Suite Tuba (available from Cimarron Music Press)
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Suite Tuba was written in honor of my doctoral advisor and applied instructor from Arizona State University, J. Samuel Pilafian. Although Sam is best known in the brass world for his ground-breaking performances as the tuba player and founding member of the Empire Brass Quintet, he was also the primary arranger and business manager for Empire for nearly 20 years. He is also an incredible teacher, who has trained thousands of musicians around the world. Sam had a profound impact on my career in all four areas, that is, as a player, a composer and arranger, entrepreneur and teacher. This composition is designed to reflect different elements of training and studying with Sam.
I am deeply grateful to the friends and colleagues who joined the commissioning consortium to help create this work. They are:
Bryan Doughty, Cimarron Press
Prof. R. Winston Morris, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, Tennessee
Dr. Jason Stumbo, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio
Dr. Chris Hulett, Scottsdale Concert Band, Scottsdale, Arizona
Dr. Wally Parks, Metamora High School, Metamora, Illinois
Benjamin Helton, Bloom District #206, Chicago Heights, Illinois
Craig Roselieb, Downers Grove South High School, Downers Grove, Illinois
Prof. Michael Coldren, Syracuse University
Robert Hanerhoff III, Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook, Illinois
Lance Flisowski, The Colony High School, The Colony, Texas
Dr. Robert Hunter, Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona
Prof. David Boggs, McKendree University, Lebanon, Illinois