Suite Tuba 4th Movement - Finale - Thomas Bough

“SUITE TUBA” Dedication and Notes

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, as a player, a composer, and arranger, entrepreneur, and teacher. This composition is designed to reflect distinct elements of training and studying with Sam.

The last movement, subtitled Finale, combines themes from the other movements with new material and a second cadenza.
I owe numerous people a debt of thanks for helping to create Suite Tuba. My wife Erica gave me the initial idea for the project and supported me throughout the process. My colleagues from Northern Illinois University were especially helpful: JeongSoo Kim and Robert Chappell helped edit the piano score; Charley Schuchat provided valuable coaching as a tuba soloist; Brian Hart helped edit the program notes; John Fairfield stepped in to play the horn solo at the premiere; Ronnie Wooten conducted the Northern Illinois University Wind Symphony in the premiere on Nov. 17, 2010 with the composer appearing as soloist. I am profoundly grateful to the friends and colleagues who joined the commissioning consortium to help create this work.