Tubachristmas is a music concert in cities worldwide that celebrates those who
playA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
,
teachMusic education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. More than merely teaching notes and rhythms, music education seeks to develop the whole person. It touches on the development of the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity. It helps to...
, and
composeA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
music for instruments in the tuba family. Instruments in the tuba family that often appear are the
tubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
,
sousaphoneThe sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the tubist and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried...
,
baritoneThe baritone horn, or simply baritone, is a member of the brass instrument family. The baritone horn is a Cylindrical bore instrument like the trumpet and trombone. A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium. It is pitched in B, one octave below the B...
, and
euphoniumThe euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
, though some participants bring rarer members of the family such as the
héliconMount Helicon is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, with an elevation of 1,749 meters . It is located just off the Gulf of Corinth....
,
contrabass bugleThe contrabass bugle, usually shortened to contra, is the lowest-pitched instrument in the drum and bugle corps hornline. It is essentially the drum corps' counterpart to the marching band's sousaphone: the lowest-pitched member of the hornline, and a replacement for the concert tuba on the...
,
ophicleideThe ophicleide is a family of conical bore, brass-keyed bugles.- History :The ophicleide was invented in 1817 and patented in 1821 by French instrument maker Jean Hilaire Asté as an extension to the keyed bugle or Royal Kent bugle family...
and
serpentA serpent is a bass wind instrument, descended from the cornett, and a distant ancestor of the tuba, with a mouthpiece like a brass instrument but side holes like a woodwind. It is usually a long cone bent into a snakelike shape, hence the name. The serpent is closely related to the cornett,...
.
The first Tubachristmas was founded by Harvey G. Phillips and was held December 22, 1974 in New York City's
Rockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It was declared a National Historic...
in recognition of the achievements of
William J. BellWilliam Bell was the premier tuba player and teacher of tuba in America during the first half of the 20th century. From 1924 to 1937, William Bell served as Principal Tuba with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1921 He joined the band of John Philip Sousa...
who was born on Christmas Day, 1902.
Tubachristmas is a music concert in cities worldwide that celebrates those who
playA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
,
teachMusic education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. More than merely teaching notes and rhythms, music education seeks to develop the whole person. It touches on the development of the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity. It helps to...
, and
composeA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
music for instruments in the tuba family. Instruments in the tuba family that often appear are the
tubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
,
sousaphoneThe sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the tubist and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried...
,
baritoneThe baritone horn, or simply baritone, is a member of the brass instrument family. The baritone horn is a Cylindrical bore instrument like the trumpet and trombone. A baritone horn uses a large mouthpiece much like those of a trombone or euphonium. It is pitched in B, one octave below the B...
, and
euphoniumThe euphonium is a conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument. It derives its name from the Greek word euphonos, meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced"...
, though some participants bring rarer members of the family such as the
héliconMount Helicon is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, with an elevation of 1,749 meters . It is located just off the Gulf of Corinth....
,
contrabass bugleThe contrabass bugle, usually shortened to contra, is the lowest-pitched instrument in the drum and bugle corps hornline. It is essentially the drum corps' counterpart to the marching band's sousaphone: the lowest-pitched member of the hornline, and a replacement for the concert tuba on the...
,
ophicleideThe ophicleide is a family of conical bore, brass-keyed bugles.- History :The ophicleide was invented in 1817 and patented in 1821 by French instrument maker Jean Hilaire Asté as an extension to the keyed bugle or Royal Kent bugle family...
and
serpentA serpent is a bass wind instrument, descended from the cornett, and a distant ancestor of the tuba, with a mouthpiece like a brass instrument but side holes like a woodwind. It is usually a long cone bent into a snakelike shape, hence the name. The serpent is closely related to the cornett,...
.
The first Tubachristmas was founded by Harvey G. Phillips and was held December 22, 1974 in New York City's
Rockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It was declared a National Historic...
in recognition of the achievements of
William J. BellWilliam Bell was the premier tuba player and teacher of tuba in America during the first half of the 20th century. From 1924 to 1937, William Bell served as Principal Tuba with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1921 He joined the band of John Philip Sousa...
who was born on Christmas Day, 1902. Over 300 musicians played that day and started an ongoing phenomenon that continues to this day. The arrangements of the Christmas carols were written by
Alec WilderAlec Wilder was an American composer.-Biography:...
, who coincidentally died on
Christmas EveChristmas Eve, December 24, is the night before Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.-Western Churches:Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally celebrate a midnight Mass which begins sometime before midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony, which is held in churches...
, 1980.
It was not easy to convince
Rockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. It was declared a National Historic...
to let hundreds of tubas play on the ice rink. Phillips had to provide the unlisted telephone numbers of some of his friends:
Leopold StokowskiLeopold Stokowski was a famous orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski performed with the Cincinnati Symphony...
,
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
,
Andre KostelanetzAndré Kostelanetz was a popular orchestral music conductor and arranger, one of the pioneers of easy listening music.-Biography:...
, and
Morton GouldMorton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.Born in Richmond Hill, New York, Gould was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities in improvisation and composition. His first composition was published at age six...
. After checking his references he was given free rein.
Tubachristmases vary in size from a minimum of four instruments (two euphoniums and two tubas), to several hundred at the biggest events. Any musician can play in a Tubachristmas as long as he or she plays an instrument in the tuba family. Musicians who attend usually range in age from 8 years old to over 80. There is a $5 participation fee and the booklet of music costs $15 for a small version or $20 for a large version. The booklet comes in bass and treble clef. Attending the concert is free.
The Tubachristmas arrangement of "
Jingle Bells"Jingle Bells" is one of the best known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and copyrighted under the title 'One Horse Open Sleigh' on September 16 1857. Despite being inextricably connected to Christmas, it is not specifically a Christmas song...
" incorporates the trio section of the "National Emblem" march before returning to the holiday melody.
External links