TubaChristmas presents holiday music at its most sonorous
TubaChristmas will celebrate its 40th year in Los Angeles on Sunday in the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
The sound is wistful yet rich, in some places bright and bouncy. But with backbone, to be sure — the same moan tectonic plates must make when they rub together deep within the Earth.
On Sunday, hundreds of tuba players from across Southern California will sound off in TubaChristmas, a surprisingly sonorous — and free — annual L.A. concert celebrating its 40th year.
And if the sound has a touch of whimsy, so does the visual. More than 200 tuba players of all shapes participate, in all sorts of holiday attire. Dominating is the rotund, almost-voluptuous traditional tuba player profile — John Belushi comes to mind, as does Santa himself.
SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter >>
But, adding to the surprise, more and more women are drawn to the tuba, which is as much an instrument as it is the center of a cheery and affable subculture.
“These [demographics] are changing, like everything else,” says Jim Self, who conducted the first 35 L.A. performances. “I’d say it’s now about 2-1 men to women.”
“Tuba players are quite friendly people,” notes current conductor Scott Wilkinson.
And grateful too. This weekend, musicians usually relegated to back rows get a rare chance to be front and center and even allowed to play the melody — often with twinkle-eyed Seussian aplomb.
Here’s the thing about an ensemble of 200 tubas: If you make a mistake, who cares?
— Conductor Scott Wilkinson
“Can you imagine an oboe Christmas?” asks Self.
Well, you probably couldn’t imagine an all-tuba Christmas either. But it exists, “as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist,” in a seasonal tradition that dates to 1974.
That’s the year the nation’s very first TubaChristmas took place at the Rockefeller Center ice rink, organized by renowned tubist Harvey Phillips as a tribute to his teacher, who was born on Christmas Day.
From the outset, TubaChristmas involved traditional Christmas carols — and Hanukkah songs — performed by a mixed-bag of virtuoso and beginning tuba players, all drawn by composer Alec Wilder’s robust four-part arrangements.
Those same arrangements are performed at every TubaChristmas here and in 280 cities around the world. Under the events’ bylaws, the concerts are free to the public, though the musicians themselves pay ta $10 registration fee and the cost of the sheet music ($20-$25). In L.A., this year’s concert takes place at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
Scott Wilkinson has conducted TubaChristmas for five years now.
All skill sets are welcome, though some parents are concerned about sending their beginning players along, fearing inadvertent blasts might ruin the moment. Conductor Wilkinson, who took over for Self five years ago, insists the inspirational value is worth it.
“Here’s the thing about an ensemble of 200 tubas: If you make a mistake, who cares?” he says.
Even so, the level of tuba talent in Los Angeles elevates the event. In addition to the large ensemble, small groups of top studio musicians will also perform even more challenging arrangements.
Norman Pearson, principal tuba for the L.A. Philharmonic, is among them, as is Loren Marsteller, considered one of the best euphonium players in the world. Self, whose credits include the belchy voice of the Mothership in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” will be the featured guest.
“It kind of goes against what Harvey wanted,” Self says of the elite players, who receive a fee for appearing.
But fundraising helps offset the cost, and parking and admission to Sunday’s 7 p.m. concert remain free.
“It’s a beautiful concert hall, great acoustics,” Self says of the 1,200-seat auditorium.
Among the players will be Otis Hutchins, 83, who has performed with his son, Jeff, 50, in all previous 39 TubaChristmas events.
After reading a magazine article on the inaugural New York concert, Hutchins reached out to Phillips, wondering if such a concert might take place in Los Angeles. A year later, father and son were performing in the first L.A. TubaChristmas on the steps of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
“We now have three generations,” says Hutchins, who will perform Sunday with his 13-year-old grandson, Dylan.
Is the tuba a difficult instrument? Experts say no more than most brass instruments, which require constant practice to develop facial muscles, or “chops.” More than most instruments, the tuba seems to draw a certain type of easygoing, self-deprecating player.
“The tuba has a very jolly reputation,” Wilkinson says. “The camaraderie among tuba players is contagious.”
They have a blast, all right, though lugging the giant brass pretzels can be a challenge. It’s almost a lifestyle choice; the last time Wilkinson bought a car, he took his tuba along to make sure it would fit.
In college, Wilkinson says, he would hitchhike home with his giant horn, knowing the sight of a student with a tuba would ease potential concerns about picking up strangers. Inevitably, he says, VW buses would stop, the only vehicle big enough to accommodate the baggage.
In Sunday’s performance, it will be difficult to find two horns that will look alike. The giant ensemble will include the towering sousaphones, and the shoulder-carried marching tuba. There will be laptop concert tubas, including B-flat, E-flat and F-flat versions. Also taking part will be the smaller tenor tubas — baritones and euphoniums. In addition, the concert will feature a seldom-seen Wagner tuba. Most striking of all, perhaps, will be the double-bell euphonium — two horns in one and nearly extinct.
While the instrument may have a grunty, oom-pah reputation, en masse they seem something else entirely.
“It’s very rich, it’s like a choir,” says Self.
On Sunday, that quirky choir will gather to honor the giant instrument they love. On Wilkinson’s cue, all 200-plus players will produce the sort of beefy sonics that can penetrate a church pew.
And if someone makes a mistake? Who cares.
Twitter: @erskinetimes
------------------------
TubaChristmas
Where: Hall of Liberty, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Price: Free
Info: tubachristmasla.com
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
