Tuba Concerto

As a former trumpet player myself, I had long played in brass quintets. As my interested had also turned to arranging, and upon having just completed a compositional course in the summer of 1993, I decided it was time to try my hand at composing something original.

That year, at the Naples Philharmonic, where I was Assistant Principal/2nd trumpet, we had just hired a new tuba player (James Jenkins) for one season. I decided to ask him if I could write a new piece for him to premiere the following spring.

The Concerto for Tuba features the solo tuba from the onset, and then works its way through a variety of styles meant to display melodic and virtuosic dance-like figures. These were ideas I felt suited James the best, and also were elements I wanted to highlight for an instrument usually relegated to background or supporting roles.

The original version (for tuba + brass quintet) was picked up for publication by Editions BIM later that summer, whereas the piano reduction was created later, and is at ComposerJim.com

I cannot be positive, but this concerto may be my first original composition. If not, it’s certainly one of the first.

Jim Stephenson