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411 at Tuba Xmas Chicago!!!

I say more than 50 is too much,

Fewer than four is too few!!

I always wanted to get four adequate players (2 + 2) (Fewer than four is too few.) and ride around in a van and commit random acts of TubaChristmas.

Don't know if Harvey Phillips would have approved.

alfredr (if the other euph player were more than adequate, I could have been one)

It's not the best Tuba Christmas I have played at but I'm so happy that after 15 years without a Tuba Christmas in Lansing Michigan it returned. 30 + of us braved the cold weather to perform Tuba Christmas on the steps of the state capitol building. I want to thank everyone that organized the event for their hard work. Next years I'm sure it will be larger and have more people enjoying this event.
Tuba Charlie

bloke wrote:"The music" is (certainly) not it.
The H.P.-esque "promotion of the tuba" isn't it.

This is it:

becoming-reacquainted-with, meeting-new-to-me local tuba players, seeing a really-old-guy local tuba player that I only see on fb - and seeing that he's still getting around and doing OK (...as I'm never involved in any gig that involves more tuba players than...well...me), meeting their spouses, meeting their kids, shaking their hands, smiling, chatting, and wishing them all a Merry Christmas...
...i.e. It pulls bloke off bloke's beaten path, if only for a couple of hours...

Indeed.

I would add to that: the TubaChristmas in Sioux City rehearses in the morning and then takes the show on the road, playing three times. The 2nd and 3rd times are in public places: at the mall, and at a local cultural/historical center (with a decent stage and chairs) , but the first one is far and away my favorite: we always play in a senior/assisted living center. Bringing live music into a place like that where folks don't have the option of getting out to see any on their own is always a rewarding experience, and for me it puts the "Christmas" into TubaChristmas far better than the carols or festive hats.

Community. The low brass community in SW MO is growing. This year's Tuba Christmas was the best yet, with the most players ever, with room to grow. We had players from 12 to 72, all the way from school band, college, amateur, weekend warriors, band directors, and professional players. The camaraderie and fellowship are what it is all about, and I am confident in the future of our chosen instruments after participating last December.

I did TubaChristmas in Washington, DC in the middle 1980s for a few years. Those were pretty special, mainly because they were led by Harvey Phillips. Many folks from the military bands participated. The overall playing level was very high. We did those at the National Christmas Tree and had a good audience. One year we had a little bit of snow coming down. After one performance I encountered a woman from the audience who was just overjoyed and beside herself by what she had heard. She insisted on taking a photo of my friend and I with the Washington Monument in the background.

Some years later they moved the DC TubaChristmas to the Kennedy Center foyer. I am guessing because it could be a bit too cold doing them outside. I've never been to one of those.

mike

I have only played in Portland, OR. We do a lot of things beside just playing the TC book. We have other music from different sources, the audience sings along with the help of a lead singer on a microphone, local music shops give gift certificates for best this, or worsted that competitions, oldest, youngest. We show the many varieties of instruments. There is a lot going on besides just playing music. Everybody seems to go away happy, even if the weather has not been great. We average 250 musicians.

A new player in this area thought we were weird. So I was wondering What do other TCs do?

Charlie C. Chowder AKA the TubaChristmas E

I cannot compete in costume anymore as mine is too good. Now I get to help present the different contestances. Kind of like a "Vana White" of TubaChristmas, but short and fat.

I'd have to say 1998.

A small bunch of us were playing outdoors. The owner of the bar across the street says "all of you that are over 21 - come on over! If you keep playing, I'll keep pouring!"

Never knew I had that much stamina.