Below is an article about the Joplin TubaChristmas last weekend. Even though I was the coordinator, I had to miss the event. I hear it was a good tome. About 55 attended.
-Doug Whitten
http://www.joplinindependent.com/displa ... 1102992904
TubaChristmas comes to Joplin by: mariwinn
Updated: 2004-12-13 20:55:04-07
Many listeners of music mistakenly shudder when they think of a tuba, not to mention enough of them to form a "band". In thinking about this often maligned instrument, all many hear is the oom pa pa, or whatever accentuating beat is needed for a musical piece.
But Dr. Harvey Phillips, currently a distinguished professor of music emeritus at Indiana University, Bloomington wanted to dispel this notion and improve the public image of the tuba and euphonium. In 1974 he conceived the idea of TubaChristmas at Rockefeller Center, New York as a tribute to his teacher, the late William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas Day. Since that performance TubaChristmas has been performed yearly worldwide.
Thanks to the efforts of Doug Whitten, Pittsburg State University's Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the Athletic Bands and Scott Schneider, band director at Carl Junction Junior High School and co-director at Carl Junction High School, a TubaChristmas finally was organized in Joplin. 55 tubaists, ranging in ages from about 12 to 77, gathered in the Sear's Court at the Northpark Mall last Saturday afternoon to the delight of a large audience.
The entertainers were comprised of band directors, other professionals, and students. A musician from Iola, KS was recognized as traveling the farthest distance in order to participate. Unfortunately, Whitten, who was with the band at the Pitt State NCAA Division II Championship football game in Alabama, could not be present to witness the coming together of such an impressive number of tuba and euphonium players.
Kennth Meisinger, a professional musician who participated, agreed that the instruments were "maligned a lot" but that they were "very, very lyrical instruments. "Not unlike a huge men's chorus, their resonant sound is very appealing," Meisinger said.
Meisinger tried to catalog the various instruments that were being played: the baritone, euphonium, tenor tuba, and the base (the "big ones"). Then there are the alto (horn) and the soprano (cornet), he added. A distinction between the baritone and euphonium other than based upon the number of valves each has (baritone has 3, euphonium has 4) is often very subjective.
Dr. Craig Fuchs, director of bands and an associate professor of music (department chair) at Pitt State, said he had just one hour of rehearsal time at Webb City High School prior to the concert to whip the group into shape. He said he was amazed over the enthusiasm of the group and their desire to create a quality product.
"Tubas don't bog us down at #13," Fuchs commented, as he led the group. He explained that tubas have a tendency to drag a bit. He was saying, "Don't slow down." And his direction was heeded.
The program of Christmas music included "Silent Night" which Fuchs dedicated to the men and women who were overseas. A creative rendition of "Jingle Bells" was the group's final number until an insistent round of applause demanded an encore.
"Number four, we didn't do number four," a girl in the group shouted. So, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" that Fuchs inadvertently left out, became the encore. The hesitation of the group to disband strongly suggested the fun that everyone was having.
"We'll do it again next year," Fuchs assured the musicians as well as the appreciative audience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Haugan offers an insight into the concept of a tubaist holding minority status:
"As tubaists we understand the implications of being an "endangered species" as well as a "minority." I can recall a time when I described to one of the black musicians in a blues band I was playing with in Madison [Wisconsin] what it was like to play tuba in a symphony orchestra... How you feel like you're unappreciated for what you've been doing, how your job might appear stupid or boring to other musicians, how you're considered on the bottom of the orchestral hierarchy next to perhaps the bass drum or the triangle. He looked at me, and a wry smile gradually spread across his face as he said, "Just goes to show you, Tootall, you don't have to be black to be a n..."
A. Douglas Whitten
Associate Director of Bands
Assoc. Professor of Tuba & Euphonium
Pittsburg State University
