Tubist Tyler Davis will present his graduate recital Thursday featuring a variety of compositions that display the range of his instrument.

The Huntington native has been a student at Marshall for six years, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music education and plans to graduate with his master’s degree in music performance this May. 

Thursday’s program includes a range of pieces Davis selected from the Tuba Artist Division Solo Competition, the International Tuba Euphonium Conference and the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival repertoires.

“I have been working on these pieces for the competitions for a while now,” Davis said. “So in choosing them for my recital, not only was I sure they were at the right level of difficulty, I was already working on them.  It really went hand in hand.”

The concert will feature tuba arrangements accompanied by piano, percussion and Marshall’s Tubonium Ensemble, as well as one solo piece. 

These tunes will demonstrate Davis’ and the tuba’s artistic range through themes ranging from Latin and Native American to opera. 

“The piece I am doing that features percussion has a very Latin feel and sound,” Davis said. “It’s really neat because you don’t usually hear songs like that for the tuba so it’s exciting to play.”

Davis has studied under Marshall University Tubonium Ensemble conductor Dr. George Palton his entire time at Marshall.

“I owe a lot of thanks to my family, friends and professors here, especially Dr. Palton,” Davis said. “Their support certainly deserves it.”

Davis’ recital is open to the public and will begin at 7:30 pm in Smith Recital Hall.

Leah Cook can be contacted at [email protected].