Soloing with my community band, advice?

[TubaZac2012]

The Shoals Community Concert Band is wanting to feature me as a soloist, I regularly play with the fine ensemble, but now that they want to feature me it's left me scratching my head at what to play. I was thinking of doing a standard, like the Gregson Concerto, but what else is out there for tuba and wind band accompaniment? I thought about the Vaughan Williams, as well, but I can't find a band arrangement anywhere. I'm just curious what all is out there, besides the two standards. I'm wanting something that is in my ability, I have about 6 months to prepare, so that opens up a lot of possibilities, since I have so much time. Just trying to find something that sounds good to the listener, but can also wow at the same time.

Any advice would be helpful,
Zac

[hubert]

Dennis Wick offers an arrangement of the Vaughan Williams for band and solo tuba.
The Dutch composer Jan Bosveld has arranged the Effie Suite for tuba and band. This is not published. You have to address Bosveld himself (you may contact him through his website http://www.janbosveld.nl" target="_blank).
Hubert

[hup_d_dup]

O Mio Babbino Caro

http://listeninglab.stantons.com/title/ ... ro/259092/" target="_blank

Hup

[Minkrott]

I've dreamed of playing Trumpeters Lullaby by Leroy Anderson ever since our community band played it last year. The audience loved it. Here is a fine example of it featured on Tuba. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhCDtgrvWs" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Jay Bertolet]

Back in the day I performed as a soloist with the Warren Concert Band (a community group in the suburbs of Detroit) and did the Hummel Trumpet Concerto. Both audience and band really enjoyed the piece. I've also done the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with band. Both pieces work really well. Have fun!

[NCSUSousa]

Our community band did an arrangement of 'When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba' a year ago.

[opus37]

Our community band did an arrangement of 'When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba' a year ago.

I have been looking for this band arrangement. Anyone know where I can get it?

Oh, play something you enjoy playing. You'll more emotion into it. It's that "musicality" thing that Oystein Baadsvik talks about.

[bort]

My suggestion (like others have said) -- consider the audience. If I were you, I'd stay away from the "academic" pieces like the VW or Gregson. I'm a tuba player, and I don't want to hear them much anymore.

Your performance will be the most successful if you play something that "doesn't seem like what a tuba would usually do," and something that exposes you as a competent and talented musician, and not Mr. Oom Pah from the back row. For the average community band audience, that means things they want to hear things that are high, fast, and nimble, along with some low farty notes. Just about any "theme and variations" style of piece should fit the bill, will be fun to play, and the audience will like them. I'd just try to stay away from too much schtick, like squealing out the most ridiculously high notes immediately followed by the lowest possible notes (some of the big name guys do this too, and while the audiences love it, as a tuba player I find it unexciting after the first few times -- just my opinion).

Most of all, congratulations on getting asked to do this, and have fun with it!

[Rick F]

We had a tuba player play "Tuba Tiger Rag" (arr for concert band by: David Marshall) with one of the community bands. The crowd really loved it. He was a college freshman then but has since graduated. He now plays in one of the Marine Bands. If it was good enough for Dr. Daellenbach, it's good enough for we mortals. Just a suggestion.

[swillafew]

The simpler the accompaniment, the better the effect.

[eupho]

The Bencriscutto "Concertino" is a fun play.

[Worth]

Midnight Euphonium taken down an octave is a sweet piece for Tuba and sure to be a crowd pleaser! An on line source is available from the UK for the solo with wind band accompaniment.

[TubaZac2012]

Thanks so much for all of the advice thus far. Keep it coming!

[tofu]

We had a tuba player play "Tuba Tiger Rag" (arr for concert band by: David Marshall) with one of the community bands. The crowd really loved it. He was a college freshman then but has since graduated. He now plays in one of the Marine Bands. If it was good enough for Dr. Daellenbach, it's good enough for we mortals. Just a suggestion.

+1

We've had scores of names do tuba solos with us including Harvey Philips/Marty Erickson/Deanna Swoboda etc. as well as myself and the stuff that works is the stuff like this. If this is an outside concert serious works just won't fly and even inside you need a venue that is very tuba friendly to make serious stuff sound right. With stuff like Tuba Tiger Rag you can have a lot of fun with it and the crowd will get into to it.

On a side note we had a name (who will not be named) do a concert with us recently who did a serious piece of his own arranging - which was very technical/fast/high and played well - until the very end which was a bunch of low pedal fart sounds. Why do a serious piece - trying to raise the profile of the instrument and then wipe it out by leaving the image in the mind of the audience of the instrument as a flatulence maker. I hear this done all the time. The audience usually responds with a little nervous laughter. Nobody other than 5 year old boys seems to think wow isn't that neat.

[ScottM]

Don't forget Solo Pomposo. Again, fun for you and the listener though again the band part may not be so great. There is a version of Tico Tico out too. Phil Sinder of Michigan State University played Tico Tico and the Carioca with the Lansing Loncert Band and it was well received. He might know where to get the arrangements.
ScottM

[1895King]

Solo Pomposo by Al Hayes is a good one for that type of audience. Steve Shoop has it for sale. Another good one is Beelzebub. The band arrangement is out of print; I had a set but I loaned it to someone on Tubenet last year and he has not returned it. The Chatfield, MN band library may have a set.

[hbcrandy]

Herbert Clarke's, From the Shores of the Mighty Pacific is one that I used when doing solos with band in the past and would work well for a community band concert. You must buy the euphonium solo and read it down an octave. You can hear it with piano accompaniment on Toby Hanks' CD, Sampler.

Another that I love but may be a bit much for a community band is Richard Strauss', Concerto #1 in Eb, Opus 11, for horn. Thompson Editions has a real good band transcription that comes with a part for solo horn and solo tuba. I play it on Eb tuba. It works very well.

[DonShirer]

Tubby the Tuba?

[tkdchamp2021]

Emmett's Lullaby is always fun.

[Kevin Hendrick]

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