Maurice Whitney (1909-1984) was a composer, conductor, and educator who made his greatest mark on the musical life of upstate New York. He was the high school band director in Hudson Falls, NY, and later in his native Glens Falls, NY, where he was once recognized as New York State Teacher of the Year. He also led the Glens Falls Oratorio Society and Operetta Club. Read more about him at the Wind Repertory Project and Schott Music.
Whitney published The Erie Canal in 1955. It takes the melody “Low Bridge, Everybody Down” and gives it a full symphonic treatment, including tempo changes, frequent key modulations, extended harmonies, and all manner of instrumental color. He calls his source material a “traditional tune,” but that’s not the case. “Low Bridge” may seem traditional, since it is sung in elementary music rooms and folk song societies all over New York, but it was written by Thomas S. Allen (1876-1919), who copyrighted the melody along with 5 verses and choruses worth of lyrics in 1912 after writing it in 1905. The song is somewhat romanticized and definitely nostalgic portrait of life working along the Erie Canal before it was mechanized in the late 1800s. Dave Ruch’s page about this song has MUCH more information, very much worth the read. Whitney’s version has not endured as well as Allen’s original – I can find no recording of it, nor any Google mentions, and it is definitely out print. But if you stumble upon it in your library, it is worth a read with your band.
In lieu of a band recording, here is a 1913 recording of “Low Bridge” that definitely features a tuba:
If you have any further information about Whitney’s setting, I would love to know more!