Euphonium and Wind band

with Concert Band

Alternate cadenza found here:

for Euphonium solo and Universal parts:

Treble in C, Db and Eb

Sopranos 1-2 in C and Bb

Soprano 3 in C, Bb and Eb

Mezzos in C, Bb and Eb

Alto 1 in C, Eb and F

Alto 2 in C, B, Eb and F

Tenors in C and Bb

Basses in C, Bb and Eb

Percussion

13 parts + solo

with Concert Band in F. See CM1161 for Eb version.

w/Concert Band, in Eb. See CM141 for F version.

with Wind Band; This piece features varied styles and is a nice challenge for an upper level High School player or College student.

Program notes:

“Once in a Blue Moon” is a concerto for euphonium and wind ensemble written by a young Taiwanese composer, Wan-Yun Liang. According to the composer, this romantic piece is telling a story about “two lovers who coincidentally met, fell in love and watched the moon under the moonlight.” This piece consists of four sections without break. The music begins with a lovely main theme played by the soloist. This first section, marked Adagio, is in the style of the blues. It is followed by a fast section and a tango style third section. After a brief cadenza, the main theme comes back in a dance tempo. In this final section, the clarinet section will play the counter melody when the soloist presents the main melody. After that, trumpets and saxophones players will play the main tune while the counter melody will be played by the soloist. This represents the two lovers dancing happily under the moon.

This piece was premiered by the Euphonium player, Tzu-Hsiang Lin, and Taipei Symphonic Band in January 14th 2018, under the direction of  Dr. Po-Yuan Ku. 

This music has been selected as 2018 Taiwan Tuba Euphonium Competition Set Piece.

with Wind Band (piano and orchestra accompaniment also available )

In four movements and subtitled "Creative States", this concerto will allow the audience's imagination run wild as the performer paints the picture:

I. Wonder

II. Emptiness

III. Emptiness

IV. Joy

This piece was commissioned by:

Amy Schumaker Bliss

Lauren Veronie Curran

Jonathan Helmick

Jamie Lipton

Gail Robertson

Travis Scott

Evagene Wellman

I tend to think that the subtitle and movement titles of this piece should be fairly self explanatory. However, after thinking about it a bit I realized that perhaps there is room for at least a little elaboration. This piece is about states that I (and you?) can put myself in when I have little or no inspiration for a piece. In that sense, it was a bit of a joke on myself as I was writing this concerto. I have always claimed that there is plenty of human and personal subject matter about which to write, so this is about what one can do when not feeling particularly inspired.

Three of the movements are states of childlike awareness - Wonder, Playfulness and Joy. The second movement is more of a meditative state, Emptiness, and is musically reflective of the piano "Gymnopedies" of Erik Satie. To me, it is a zen like emptying of oneself, creating a mental and emotional vacuum into which inspiration can enter. What is not mentioned here is that deadlines can also be a powerful impetus towards creativity for composers and other artists. Deadlines are the most terrifying, but often the most effective.