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I'm interested in hearing suggestions for a solo piece to do on tuba with band accompaniment.

To give you an idea of what I'm going for, here's a little info:

Not the Gregson Concerto, Vaughan-Williams Concerto, Smith Willson Suite, Tuba Tiger Rag, or the Bencriscutto Concertino...those have been done. In addition, Beelzebub is a little on the cheesy side.

Can be for CC or F, and the solo should be of reasonable difficulty, but not "hard" in this instance. Must have published band parts...difficulty of band parts is not an issue.

Ideas?

Rolf Wilhelm Concertino for Tuba and Winds
It's lots of fun to play
Pershing's Concerto by Elizabeth Raum
Cappricio by Rodney Newton
It's not a concerto but a fairly long one movement work that's fun to play, and originally for brass band and tuba, might work with band. I don't know if there are parts.

How about arranging your own? It's really not as hard as you think, and you can tailor the arrangement to your own needs. I have done Tuba Polka (the Canadaian Brass version), Carnival of Venice (Arban but bypassed the last variation - no breaths!), and Flight of the Bumble Bee with my local community band. Arranging them myself allowed me to insert some humor, and alter some parts to make them work better for tuba.

Nothing like being able to play what you really want to! Good luck...

"'Tis better to rule in hell than serve in heaven."

I don't think so!!!

There's the Concerto for Tuba by Robert Jager. I believe the piece was premiered by Winston Morris. Its a pretty cool piece. I have heard a recording of Mr. Morris playing with a band from Japan I believe. This piece works great for CC tuba but it is also fairly do-able on F. Although fairly difficult, I recommend giving this piece a try.

Eric Ewazen Concerto for Bass Trombone or Tuba

Tom wrote:I'm interested in hearing suggestions for a solo piece to do on tuba with band accompaniment.

What do you mean by band? I can help if you mean brass band.

O Mio Babino Caro, Brian Balmages
Very pretty piece

The Tuba Press has a new piece by Aldo Rafael Forte available for purchase: Dance Rhapsody for Tuba and Band. Scored for tuba and concert band, the solo part gets up above the staff and stays there for some longish passages, but it is not an overly technical excercise and is quite lyrical. There is a hard-to-find recording from the USAF band at Langley AFB in Virginia, called "Band Dances." Their principal tuba, Andy Rummel, is the soloist, and he knocks this piece out of the park. Very cool chart, very programmable, and fun all the way around.

http://www.tubaeuphoniumpress.com/
http://www.aldoforte.com/

You could try the Bernard Heiden, Concerto. I believe that there is a published wind ensemble arrangement.

J.D.

Try Michael Brand's "Four Temperaments". It is a fun 10-minute piece and goes from lyrical, to big band to flashy double-tonguing passages. I have performed it four times in the past 2 months. It was written for Steve Sykes and parts are easily acquired.

If you can read trumpet fingerings, I suggest "Concertpiece" by Jim Curnow. It helps if you can single tongue very fast or double tongue, and can slur scales quickly. Remnants of a Herbert L. Clarke solo in some spots, but not nearly as hokey. A real crowd pleaser. I did it on tour on a Martin BBb with the Lee U Symphonic Band last year after Phil Smith played it at our concert. I think Jim Curnow also wrote a tuba solo, but the trumpet one is the bomb. Band accompaniment is not easy but more than playable by a good band.