It’s large, loud and a tad bit impractical, but for one day every year, the stage belongs to the tuba.
The 13th annual Erie presentation of TubaChristmas will be held Saturday, Dec. 13, in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. The performance begins at 1 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
As its name implies, TubaChristmas is songs of the season interpreted by an ensemble of student, amateur, and professional low-brass musicians performing under guest directors Gary Viebranz of Penn State Behrend, Daniel Burdick of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Ron Stitt and Lowell Hepler of Allegheny College. Guest soloist J.c. Sherman will perform variations on Jolly Old St. Nicholas prior to the start of TubaChristmas.
All tuba and euphonium musicians are invited to join the TubaChristmas performance; rehearsals will be held on site that morning. To register to participate, visit the web site tubachristmaserie.com or contact Viebranz at 814-898-6289 or [email protected].
TubaChristmas debuted at Rockefeller Center’s ice rink in 1974 as a tribute to the late tuba legend William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas Day 1902. TubaChristmas is produced nationally by the Harvey Phillips Foundation; the Erie performance is supported by the Mary Behrend Cultural Fund.