This was part of my weekend at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, in February, 2013. On Saturday I did a master class with Dr. Jerry Young's euphonium-tuba studio. Before the class started, I wanted to start with a simple song. I was demonstrating how one might choose a song to do as an instrumental. One requirement is that the melody be interesting even without the lyrics. I believe this song demonstrates that well. The Burt Bacharach melody (originally sung by Dionne Warwick) is pretty, ...
After years of putting it off, in 2007 I finally got around to arranging the "missing" first movement of the Capuzzi concerto. I followed the general style of Catelinet's "Andante and Rondo" (movements two and three of the same concerto). Then earlier this year I had a chance to perform all three movements as the complete concerto. The playlist below should automatically play all three movements of the concerto from my euphonium recital at University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, on Feb. ...
Competition season is fast approaching. A few days ago I posted the music for the Falcone International Competition. But there is also an international competition from the International Tuba-Euphonium Association (ITEA). Deadlines and registration details can be found at the link here: http://www.iteaonline.org/conference...e=Competitions Below is the music required, with links to as many as I could find online. SOLO EUPHONIUM-YOUNG ARTIST DIVISION ...
In previous posts I have covered some of the fundamentals of preparing for an audition. Now let's look in more depth at some of the other considerations of preparation and also consider some of the actual "performance" considerations of auditioning. In many ways, auditions are like performances. Both require careful practice and preparation. Both can involve stress, and with stress can come an "oops!" moment or two. Most importantly, your mental attitude and its effect on your appearance matter! ...
Here is the music for the Falcone competition. In the case of the books listed, a piece will be selected from the book. Even if you are not entering this year, it is good material to practice! Links will take you to online resources to purchase: Student, Euphonium Preliminary Round (recorded with piano accompaniment) Guilmant: Morceau Symphonique for Trombone and Piano Sheet Music Plus Semi-Final Round (unaccompanied) Charlier, ...
We all know how brass instruments work, right? Without using any valves, our instruments are like a Boy Scout bugle - there are a bunch of relatively fixed notes available over the range of the horn (the partial series). We can bend each one a little flatter or sharper to match pitch with other players on the same note, but most of us can't bend as much as a half step dependably. While I was in high school I discovered an exception to that limitation. I learned that I could start on ...
I've uploaded another video from my Winter recital in Eau Claire. This is the Tchaikovsky Romance in f-minor, which is originally a piece for solo piano. I didn't know the piece until Harold Brasch sent me the solo part of a version he had done. As I played through it, I was immediately struck by the attractiveness of Tchaikovsky's melodies. It seemed a great setting for euphonium. It has been kicking around in my head for a few decades, and last year I finally got around to arranging ...
Here is the opener from my Feb. 2013 recital at University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. The Hummel Trumpet Concerto has long been one of my favorite trumpet pieces. It is amazing easy to hear differences in musical approach when you hear different trumpet players perform it - even among the very top-of-the-top trumpet players. For euphoniumists, that means we can hear several authoritative interpretations to help develop a side of our style that is often overlooked in our low brass world. ...