Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto

Floyd soloed with the San Francisco Symphony twice. The first was a performance of 1978 under the baton of Seiji Ozawa, and the second was 1982 under the baton of Jahja Ling.

Soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting (1978)

“One suspects that Cooley and Ozawa made more of the Vaughan Williams than is really on the page. Clutching his instrument like an abstract brass jewel, Cooley stood to the conductor’s left. The sheer beauty of tone and technical accuracy – intonation, trills, filligree whilrligigs and all that – were amazing.” – Heuwell Tercuit – San Francisco Chronicle

Prelude: Allegro moderato

Romanza: Andante sostenuto

Finale – Rondo alla tedesca: Allegro

For my performance of the Vaughn Williams Concerto in 1982, I performed a different cadenza for the first movement.

Congratulated by former President Bill Clinton after a solo performance