Euphonium-Tuba Blog

Below is a short video of David Childs playing Flight of the Bumblebee in a clever arrangement with brass band accompaniment. (Be sure also to listen to David play Brillant in a previous post from Sept. 23)

Has a euphonium ever played a major part in a pop song that made the top 40? Yes, but it was a long time ago, in the early 1960's. The song was by the Grammy Award winning singer/writer Jackie DeShannon and was called "What the World Needs Now (Is Love, Sweet Love)." This original hit (by Burt Bacharach) starts with a euphonium solo playing a brief intro to the melody. The euphonium is also heard later in the song doing some simple countermelodies. I have researched this a bit and tried to find ...

Here (and see) some brilliant playing by David Childs on the solo "Brillante" by Peter Graham (a sort-of theme and variations on "Rule Britannia"). He shows terrific flexibility in the cadenza especially, but all the playing is great! There is also a really fine brass band accompanying David.

YouTube has a new video of the euphonium soloist Barry Morrison performing A Better World by Norman Bearcroft. If I remember correctly this is one of the solos written by/for the Salvation Army. The accompaniment is provided by the British-style brass band Imperial Brass from New Jersey.

This article has been replaced by a more complete discussion of the issue of bell angle. Please see the new version here:

Watch Where You Point That Thing - Performance Considerations for Euphonium and Tuba

We now have a new featured recording in the Downloads for Members Only section of our forum. It features Luke Spiros performing the Salvation Army solo "Ransomed" by George Marshall. Luke was Principal First Chair Euphonium Soloist with the US Marine Band for 23 years and performs this solo with his usual gusto.


It is available as a free download if you are a member of the forum (membership is free):


Lukas Spiros - Ransomed

I have just learned that the British euphoniumist Marcus Cutts has passed away at the age of 80. It was many years ago that a friend gave me a recording of Marcus - I believe he was playing To a Wild Rose, if memory serves. In any case, his name stuck in my mind because of the fine playing I heard on that recording. Here is an excerpt from an article on 4barsrest.com:


"BR has been informed of the death of Marcus Cutt former principal euphonium with the Fairey Band. He was an integral ...

There is a new recording available now in the forum on this site. It is a vintage recording of tubist Jeff Arwood, U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) from the early 1970's. Jeff is playing Tico Tico (on a Besson F tuba if I remember correctly). It's a great performance and very entertaining.


This recording is available to members of the Tuba-Euphonium Forum, and membership is free. Justs go to the Euphonium-Tuba Forum and select the "Downloads for Members Only" link in the "Tuba ...