Concertino for Tuba and Brass Band

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.