Concerto for Tuba & Wind Ensemble

This expansive and mature work details Archer's vision of an "every tubist" traveling through life's up and downs. Scored for a one-on-a-part wind ensemble, it would make a perfect feature for a professional or college player looking for a unique and rewarding performance piece.

Program Notes

Certain personality types tend to gravitate toward compatible instruments. For example, virtually all musicians know the jokes about trumpet players’ ego and competitiveness or percussionists’ low employment rate. Even conductors have a stereotypical type. What strikes me about tuba players, in particular, is that their associated personality - indeed, for every tuba player I know - is so fun-loving and down to earth.

This work was written for Andy Rummel, Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Illinois State University. I have to admit I didn’t know Andy very well when I started composing. As I tried to form a picture of him in my mind, the person who ultimately took shape was no doubt partially Andy, but perhaps mostly my impression of “every tubist”: a wild youngster (“Pervertimento”) who reaches a critical life juncture (“Existential Crisis”). In Andy’s case, I did happen to know that his young son, Grayson, suffered several complications immediately after birth, and was frequently hospitalized. It seemed important to offer a small tribute to the little guy in the third movement (“Shades of Gray”), so the third movement is far more directly pointed to reality than the others. The story then returns to the “every tubist,” who, at then end of the journey through youth, crisis, and struggle, emerges as a mature human being: a culmination of all that he has been, now also quietly and seriously looking ahead to the future.

Grade Level: 5
Copyright: 2015
Duration: 24:00
Publisher: C. Alan Publications
Type: With Soloist
Category: Concert Band

Listen to Recordings

Instrumentation

Flute 1
Flute 2
Oboe 1
Oboe 2/English Horn
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
B-flat Clarinet 1/2
B-flat Bass Clarinet
BB-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Baritone Saxophone

B-flat Trumpet 1/2
F Horn 1/2
Trombone
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
T.C. Baritone
Double Bass
Piano

Solo Tuba

Timpani (4 drums)
Percussion 1 (Crotales [shared, Bells, Chimes, Crash Cymbals, Suspended Cymbal)
Percussion 2 (Crotales [shared], Chimes, Xylophone, Celeste, Lot Concert Tom)
Percussion 3 (Vibraphone, Marimba [4-octave], Xylophone) Percussion 4 (Marimba [4-octave])
Percussion 5 (Tam-Tam, Low Concert Tom, Crash Cymbals, High Bongo, Small Triangle)