Tubachristmas this Sunday

From Jim Chesebrough, Music:

Once again, the holiday season will be ushered in with the glorious sounds of Keene’s annual Merry Tubachristmas 2011. This event began in Keene twenty-one years ago, organized by then KSC Music Department Chair, Douglas Nelson. Since that time, hundreds of tuba players, both professional and amateur, have participated in this celebration of the holiday season and the heritage of this noble instrument.

The Keene event is part of the national Merry Tubachristmas 2011 celebration, in which concerts are presented in over 250 cities throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. Every Christmas season, tuba and euphonium players of all ages gather to pay respect to all the great artists/teachers who represent their tuba heritage. Every Tubachristmas performance features traditional Christmas carols especially arranged for the first Tubachristmas by American composer Alec Wilder. Through Wilder, Tubachristmas concerts pay grateful tribute to composers who have embraced these noble instruments with solo and ensemble compositions. Typically, Tubachristmas ensembles may attract participants from 8 to over 90 years of age.

This year, the free concert will be held on Sunday, December 4 at 1 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room. Dr. Jim Chesebrough, band director at Keene State College, will direct the twenty-first Keene Tubachristmas. All area tuba and euphonium players are invited to perform. (Please, no instruments other than tubas, euphoniums, and baritone horns.) There will be a rehearsal in the same location as the concert at 10:30 a.m. Performers pay a $5 fee to the Harvey Phillips Foundation, which is tax-deductible, but the concert is free.

For more information on Keene’s Merry Tubachristmas, please contact Dr. James Chesebrough, Tubachristmas Conductor and Coordinator, 358-2193 or jchesebrough@keene.edu, or check out the Tubachristmas website: www.tubachristmas.com.