A Tubalicious Christmas concert

Imagine 22 tubas playing Christmas carols all together in concert.

Tuba players are normally one or two people playing supporting notes in a band or orchestra, but here they were all people who speak the same musical language who come together to play melody. In this case, it was euphonious. It was synchronized. It was melodious.

Together, they produced the kind of sound that gives people goosebumps. In a word, it can be described as ”tubalicious!”

The Tuba Christmas concert was held outside in front of the Tiki Bar, part of the Eerie restaurant on Nov. 30. The weather was wet from intermittent rain and snowflakes and yet people stood outside to listen and sing along to the Christmas carols.

Shary Kranch has been the leader of this ensemble since 2021. She has been playing the tuba since she was a young girl. Her father played tuba and said it was the best instrument in the band. She thought so, too. Kranch’s husband, Jason, was the M.C. of the concert. He talked about the music and explained some of the instruments. Betsky Krakowiak was the conductor.

Kranch said they always give a gift card to the youngest player as motivation to come back next year and continue playing. This year a 13-year-old boy named Danny won a gift certificate to Duncan Donuts.

There was an amazing array of tubas, which is perhaps responsible for the richness of the sound. Most people have never seen so many different types of tubas in one place, let alone hearing them play all together.

There were tubas that play in a variety of keys. The higher the key, the smaller the instrument. There were B Flat tubas (the most common), F tubas, and one E Flat tuba (the smallest). There were six Baritones (three valves), seven Euphoniums (four valves) and two Sousaphones (those humongous instruments that one actually wears and are mostly used in marching bands). The Baritone and Euphonium are actually an octave higher than the regular B Flat Tuba. The Sousaphone, named for John Philip Sousa, American composer and band leader (think Stars and Stripes Forever and the Marines’ Hymn), is the same pitch as the B Flat tuba.

The first Tuba Christmas was conceived of in 1974 by Harvey Phillips as a tribute to his tuba teacher and mentor, William J. Bell. Phillips founded the Harvey Philips Foundation (HPF) which is now run by his son, Tom. HPF copyrighted the term “TubaChristmas” and the foundation is now celebrating its 52nd Tuba Christmas concert.

HPF is dedicated to maintaining high standards, structured pedagogy, and professional integrity. Its goal is developing and expanding the music arts on lesser known musical instruments. The foundation has about 200 satellite tuba Christmas concerts, mostly in the U.S., but also in the England and Australia. Log onto https://shorturl.at/3Tdpk for a list of the various tuba Christmas locations.

According to Kranch, registration fees from each artist are collected and sent to HPF, which administers all of the different tuba Christmas concerts.

When Kranch is not preparing for the Port Jervis Tuba Christmas concert, she is a member of the Broome Street Bands which meets at the United Methodist Church on Sussex Street in Port Jervis. They have several different bands - including a marching band, a wind ensemble - and give four concerts a year. For more information, log onto https://shorturl.at/nohDg.