This week, I have been looking at some scores in preparation for my new work. I am writing a melody for the euphonium and I found a very useful and interesting piece named Schottische by Walter S. Hartley. Hartley was born on February 21, 1927 in Washington D.C., where he began composing at the age of 5 and became seriously involved at the age of 16. He is now a proffessor at Emeritus of Music Fredonia State university in New york.
Schottische is a Quartet for Brass that was published in 1979. I looked at the part written for the euphonium and noticed that it was comprised of mostly staccatos and eighth notes. The euponium is a Bb concert instrument that is written on the bass clef. The notes are mostly conjunct. I learned what the range of the instrument is and what some of its' characteristics are. Below, is a link to a video of Hartley's composition named Canzona written for eight trombones. Hope you enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prFkJeuKBY
Cool, so does this mean you are writing for Euphonium? That's a good way to get your music played-- it's one of the instruments with the smallest repertoires, so they are always open to new music!
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