duet too, Latimer's Leap;

http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/sh ... reid=48735

I also liked (and played) one of her trombone solos, And It's Spring;

http://www.sibeliusmusic.com/cgi-bin/sh ... reid=29929

CB

knuxie wrote:Jamie,

Try contacting Riki McDonnell. He's the premier euph guy in Aussieland.

http://www.musicways.co.nz/riki/index.html

Ken F.

Riki is a New Zealander.

You should also try contacting Matthew Van Emmerik. He plays euphonium in the Navy Band in Sydney. His website is www.matthewvanemmerik.com. You could also try Greg Aitken at brass music specialists in Brisbane. His email is brass ("at") brassmusic.com.au.

Also, Scott Kinmont (who sends his regards to you Jamie) is premiering an Australian Euphonium concerto in February of the new year. I don't know when the music will be available though....

6 minutes is a great length, actually - I'd be interested in hearing those pieces.

Thanks to everyone who replied - I have a lot of ideas now. The reason I posted in the first place is that I have a degree recital coming up and I'd like to play a piece from each (populated) continent.

- CrappyEuph

I think I'm good on treble clef, but maybe you can help me work on my soft playing.