The thirty-seventh annual MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS concert will take place Sunday at Rockefeller Center
Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center
50th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Sunday, December 12, 11:30 am registration
Admission: free
Participation: $5
www.tubachristmas.com
www.rockefellercenter.com/events
In 1835, the brass instrument known as the tuba was patented by Wilhelm Wieprecht and Johann Gottfried Moritz. Musical prodigy William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas Day, 1902, began playing the tuba when he was ten years old, later joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the NBC Symphony Orchestra (under Arturo Toscanini) as principal tuba, and then taught music at Indiana University beginning in 1961, passing away shortly after his retirement in 1971. In 1974, as a tribute to his mentor, former student Harvey G. Phillips established the annual MERRY TUBACHRISTMAS concert, which celebrates Bell and his dedication to the tuba and the euphonium by playing Christmas carols arranged by Alec Wilder, who passed away in 1980 on Christmas Eve. The Harvey Phillips Foundation, a nonprofit group affiliated with Indiana University, now sponsors TUBACHRISTMAS all around the world, “honoring 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.” And you thought it was just a whole bunch of people playing “Jingle Bells” on tubas at the Rockefeller Center ice rink. Well, on Sunday, December 12, a whole bunch of people will play “Jingle Bells” and other Christmas classics on tubas at the Rockefeller Center ice rink at 3:30, conducted by Chris Wilhjelm and hosted by Phillips himself. If you’d like to participate, just show up to register at 11:30 in “warm, bright, festive colors” with your tuba and a music stand or lyre and be ready to rehearse at 12:30.