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I've been asked to chair the tuba section of the New York Sate School Music Association contest manual. The manual is revised every 3 years. I was the chairman for the 1985 and 1988 editions and I'm excited to be working on the edition due out in July 2009.

In NY, instrumental soloists attend the various NYSSMA festivals in the Spring. Students of all ages, from elem. - HS may participate. Ratings assist chairpersons in selecting students for participation in the various All-County and All-State ensembles. Contest solos listed in the manual are grouped by level of difficulty from 1 - 6. I welcome any comments, suggestions or criticisms so that I can make the tuba section as accurate and concise as possible. My completed work is due to the Manual Chairperson by July 1, 2008. I can be emailed directly at tubaday@scmea.org . Thanks!

Bill

Is it possible for you to post a link to the current manual, so we can see where you are starting from?

Hi David,
I'm sorry that I cannot post a link to the current NYSSMA Manual. It is not online and it is only available in hardcopy for purchase by school districts and individuals. In no way would I suggest or ask anyone to purchase the manual. I should have thought of this before my previous post. Therefore, my appeal for suggestions in updating the new manual would be to all teachers and/or musicians who have access to the current manual. Sorry about that! Thanks, for your interest, David.

Pm sent

Bill,

I grew up in Rome, NY. During High School I recieved 6 A+'s on "Prelude, Chorale, Variations, and Fugue" and the Goltermann/Bell Cello Concerto transcription. The Vaughn-Williams was the hardest thing on the 6 list. Last year I leafed through the manual at a friends house in Syracuse. The Kraft Encounters? Wow, times have changed. Still a little miffed to see "Air and Bourre" as a 4 and the Hartley Unaccompanied as a 5. Has the bar risen that much?

Chuck"glad he made All-State when he did because he wouldn't now"Jackson

Hi Chuck!
That must have been a pre-1985 NYSSMA Manual that you looked through in Syracuse. They are revised every three years. The first time I chaired in 1985, I made many significant changes that are still in place today. The first thing I did was to remove all of the pieces from the level 6 category that I felt were too difficult, and that a HS student should not attempt. Among those, I removed the Kraft, Claude Baker's Canzonet, and David Reck's Five Studies. There were others, but I can't remember them at this moment. I added Winston Morris' arr. of Vivaldi's Sonata in A Minor, which was a new publication at the time. I was thrilled to find a challenging Baroque transcription to include. I'm a firm believer in learning to play Baroque music (as legit solo music, that is) before attempting to understand solo music written after it.

I did move Air and Bouree from a level 4 to a level 5. I moved Judas Maccabeus from a 6 to a 5. I got many nasty letters from band directors regarding that move, as most used JM as their main level 6 tuba solo piece. In fact, it is easier to play than many of the 5's. I don't recall whether I had anything to do with the Hartley Suite. Although not technically too difficult, it is difficult to hear tonally, so I thing it belongs as a 5.

It was my idea to include the range next to the listed solos. The tuba section was the only section to include range in 1985. For the next Manual, it was required for all brass instruments, and still is. Some of my brass Manual colleagues were not happy that they had to go through their entire list to notate the range of every piece.

There are no guidelines given to us when reviewing selections to be included in the Manual. It is left soley up to the discretion of the individual chairpersons. So Chuck, thanks for your imput. Any other New Yorkers out there?

Something interesting I thought I should mention...
I played Arise Ye Subterranean Winds by Purcell in 8th grade. It was either a level 4 or 5, I don't really remember. I am now singing it as a level 6A for my NYSSMA audition for bass 2. I never realized that there could even possibly be an overlap between the vocal and instrumental literature. Why the difference in levels?

Justin,
That's one of those pieces that I might possibly delete. It is currently a level 4, but if you play it at the tempo written (112 for the qtr. note), most HS students at any level, would not be able to play it correctly or fast enough. Maybe, it could be a level 5, but it is rather short in duration and only goes as high as an f in the staff. And, besides the few 16th note passages, it really isn't difficult. Someone, with possibly little practice time, could play it slightly slower, and even with unclear 16th notes, could possibly lose 2-3 points in the overall score of 28 points, and still end up with a reasonable score as an "excellent" rating. I feel strongly that every piece of music doesn't have to fit into a level of difficulty category for contest use. Some, although fine works, just aren't suitable for this use. So, look for this piece, although it's been there for a long time, to be possibly deleted. Thanks for the observation.