TUBA CHRISTMAS

TUBA CHRISTMAS

A look back

Hundreds of people attended the third annual program Sunday afternoon at Stambaugh Auditorium that was in conjunction with a six-hour holiday-themed craft show. A brief history of the 43-year-old holiday musical event:

The idea was conceived in 1974 by Harvey Phillips as a tribute to William J. Bell, Phillips’ teacher and mentor who is regarded as the premier tuba player and teacher during the first half of the 20th century. In 1921, Bell joined the John Philip Sousa band.

The first such program was conducted by Paul Lavalle, a composer, arranger and clarinetist, on Dec. 22, 1974, in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink. Today, concerts are performed worldwide.

Traditional Christmas music played at the first Tuba Christmas was arranged by Alec Wilder, a composer who wrote sonatas, concertos, operas, ballets and other forms of music across several genres that included classical and jazz.

Wilder also composed numerous ensemble and solo pieces for tuba and euphonium, a large brass instrument slightly smaller than a tuba.

Source: www.tubachristmas.com