Bucks
Tuba Christmas Lansdale
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Can you imagine 65 tubas, baritones and euphoniums playing Christmas carols? Last year, I had such a good time at the Tuba Christmas in Lansdale that I vowed to attend every year.
On the first Sunday of December, bass players gather to blow in the Christmas season in Lansdale. Organized by Stephen Frederick and Charles Neidhardt, more than 700 listened to a most unusual sound on December 5. It was the 11th year for Tuba Christmas in Lansdale.
Because the forecast was frigid and windy, the event moved from the train station park to the St. John’s United Church of Christ. I asked one of the ushers about the church’s capacity. Including the balcony, St. John’s seats about 600. But it was standing room only…plus, every aisle was full of listeners. The applause at the close of each piece was enthusiastic.
Lansdale is one of 200 communities throughout the world hosting a Merry Tuba Christmas Concert. Thanks to Harvey Phillips, a famous tuba player who was known as the “Paganini of the tuba,” Tuba Christmas has become quite a hit. He passed away two months ago at the age of 80.
Phillips was the first bass player chosen for induction into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. As a young man, he joined the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus Band before becoming a student at the Julliard School of Music.
“The
ongoing elevation of the tuba from the laughingstock of musical instruments to
one of its kings is mainly the doing of Harvey Phillips,” New Yorker magazine
wrote in 1975. “He plays the tuba better than anyone else in the world.” On
“Who is the oldest person in the audience,” Steve Frederick asked? It turned out that one man was 91. But there were plenty of kids present too. Clad in seasonal red and white, Frederick asked little children to accompany the players on sleigh bells. Five youngsters volunteered, happy to oblige as the ensemble belted out “Jingle Bells.” The audience joined in heartedly.
It’s risky when you invite amateur and professional musicians to play a concert with only a few hours of rehearsal. Still, the crowd loved it.
I remember attending Mighty Betsy’s grandniece’s musical one year. Marjorie Bouis was about 10. Her student orchestra was filled with enthusiastic players in grades 4, 5, and 6. As the music teacher strode to the podium in order to tune the orchestra, I was expecting some little musician to sound an A on the oboe.
But no.
With his baton aimed like a weapon, the teacher pointed to the entire orchestra and gestured them to play a note…any note, it seemed. The sound was horrendous and cacophony filled the air. I was struck with a fit of giggles and I couldn’t stop. M.B. ordered me to leave the auditorium until I could compose myself.
I use this funny story not to belittle the Lansdale Tuba Christmas players…although there were moments where some appeared to be playing in different key signatures. I enjoyed how the players responded to the applause. They jiggled their horns, many of which had Christmas ornaments tucked inside their instruments’ bells.
I’ve developed a theory about people resembling their dogs and the instruments, which they play. I know several clarinet players who are thin and straight. One of my friends has two bulldogs and he looks just like them. Several in the Lansdale Tuba Christmas ensemble looked like their instruments too…not all, of course, but some. Steve Frederich’s instrumental background is in woodwinds. You won’t be surprised to learn that he’s tall and thin.
I remember Steve telling the audience last year that 15 of his players participated in each of the Tuba Christmas programs in Lansdale. Several played at Rockefeller center, the grandfather site of Tuba Christmases.
Before the Tuba Christmas in Lansdale began, Michael Britcher conducted the North Penn High School Brass ensemble. Their selections were well received.
Steve Frederick retired from the North Penn schools in 2003 after 35 years. His marching, concert and jazz bands performed regularly in concert and competitive settings locally and throughout America. Steve’s bands appeared in the John Travolta film, “Blowout.”
Sharing the podium at the Tuba Christmas was Charles Neidhardt, who was also dressed in seasonal red and white. Neidhardt is the Assistant Conductor of the Montgomery County Concert Band. He’s listed in “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.” Neidhardt is a tuba player, no surprise.
In
November, Steve Frederich was honored for his accomplishments with the North
Penn Band program and contributions to the Cavalcade of Bands organization by
being inducted into the
Many Upper Bucks County readers will remember Steve as a former choir director at the United Church of Christ in Quakertown during the 1970’s. M.B. and I used to sing under his direction. I recall how he convinced Quakertown church choirs to combine their talents in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Elijah.”
You chorus singers know how difficult that “Elijah” score is. But Steve was determined to pull it off. Some of us were pretty nervous about the undertaking but he was fearless. “Elijah” turned out well and set the stage for more joint church choir performances, which continue to this day.
In all, Tuba Christmas was a blast and I’m glad that I went. The performance next year is on December 4. You should put it on your calendar.
Last, MB and I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith