Keene State College’s Music Department hosted their annual Tuba Christmas to sound off the holiday season.
On Sunday, December 8, the 51st Tuba Christmas concert took place in the Mabel Brown Room in the student center. It showcased KSC’s tuba and euphonium players as they performed a medley of classic Christmas carols.
This Christmas tradition didn’t originate as only a holiday celebration, according to Dr. John Hart, the conductor of Keene State’s concert band and coordinator of instrumental education.
“Tuba Christmas has been around since 1974, the very first one was … on the ice rink stage of New York City’s Rockefeller Center,” said Hart. “Over 300 tuba and euphonium players gathered to honor the memory of William J. Bell, who was born on Christmas Day in 1902.”
Hart continued, “William J. Bell was one of the first real famous American tuba players and teachers, and he helped elevate tuba to a status considered much more prestigious.”
After the initial performance in New York City, Hart stated that the tradition spread to various places across the country. Keene State’s Tuba Christmas is the second oldest in New England, having started performing it in 1979. These performances used to take place off campus until the student center was built in 1995.
The event was free of charge for anyone to attend. Some Tuba Christmas merchandise, like pins and scarves, was available for sale outside the Mabel Brown Room for those who wanted to monetarily support the tradition. Attendees could also purchase customizable ornaments that would be used to decorate the tree at future events.
During the performance, the musicians would perform two verses of most of the songs, one with only the instruments and one where the attendees were encouraged to sing along to the carols.
While last year’s 50th anniversary performance was much larger, this year’s 51st was more of a return to form, according to Hart.
“It’s nice to have a year that’s back to the usual … A lot went into last year’s,” said Hart. “It’s nice to have a little bit of a breather, so to speak.”
“I say ‘normal’ … there’s nothing normal about having sixty tuba players all gathering in one spot,” continued Hart.
Attendees of this year’s Tuba Christmas expressed their enjoyment of the performance.
“It was overall really fun, it’s really been nice seeing it grow,” said senior Laura Sandman, who is also involved with KSC’s music program. “It’s pretty involved with the music department, and I love Christmas carolling and I like singing … so it’s right up my alley.”
Sandman continued, “I remember back in my freshman year we had to separate a bunch of the crowd out because of COVID. So it’s been really nice seeing everyone.”
The musicians also expressed feeling happy at their performance.
“I like playing in it, it’s a fun experience, it’s great to meet up with so many tuba players,” said senior Sebastian Swartout. “I’ve been playing tuba my entire time at Keene State and I’ve participated in every Tuba Christmas that I’ve been at Keene State.”
“There’s always a great turnout,” continued Swartout. “The whole hall was pretty much packed. It’s always great to see so many people come out to enjoy some Christmas tunes.”
According to Swartout, the musicians only rehearse the music once: the hour before the Tuba Christmas performance starts.
“It’s a real quick get-together,” said Swartout. “Most of the songs are pretty easy to learn so you just buy a book, come in and play.”
Hart also expressed how many members of the Keene community look forward to Tuba Christmas as a start to their holiday season.
“People look forward to it every year, and for a lot of people it’s the gateway to the holiday season,” said Hart. “They can be like, okay, it’s real, it’s happening, I can feel holly jolly now.”
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