Description
La Morte dell’ Oom (No Pah Intended) was written for one of my dearest friends, the great tuba player, teacher and encyclopedist, R. Winston Morris. Winston asked me to compose a piece for Symphonia, his large tuba-euphonium ensemble of professionals which they would premier at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference, July 1997 in Riva del Garda, Italy. As the title suggests, it is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, with parodies from orchestra excerpts and other ditties meant to end the reign of the Oompah. The piece was written for six euphoniums, six tubas and two percussion with the great players of Symphonia in mind. Rhythmic, range and technical challenges abound. It begins with a fanfare-like intro followed by three dance sections–a lop-sided waltz, a slow merengue and a 90’s disco. A brief return of the fanfare ends the work. Correct tempi and good rhythmic grooves are most important. At all times La Morte della’ Oom is meant to be fun.
Jim Self is a Los Angeles free-lance musician, a veteran of thousands of motion pictures, television shows and records, and tuba soloist on many prominent movies. He is Principal Tubist with the Pasadena and Pacific Symphonies, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Los Angeles Opera and Opera Pacific orchestras. His compositions and arrangements include works for solo tuba, brass quintet, and other brass and woodwind chamber music.
More about Jim and his recordings can be found here:
Basset Hound Music – http://www.bassethoundmusic.com
