TUBA EXCERPTS FOR BAND AND ORCHESTRA

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My goal with these videos is to provide some critical "first step" information for those looking to get into practicing excerpts. I include basic information along with a video that not only conveys the information audibly but also has an example of the excerpt in question. 

If you are interested in practicing excerpts and don't want to scour through public domain, check out:
 Orchestral Tuba:
         The One Hundred (compiled by Wes Jacobs): 
         The Cherry Classics Collection (compiled by Gordon Cherry)
  Euphoniums:
          Excerpts from the Standard Literature (compiled by Barbara Payne)
​          There are also several very good lists available via Google search from school like CCM, Ball State, and the Navy                Academy.  

It is also common to have audition packets that include the most common excerpts provided by both orchestral and military band jobs, which may be a helpful place to start without requiring any money up front. 

The First Round

What is my experience with excerpts?

I have been working on orchestral excerpts off and on since my junior year of undergraduate work (longer ago than I would like). I have competed in several mock auditions, the Grand Rapids, St. Louis,  and Richmond Principal Tubist positions, as well as the Kansas City Substitute position. I am by no means an expert in the subject, but these video are meant to be an introduction, not a job winner. If you are looking for a master's opinion, check out Gene Pokorny's excerpt CD available on YouTube at this link.

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What is the First Round?

Essentially, the first round is when the majority of applicants
are eliminated. While every orchestra is different, first rounds
almost always include 5-10 standard excerpts. These excerpts,
while often times not being outstandingly difficult, have to be as 
near perfect as possible in order to have any chance of 
​making it past the first round.

For Orchestral Tuba positions, the "Top 5" excerpts are
          ​​​Berlioz- "Hungarian March" from Damnation of Faust
          Berlioz- End of Mvt. 5 of Symphonie Fantastique
          Prokofiev- Symphony No. 5
          Wagner- Beginning-C or J-L of Die Meistersinger
          Wagner- Die Walküre (The Valkyries)

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