Brass Band

Concertino for Tuba (Eb Tuba Solo)

Grade 6 | 16 Mins

Written in 1988 for Jim Gourlay and first performed by him with the Sun Life Band in December of that year.

The piece opens slowly with a dreamy song-like theme for the soloist against a background of gentle muted figures. After a brief interlude for the band, the soloist returns and winds down into a short cadenza before returning to a varied version of the opening theme. A second variation follows and this leads to a lively vivo in sonata form with much rhythmic interplay between band and soloist.

As a climax is reached the percussion section breaks into a repeated ostinato figure against which the soloist plays the third and most elaborate cadenza, in free time. This eventually leads back to a recapitulation of the vivo and a hectic coda, which brings the work to a conclusion.