Rev. E. L. Knight for solo Tuba

Program Note 

I grew up just outside the small town of Eufaula, Alabama, in a rural community called White Oak. It was home to the Mount Olive Baptist Church, founded more than a century ago by my great‑grandfather and the spiritual center of my family for generations. Church was woven into the rhythm of my childhood. It was a place where everyone knew everyone else — and most were related in one way or another. Sunday dinners were shared, Christmas pageants were homemade, and Easter egg hunts truly required hunting. Though the congregation was small, about 150 members, the church was alive with music, community, and tradition. At its heart was our pastor, Reverend E. L. Knight.

Rev. Knight preached with a style as steady and familiar as the seasons. He would begin with his central theme, grounding it in scripture, and as he expanded on the message, a pattern emerged — a grunt here, a moan there, each one placed with such regularity that his sermons became a kind of song. “Jesuuuus, nha, walked on the WAter, nah… he CAALMMED, nha, the RAAAGING sea, nha…”

Before long, the congregation would answer him — “Preach on, preacher!” — and a call‑and‑response would build, gathering energy until the room erupted into a full gospel firestorm of shouting, dancing, and praise. It was music, spirit, and community fused into one.

This piece for solo tuba is my tribute to Rev. E. L. Knight — to the sound of his voice, the cadence of his preaching, and the profound presence he held in my early life. It reflects not only the musicality of his sermons but the warmth, strength, and sense of belonging he embodied for our small Alabama community..