CARL FISCHER OLOSABUT (1885) The World's Oldest Tuba Solo By William Pettee

While unknown today, composer William Pettee (1839–1891) was a remarkable musician and composer in his day, evidenced by the fact that he wrote funeral music for Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant. His piece, Olosabut (“tuba solo” spelled backwards) from 1885 is likely the oldest American tuba solo to survive to the twenty-first century. Like many works written during The Golden Age of Bands, a period spanning 1880–1920, no score has previously been available for this piece, but thanks to editor Curtis Peacock's detailed research, this serious work for tuba can now be enjoyed by tubists everywhere.