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to view a list of
50 participants from last year's
commissioning consortium for
Sultry and Eccentric for Tuba and Piano, click here
2001
Solstice/Equinox
Commissioning Consortium for Tubists
Click
here to read the names and see pictures of the
78 participants!
The above linked page will take some time to load, because of
all the very cool pictures of tubists from AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE,
FL, GA, IA, IL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, PA,
SC, TX, VA,
VT, WA, WI, British Columbia, and Hokkaido, Japan who signed on as co-commissioners of
this new music.
The Vernal Equinox piece is called Stuff and is a theme with seven variations for solo tuba, ca. 5 minutes 45 seconds in duration.
The Summer Solstice piece is called Just A Thought and is a ballad for tuba with piano accompaniment, ca. 3 minutes 45 seconds in duration.
The Autumnal Equinox piece is called High Autumn. It is scored for tuba with piano accompaniment and is hymn-like, regal, processional, strong. While Stuff and Just A Thought are immediately good-natured and tuneful, High Autumn demands a more "serious" interpretive insight and technique.
The Winter Solstice piece is called Endorphins, for tuba with piano accompaniment. Get out your oxygen bottle.
To order any or all of the above:L
go to
Tuba-Euphonium Press and do a search on "James Grant."
Background information on the
2001
Solstice/Equinox
Commissioning Consortium for Tubists
Four new intermediate level recital
pieces, one delivered every three months.
THE MUSIC
Instrumentation
Three pieces will be for tuba with piano accompaniment; one piece will be for
solo tuba.
Duration
Each piece will be ca. 3 - 6 minutes.
Difficulty level
Each of the four pieces will be composed with the student tubist and amateur
enthusiast in mind and will not be intended for displays of virtuoso wizardry
– the pieces are intended specifically for placement on student recitals and
for teaching. In other words,
the intended difficulty level is "intermediate," not
"advanced."
Musical language
Stravinsky/Monk/Poulenc/Britten/Mancini/Steely Dan inflected; rhythmic, lyrical, tuneful;
accessible to the ears; appropriately challenging and fun for players and
audience; reasonable on the chops.
THE CONSORTIUM
Time frame
Over the course of 2001, at each equinox (spring, autumn) and solstice
(summer, winter) one of the new recital pieces will be mailed out to members of
the consortium.
Premier performances
Each first performance by a participating tubist will be considered a premiere.
The names of all commissioners will be printed in the music, which
ultimately will be distributed by Tuba-Euphonium Press.
COSTS
Your total cost to commission the music and to receive
published copies of the four new recital pieces will be $60. This
figure includes all printing, publishing, packaging, and mailing costs.
(One way to look at it is that over the course of one year you are buying four
new pieces of music for $10 each, and contributing as co-commissioner $5 towards
the creation of each composition.)
Payment will not be due until March 1, 2001. After you contact me, I'll put your name,
address, and email into a database and will contact you by mid- February 2001 to request
payment by March 1.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW
Very little, in fact:
1. Drop me an email expressing your interest in participating in the 2001 Solstice/Equinox Commissioning Consortium. Please include your mailing address, how you prefer to be addressed (Mr, Ms, Mrs, Dr, Professor, Rev, The Honorable, Sgt 1st Class, etc.), as well as your "status" and affiliation: for example something like:
Graduate Student, University of the
Universe
High School Senior, George W. Gore High School
Principal Tuba, Galaxy Symphony Orchestra
Computer Programmer, Ay-tuh-Zee Coorporation
Mother Superior, Convent of St. Cecilia
Professor of Tuba/Euphonium, Jupiter State Teachers College
Amateur Enthusiast
2. Please spread the word! -- if there are other tubists you think might be interested in participating, paste this page into the body of an email and send it off, or just send a link.
...and finally...
Our joint participation in forming a consortium such as this accomplishes several goals that are beneficial for all: 1) it helps me to write new music without depending solely on one entity to come up with commission/production fees; 2) it contributes new music to the tuba repertoire while spreading out the costs among a number of participants -- in this case, as mentioned above, each co-commissioner is contributing $5 per piece as a commission fee; 3) it confirms, encourages, strengthens, and celebrates a growing alliance between a living composer and performers; and 4) it's an absolute blast to put together a project like this, and to know that the newly-created music would not exist without all of us participating together. That, to my mind, is what making music is all about.
I do hope you'll be interested in the project, that you'll spread the word to others in the tuba community, and that you'll contact me soon!
Best regards from the coast of Delaware,
-- Jim
Music for
Tuba:
[Waltz for Betz] [Three
Furies for Tuba] [Sultry and
Eccentric]
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