repertoire expansion project

There is not enough repertoire written for young musicians, and even less so when you look to program music that represents a broader perspective and life experience. Noticing a gap in the repertoire, I wanted to create an avenue for my fellow tuba and euphonium players to take action and help expand the music available to our community and to young musicians in particular. Now introducing the Repertoire Expansion Project.

The Repertoire Expansion Project seeks to facilitate the commissioning of new educational-level works by composers who are historically underrepresented in the tuba and euphonium repertoire.

You can learn more about our previous consortia below.

The third commission consortium through the Repertoire Expansion Project is in collaboration with Gala Flagello (she/her).

Gala Flagello (b. 1994) is a composer and educator whose work is inspired by a passion for lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and fostering meaningful collaboration. Her music, described as "at times endearingly whimsical, at times ominous, but always moving" (Cleveland Classical), resonates with audiences through its emotional depth and dynamic expression. With over 100 performances of her music each year, Flagello's collaborations with leading ensembles, artists, and institutions on national and international stages are impactful to audiences and performers alike. 

Flagello’s 2025/26 season features premieres by the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Youth Symphony, ROCO, the United States Naval Academy Band, Thalea String Quartet, and Calypsus Brass. Composer residencies this season include Glacier Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Youth Symphony, United States Naval Academy Band, the 2025 SoundWaves Festival at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, Piedmont Wind Symphony, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and Purdue University Fort Wayne. Upcoming collaborations include a new work for soprano and symphonic winds featuring renowned vocalist Lindsay Kesselman, and a saxophone quartet concerto for acclaimed ensemble ~Nois.

Flagello’s works have been featured by prominent ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, United States “President’s Own” Marine Band, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra, Sante Fe Symphony Orchestra, DuPage Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Youth Symphony, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, and the Apollo Ensemble of Boston. She has collaborated with many notable conductors, including Earl Lee, Fouad Fakhouri, Timothy Muffitt, Arian Khaefi, Bruce Kiesling, and Na'Zir McFadden.

Flagello’s music has been programmed in seven countries and 39 states. Her pieces are featured at conferences around the world, including the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Midwest Clinic, College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), Thailand Tuba Euphonium Conference (ThaiTEC), and several state music educator conferences. 

Flagello’s work frequently engages with topics such as environmental advocacy, mental health, and gender equity. The Bird-While, a concerto for Hub New Music and symphonic winds, is based on the environmental poetry of Michigan poet Keith Taylor, with each movement sonically exploring Michigan-specific flora and fauna. Other recent socially engaged projects include Embers, commissioned by Jarrett McCourt, and Love & Nature, commissioned by a consortium of 55 wind bands led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Flagello is a passionate educator and arts leader. She co-founded the nonprofit contemporary music festival Connecticut Summerfest which celebrated its 10th anniversary season in 2025. In her teaching, Flagello enthusiastically works with students to develop fledgling ideas into fully realized pieces, examine repertoire from Saint-Georges to Saariaho, and incorporate non-musical elements such as visual art and technology into their work. She is frequently engaged as a Composer in Residence at institutions nationally and internationally; past residencies have included the University of Michigan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Virginia Tech, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Queen’s University. Flagello is proud to have co-designed and co-teach the course Commissioning and Collaboration Basics (ARTSADMN 406/506) at the University of Michigan with Hub New Music Executive Director Michael Avitabile.

Flagello earned her Bachelor of Music in Composition from The Hartt School, and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the Dorothy Greenwald Graduate Fellowship. She has honed her craft as a Composition Fellow at prestigious institutions such as Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. Flagello’s works are published by Just a Theory Press. When not composing, you can find her reading a good book, cooking up a new recipe, or tending to her plethora of spider plants.

what you will receive when you join -

This piece will be written for euphonium, tuba, and piano, approximately 5-6 minutes in length, and appropriately difficult for an advanced high school or undergraduate student.

one-semester exclusivity

With a December 22, 2025 delivery, you can immediately program this work on your recitals or for your students in the spring 2026 semester. Consortium members will receive exclusivity through October 1, 2026, at which time the piece will become available to the public.

emotional satisfaction

Doesn’t knowing that you are helping to expand the repertoire for younger generations make you feel good? You’re a good person, this proves it.

the details

Devil's in the Details (2025) for euphonium, tuba, and piano will evoke the intricacies and entanglements of the titular idiom while challenging its inherently dark connotation. Coming into the zeitgeist in the 1960s, "the devil's in the details" is derived from the saying "God is in the details," and interestingly, over time, these idioms have become interchangeable. The euphonium, tuba, and piano will weave a tangled web of textures, transforming their devil-may-care attitude as they unearth wistfulness and wonder in their supposedly fiendish environment. Devil's in the Details will be a piece about intention, reflection, and connection, sonically illustrating that things may not always be what they seem.

• Consortium is OPEN! Just fill out the linked form and payment buttons above!

• December 1, 2025: Consortium window closes

• December 15, 2025: All contracts and payments are due

• December 22, 2025: Piece is completed and pdfs are delivered to all consortium members

• October 1, 2026: Exclusivity for all consortium members

Financially we want to make this accessible not only for faculty and professors, but students as well. For this consortium, there are two buy-in options:

• Professional/Educator buy-in: $150

• Student buy-in: $50

Becoming part of this consortium will give you nine months of exclusivity (where only consortium members can perform the work) as well as a digital copy shared with you to you in December!

If you want to support this project but aren’t interested in receiving a copy of the final work, you can donate to the Tuba-Euphonium Repertoire Expansion Project below. 100% of the funds raised will go toward the composer or toward recording their work.

Gala Flagello consortium members

previous consortia

Mica Redden - Honk! for Tuba and Piano - Fall 2023

Jeremy Hunter - Expansive World for Tuba-Euphonium Quartet - Spring 2024

Zoe Cutler - Become An Amazing Musician in 8 Minutes: (professors hate this one weird trick) - Spring 2025

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