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leisure
12.8.09
300 Tubas and a Dream
Plus: Every Person in New York |
[From a number of readers, a request that we reprint our story of how Tuba Christmas came to be. And from MUG, a request that you vote for us as Best Local Blog during this final week of voting.]
It is 1974 and Harvey Phillips is looking for a way to honor his teacher, William Bell, who was born on Christmas day, 1902. Mr. Bell played with Sousa and Toscanini, and taught at Juilliard. Mr. Phillips thinks Bell isn't as well known to other tubists as he should be. Tubists don't seem to know other tubists, so he sends letters to 400 tuba players around the country and asks if they would like to be part of a Christmas concert. Three hundred say 'yes.' Whoops. Better find a venue.
Mr. Phillips says, "I thought New York would be a good place to have the concert because William Bell had taught there. I called Rockefeller Center and asked to speak to the vice president of public relations. I asked him if they ever used a stage behind the ice skating rink for concerts. He said this had never been done, but he asked 'What kind of ensemble do you have?' I said, 'I don't have one but I expect around 300 tubas.' There was silence on the other end of the phone."
Sensing that veep isn't quite sharing his vision, Mr. Phillips gives him the numbers of some of his friends, who happened to be Leonard Bernstein, Morton Gould, Leopold Stokowski, Gunther Schuller, and Andre Kostelanetz. An hour later the VP from Rock Center calls back and says, "I've spoken to your friends and you can have anything you want."
Next problem: there are no arrangements for 300 tubas. Mr. Phillips asks Alec Wilder to do them. Wilder, after a certain (perhaps understandable) reluctance, comes up with 33. The first rehearsal is held on the second floor of the NBC building in a long corridor about 20 feet wide and 80 feet long. In addition to the musicians and Mr. Wilder, a group of friends, family, and reporters are gathered. After the cacophonous warm-up, the conductor, Paul Lavalle, calls for silence. Then, improbably, 300 tubas begin to play "O, Come All Ye Faithful." Mr. Phillips says, "Everyone began to cry and Alec Wilder was jumping up and down, hugging me, tears in his eyes, saying 'It works! It works!'"
Now there are Tuba Christmas concerts every year all over the country and around the world. The one at Rock Center will take place this Sunday, December 13th, 3:30pm.
For more fun holiday ideas, check out
NYC BLOGGERS DO THE HOLIDAYS
Brooklyn Based: Home for the Holidays
Give and Get NYC: Tis The Season to Volunteer
the improvised life: unwrapping the holidays
Manhattan User's Guide: The Gift Guide
Mommy Poppins: Offbeat and Multicultural Family Holiday Events
NY Barfly : It's the Holidays, Time to Drink
NewYorkology: Big-ticket holiday shows
offManhattan: Ten Holiday Getaways Near NYC
Patell & Waterman's History of NY: A little history with your holidays
the skint: 30 days of skintmas
The Strong Buzz: Holiday Eats Old and New
WFMU's Beware of the Blog: Happy Freakin' Holidays Playlist
Walking Off the Big Apple: The Thin Man Walk
   
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Jason Polan started Every Person in New York in March of 2008. He plans on working on the project until it is finished. Look for Every Person in New York on Tuesdays in MUG and daily at Jason's site.
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