Neptune wrote:In the present difficult economic situation we are looking to perform works that are
highly audience friendly to fill the hall, as well as being not too expensive to programme (so
ideally minimal augment players, music inexpensive to hire and out of copyright).
Personally I also want to be proposing music with a decent tuba part for me to play, so will not be putting forward Mozart, or Beethoven
Bruckner and Brahms are both audience-friendly (at least if you don't take all the repeats in Bruckner), have great tuba parts, and are by now in the public domain. (In the case of Bruckner, it depends on the edited version). Brahms 2 and the Academic Festival Overture come to mind as leading contenders.
Mahler is another one that should be in the public domain by now, but you'll have to peruse the library to find works that don't need added forces. The first symphony is a possibility.
Berlioz will give you a reason to play your new F tuba. Symphonie Fantastique is also about as audience-friendly as it gets.
And then there are the Russians--Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, etc. If want something obscure from that school that still meets your requirements, try Glazunov.
Seems to me enough from that pile to produce the headline tunes for the whole season of most semi-pro orchestras.
And then, since your in England, there are Stanford, Perry, and Elgar, all of which should be early enough to be in the public domain.
Rick "with fond memories of the Brahms 2, not so fond of the AFO" Denney
What? You're kidding right... You have to be, if so, its very funny. If not...
).