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FIRST EVER FACEBOOK COMMISSION FOR A NEW TUBA SOLO

Hi everyone!

I’m interested in doing the world’s first Facebook commission for a new tuba piece. I think this would be a new and exciting way to reap the benefits of a global social network such as Facebook, and at the same time help contribute to the ever growing tuba repertoire.

The composition of the new work will be supervised by Tim Buzbee, Principal Tuba of Iceland Symphony, for whom I wrote Six-Pack for Solo Tuba. For those of you not familiar with the piece, I am posting this video of Tim performing it at University of Texas at Arlington on U.S. recital tour in March 2008. Six-Pack is published by Warwick Music and is available at http://www.warwickmusic.com" target="_blank" target="_blank. Tim also recorded the piece on his debut CD entitled BUZZED, which was released on the Albany label on October 1, 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2o3j7b5klA" target="_blank" target="_blank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8nt9B7e ... re=related" target="_blank" target="_blank

The work will be composed with the bass tuba in mind, but will be adapted to euphonium and bass trombone as well. The accompaniment has not yet been decided and will likely depend on the number of commissioners.

Any interested members of this group can participate in this commissioning project. Each person will be asked to contribute $25.00US and will be given credit for his/her contribution as a commissioner of the work. Names will be listed in the order in which they are received. Each participant will receive a personalized copy of the pre-published piece. Due to the nature of this project, the more people involved the bigger the production will be.

The work will be challenging but accessible (in other words, not quite as extreme as Six-Pack but still moderately difficult), fun to play and pleasing to the ear.

Anyone interested in joining this project please send me a Facebook message, or go to the PayPal website at http://www.paypal.com" target="_blank" target="_blank and send the $25.00US commission fee to jamesmeador@hotmail.com" target="_blank" target="_blank. Deadline for the commission fee is February 1, 2009 (but remember, names will be listed in the order in which the commissions are received). The piece will be delivered (postmarked) on July 1, 2009.

If you have any questions or need more information, please send me a Facebook message!

Best wishes,
James Meador

Hi Bob,

Tim and I met 10 years ago in Acapulco when we played in the Acapulco Philharmonic together. I had been there for almost a year when he won the job and joined the orchestra. We only played together for a few months, but we became great friends and have been ever since. I met Jessica through Tim when they got married. Actually, they came to Merida, Yucatan, where I live now, to get married.

They are both great players and musicians, and I'm honored to know them and call them my friends. And I'm glad I can work with them so closely even though we are so far apart. This Facebook Tuba Commission is just one of several projects we are working on, including a trombone/bass trombone/tuba trio and a trombone solo with electronic accompaniment for Jessica.

Best,
James

That job was a turning point in my life. I had just finished up 3 summers studying with John Rojak at the Aspen Music Festival. I won the job from there with a video audition. I was fresh, excited about playing, and looking for a new experience...such as living in another country. The orchestra was fairly new, so most of the players were very young. Average age was around 22-26 I would say. Not a lot of married couples. The rep was OK, but we didn't play any Mahler or Strauss or anything like that. When Tim came down we had a great time. We sounded great and had fun playing. And we are both from Texas, so we hit if off right away.

I realized after playing in Acapulco that I wanted to play in an orchestra full-time, and there was no other job I could do. When your job is to go to 3 or 4 rehearsals a week, play a couple of concerts a weekend and have anywhere from 9 to 16 weeks of paid vacation a year, that is the life. Plus, we lived 5 minutes walking distance from the beach, beer was about $6-7 pesos (about $.50US), and we lived in a tourist attraction. It was a great time.

I'm fortunate that I have a job where I can make a decent living and have lots of time for other projects, such as composing. I still get plenty of practice on my ax, still enjoy playing great music well with some respected colleagues, and have plenty of time left over for my other passion which is composing. I've always enjoyed composing, but now thanks to technology I have many more options to get my music out there to the players. That means more to a composer than anything else...having his/her music performed.

Best,
James

This looks like a very interesting project! I wish you all the best, Mr. Meador!

-Jackson Parodi

Thanks Jackson! I received your commission fee so thank you for participating. I'm looking forward to it!

Please be sure to send me your city, state/country, school/institution or job info so I can list that information in the credits.

Best wishes,
James

Hello again everyone,

Just wanted to remind you all about the Facebook Tuba Commission for a new tuba solo. We’ve had several people join the project, but we would like to have more participation! Current contributors include members of orchestras in Mexico, United States and Europe, US Air Force and Army bands, freelance artists, university faculty, doctoral candidates and college students.

For more information see my previous post or you can contact me or Tim Buzbee here or on Facebook.

Best wishes,
James Meador