"If a composer writes for you, you must become a champion for their music." - Harvey Phillips
I have been very fortunate to have worked with some outstanding composers who have written for me, and in the tradition of my mentor, I am committed to helping to promote their music. Below you will find some of the outstanding works which I have premiered, along with links to my recordings of those works, and contact information so that you can reach out to the composers about obtaining their music. Performing a piece of music for the first time is exciting, but hearing others reinterpret music that was written for you is even more rewarding. I hope that my fellow tubists will be inspired to perform some of these great works.
Home Again, for tuba and piano, by Tom Davis. When Harvey Phillips passed away in 2010, I developed a lecture recital about his legacy and commissioned Tom to write a piece that would includ quotes from Back Home Again in Indiana, because it reminded me of my time at IU with Professor Phillips, and Georgia on my Mind, because he loved to play the music of Hoagy Carmichael, especially this great tune. Tom masterfully wove those into an original composition that makes for a great tribute and a wonderful recital piece. It's also a who lot of fun to play.
Duetto per Tuba, by Stephen Melillo. It is an incredible gift to have two students commission a great composer to write a tuba duet and dedicate it to you. My Hofstra students Mitchel Lang and Casey Flancbaum (Neiditch) did just that when they commissioned this work for their joint Junior recital. As things worked out, the recital never came to be, so Mitchel and I did one of the premiers, and Casey did the other with the wonderful Chuck Guy at the Crane School of Music. This duet is just so much fun to play. Space out the tubists on the stage if you can and let your audience enjoy it in full stereo effect.
Recording from my album SALZTUBA Link to all of the “Tubaworks” by Stephen Melillo
Concerto for Tuba and Wind Ensemble, by Tom Davis. After working together on Home Again, Tom wrote this phenomenal tuba concerto which I had the honor of premiering with my students at Hofstra University, and then recording with the incredible Central Winds, conducted by James Tapia. This exciting three movement work is both challenging and rewarding, and it really showcases the great versatility of tuba.
1st Movement, 2nd Movement, 3rd Movement Visit Tom's Website.
For my DMA Dissertation Recital I commissioned six new works for solo tuba, and I'm so proud of the outcome. Here is a link to the full recital video with some “talk” about each of the pieces. Below are links to just the performances of each piece. Please support these composers. In doing so, you are going to discover some great new music for our instrument, and please let me, and the composers, know if you perform any of these. I'd love to hear your interpretation.
What? by Gail Robertson. Who in their right mind begins a doctorate in performance after retiring from an awesome career in music education? Me, that's who. Gail did an amazing job of musically summing up the experience as she describes “The journey of going back to school after being out for a while.” Check this out, as well as Gail's other great pieces for unaccompanied tuba.
Recording Anticipated publication by Cimarron Press. In the meantime, contact Gail for more info.
