This past Saturday, tuba players assembled with their decorated instruments to bring the holiday spirit to downtown Naperville, playing classic holiday music songs for visitors in attendance.
Tuba players bring holiday spirit to Downtown Naperville
“We’re here at the corner of Jefferson and Washington streets, downtown Naperville, with Tuba Christmas, which is actually a series of concerts that happens all over the world. Today, we had 87 tuba players come to play here in Naperville. There’s a lot of camaraderie, there’s a lot of family. Tuba players are very, just nice people to be with, and the sound is unlike anything you’ll ever hear,” said Tuba Christmas Director and Coordinator David Carroll.
This year marks the 50th year of Tuba Christmas concerts and events worldwide, as the tradition began in 1974 with renowned tuba player Harvey Phillips, a professor of tuba at Indiana University, to honor William J. Bell, his late tuba instructor and mentor at IU, who happened to be born on Christmas day. Composer Alec Wilder was responsible for arranging the Christmas carols played today.
The tradition of Tuba Christmas
“All the songs we played today were just traditional Christmas carols. They’re all either hymns or Christmas carols from European tradition. We handed out Carol Sheets so people can sing along. The crowd was fantastic. Everybody’s singing Silent Night was really special because we had the crowd that the tubas and euphonium were just beautiful,” said Carroll.
Tuba Christmas began in Naperville in 1979 and is one of six Tuba Christmas concerts in Illinois. Tuba Christmas concerts happen in various cities worldwide, rural and urban areas, and can feature anywhere from two players to 600 players. The age range of tuba players is diverse, too, as the youngest player was nine years old.
“I can’t think of too many events where a 65-year-old and a nine-year-old can actually sit side by side and play the same music and be a part of the same concert. That doesn’t happen very often. Part of my job today is to make them feel good about playing what they can and without the expectation of playing everything, play what you know, play what you can, and just enjoy being part of this family,” said Carroll.
Holiday music fosters a sense of community
The holiday traditional draws tuba and euphonium players from the local area to perform a unique one-off concert for the public audience to enjoy free of charge. Everything from rehearsal and registration to showtime takes place in only a few hours on the same day as the concert.
For Carroll, a band and music director at Naperville School District 203, this is his second year heading the festive concert, succeeding former Municipal Band Director Ron Keller. He says he enjoys bringing the holiday joy to spectators.
“Most of the people that were here today were people who played themselves or who just appreciate hearing really good music and in a context that that is kind of different from a concert hall. So people came out just for the uniqueness of the event and had a really good time,” said Carroll.
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