Big and brassy, TubaChristmas concert set for Saturday in Westminster
Tubas, euphoniums, baritones, sousaphones and other big brass instruments will play classic Christmas tunes Saturday in Westminster, as the second annual Westminster TubaChristmas event comes to town.
At 1 p.m., Saturday, about two dozen musicians of all ages and experience levels are expected to converge in front of the Westminster branch of the Carroll County Public Library to perform about 18 holiday tunes.
Last year was the first time for the TubaChristmas event in Westminster, but similar concerts have been occurring throughout the world since the first TubaChristmas was conducted by Paul Lavalle on Dec. 22, 1974 at the Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink in New York City.
This year, TubaChristmas celebrates its 50th year with concerts in more than 300 cities throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.
Westminster musicians have participated in past TubaChristmas events in Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick, and Washington, as well as in Boston and New York. Organizers Travis and Kim Dixon brought the event to Westminster last year, and the inaugural concert was well received, they said.
About 20 players were pre-registered for the event as of Wednesday, the Dixons said.
“We had 24 performers last year, and expect about the same this year,” they said in an email. “[We] expect to see more walk-ups on the day of the performance. Last year we had players as young as 15, and as experienced as in their 70s. There truly is no upper or lower age limit.”
Andrew Spang, a local music teacher and tuba player, was recruited as conductor again this year. Spang plays tuba for the Lyric Brass Quintet and the Maryland Winds, a professional concert band. He also is the principal tuba player for the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra.
Spang will lead the musicians in a rehearsal prior to the concert on Saturday then conduct the performance. The music comes from a set of arrangements that all TubaChristmas events use that was specially created for the first TubaChristmas by the American composer Alec Wilder, so many players are familiar with the music, the Dixons said.
“Anyone interested in performing is welcome to join us at rehearsal beforehand,” the Dixons said.
Practice starts at 10:45 a.m., Saturday, in the gym at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Carroll County, 71 E. Main St., Westminster.
At a small event like the one in Westminster, most performers are local, the Dixons said, but a player from Delaware has signed up to play in she performance this year, and last year there were players from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Larger TubaChristmas events, such as the ones in Baltimore and New York City, draw attendees from all over the world, the Dixons said.
A group of performers and supporters from Westminster will travel to New York City’s 50th TubaChristmas event on Dec. 10. Hundreds of performers are expected to play underneath the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
“The sound of the all-low-brass ensemble is unique, and playing the arrangements created specifically for those voices creates a fantastic sound,” the Dixons said. “Harvey Philips had a lifelong mission to promote the tuba as not just backup for an orchestra or band, but as a full-fledged performing voice, and the music we perform at these events, in this format, is the embodiment of that effort.”
