I figured out what TubaChristmas is finally after wondering for a week. LOL I thought it was just local.
I got an email from school band letting the tuba players know they could participate in TubaChristmas in Midland in December. TubaChristmas had a float in the parade over the weekend, too. Looks great and fun!
I’m guessing Ally will participate.
Ally is the tuba player on the far left.
From the school:
What is Tubachristmas? TubaChristmas is a series of concerts performed in hundreds of cities across the country where Tuba and Euphonium/Baritone players come together to play specially arranged Christmas carols for the public.
Harvey Phillips held the first TubaChristmas at New York’s Rockefeller Center ice rink in 1974 to honor his teacher and mentor William Bell who was born on Christmas Day, 1902. 42 years later, we continue that tradition.
Each performance group is an ad hoc collection of Tuba and Euphonium players of all ages, ranging in size from just 10 players to several hundred. Participants are generally local students and amateur musicians, but participants will also travel quite a long way to play in a TubaChristmas, especially in the larger cities like Chicago or New York. Players come together for a rehearsal before performing a selection of carols for the public.
According to the website:
http://www.tubachristmas.com/
2016 is the 43nd anniversary for TUBACHRISTMAS concerts/events which are presented throughout the world. TUBACHRISTMAS was conceived in 1974 by Harvey Phillips as a tribute to his teacher and mentor William J. Bell, born on Christmas Day, 1902. Through the legendary William J. Bell we reflect on our heritage and honor all great artists/teachers whose legacy has given us high performance standards, well structured pedagogy, professional integrity, personal values and a camaraderie envied by all other instrumentalists. The first TUBACHRISTMAS was conducted by Paul Lavalle in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink on Sunday, December 22, 1974. Traditional Christmas music performed at the first TUBACHRISTMAS was arranged by American composer Alec Wilder who ironically died on Christmas Eve, 1980. Wilder composed many solo and ensemble compositions for tuba and euphonium. He was a loyal supporter of every effort to improve the literature and public image of our chosen instruments. Through Alec Wilder we express our respect and gratitude to all composers who continue to embrace our instruments with their compositions and contribute to the ever growing solo and ensemble repertoire for tuba and euphonium.