Carnival of Venice for Trumpet and Tuba???

[Uncle Buck]

My senior year in high school, my trumpet-playing buddy and me decided to do a duet of the Arban Carnival of Venice for the region solo-ensemble festival. We had been talking about it for two years, and finally decided what the hell, let's just do it.

We didn't have an arrangement, but basically took the Arban solo and divided it up, trading phrases in a question-answer format, sometimes playing the opening/closing phrases together in harmony. It wasn't too hard to figure out without an arrangement.

Our band director listened to us practicing, and against his better judgment, let us go ahead with it for the festival.

Bottom line - we both had a blast, even though neither of us had the chops yet to play that arrangement well. Our judge chastised us for coming in with a piece that we couldn't play (I'll never forget that question, in a distinct condescending tone: "Did your band director know you were playing this?")

I guess I got a little off topic with this confession. Bottom line - we didn't have too much trouble creating a make-shift, amateurish duet out of the Arban arrangement. If we had had the right chops, though, it might have turned out OK.

It was still lots of fun, though - one of my favorite memories from high school.

[ahowle]

My tuba-playing dad and I once played a duet with the MSU symphonic band by H.L. Clarke called "Cousins." It was originally written for trumpet and trombone I believe, but it would work just as well for trumpet and tuba. I don't particularly care for the piece, but you might, so you should look into that. It's surely a crowd pleaser.

Good luck,