Euphonium repertoire euphonium was embraced from its earliest days by composers and arrangers in band settings, orchestral composers have generally not taken advantage of its capabilities. Nevertheless, there are several orchestral works, a few of which are in the standard repertoire, in which composers have called for a tenor tuba, a German "Tenorhorn"¹, a Wagner tuba, or a French tuba in C. In all of these cases, the composer's desired effect was that of "tenor-voiced, valved brass" instrument – and in many of these cases the euphonium is substituted for the called-for instrument, either because the instrument is obsolete (French C tuba),
Brass quintet tuba is considered a standard, the range and style of many pieces lend themselves to being played with bass trombone as the lowest-pitched instrument. Additionally, some pieces call for the use of percussion instruments, particularly the snare drum, the tambourine, or the timpani. The contemporary brass quintet appeared in the late 1940s created by the Chicago Brass Quintet, followed in the 1950s by the American Brass Quintet and the 1960s by the Eastman Brass Quintet. However, it was 1970 with the founding of Canadian Brass that the brass quintet finally became a major hall (i.e. Carnegie Hall main stage) attraction